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Turn Up!! for Communication Rights 2025

This isn’t just another fundraiser—it’s a celebration of resilience, advocacy, and the power of communication.

Join us on Sunday, May 4th from 5–8PM at Flagship Brewery for Turn Up for Communication, our annual joy-filled gathering that honors the lives and journeys of nonspeaking autistics who are finding their voice and building a future where communication access is a right—not a privilege.

Expect live music, a DJ, great food, craft beer, wine, raffles, and most importantly—community.

At last year’s event, we made a bold promise. To build an organization that shows up for the 50 million nonspeaking autistics worldwide. Your presence helps us keep that promise
Tickets and Sponsorships

Our Sponsors

Partner Sponsor

$2500
Jacobson Consulting
Ameeta and Varun Gosain
S. Ramakrishna
Shanx Ravisankar and Lakshmi Rao Sankar

Friend Sponsor

$500
Maida Asofsky
The Grace Foundation of NY
Varuna and Nippun Kapoor
Molly Sebastian and Brian Kennedy
La Bella Marketplace
Donna Maxxon and Barry Simon
Valerie and Anthony Tucci
Anonymous

Advocate Sponsor

$1000
Votto and Albee
Susanne and Paul Cannella
Evolve 33
Suresh and Hannah Kumar
On Your Mark
Deepti and Suneet Mittal
Subadra and Bala Panchanadeswaran
L Ramesh and Sumathi Ramesh
Valley Bank

Ally Sponsorship

$250
John Calabrese Financial
Jim and Yvonne Caldarella
Elinor Carlin
Dominick, Maria, Marco and Vincent Cuffaro
Varsha and Samar Das
Joseph Dickey
Manoj and Sapna Gupta
Lauren Hurvitz
Richmond Valley Veterinary Practice
Gavin Solotar

Honorees

Jim Caldarella
Jim Caldarella spent 37 years with Citibank as a computer-systems project manager, enterprise architect, and technology head. He later consulted for ten years, advising banks on back-office automation. He graduated from Northeastern and Williams College’s American Studies Program.
Melanie Asofsky
Melanie Asofsky, 2025 Honoree, is mom to Max, a CrimsonRise speller. A former paralegal and theater grad, she now advocates for autism, edits lesson books, and partners with Max daily—grateful for CrimsonRise’s life-changing impact.
Melissa Chen
Melissa Chen, owner of Mindfulness With Melissa LLC, is a mental health professional and expert-level yoga teacher. She helps teens, young adults, and parents find regulation through mindfulness, drawing from her own journey of transformation and resilience.

Host Committee

Gail Castellano
Gail Castellano, Senior Vice President and Division Head at Valley Bank, leads Staten Island expansion with 30+ years in banking. A former entrepreneur, she serves on multiple boards and has earned honors like SIEDC’s Executive Woman of the Year.
Jennifer Sammartino-Mallen
Jennifer Sammartino-Mallen is Executive Director of Community Media of Staten Island, leading rebranding and expansion efforts. With a background in journalism and government, she’s a committed communicator, nonprofit supporter, and enjoys family time, travel, reading, and nature.
Dana Walker-Boyd
Dana Walker-Boyd, a Licensed Associate Broker with 19+ years of real estate experience, is a community leader and founder of “You Grow Girl,” known for her expertise and impactful initiatives like the Juneteenth Freedom Festival and toy drives.
CrimsonRise Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
@CrimsonRise Inc. All rights reserved 2021.
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Privacy Policy
Communication access is provided through the use of Spelling to Communicate (S2C). S2C is a method that teaches the purposeful motor to point to letters on a letter board or keyboard to enable people without speech to communicate.