Heart, Hope, and Hands-On Leadership: Mauria Stonestreet

mauria-stonestreet

Basic Information

Field Details
Name Mauria Stonestreet
Occupation Autism specialist, nonprofit executive
Known For Executive Director of Building Hope for Autism Foundation (BHFA); long career in special education; family philanthropy
Education M.S., Special Education, University of Kansas
Location Kansas City metropolitan area
Years Active 20+ years in special education and autism services
Selected Credit Producer, “Just Like You: Anxiety & Depression” (2022)
Family Parents: Vincent (Vince) A. Stonestreet (deceased), Jamey Stonestreet; Siblings: Paul Stonestreet, Eric Stonestreet
Focus Areas Autism education, family support, program design, community partnerships

A Life’s Work Focused on Support and Belonging

For more than two decades, Mauria Stonestreet has stood at the crossroads of education, family advocacy, and community health, shaping programs that make autistic children and their support systems feel seen and resourced. Her journey is rooted in classroom pragmatism and lifted by nonprofit leadership. With a master’s degree in Special Education from the University of Kansas, she blended practice with policy, translating evidence-based strategies into guidance that schools, families, and community groups could actually use.

Her career spans roles as a special education teacher, autism specialist, itinerant consultant, and private consultant across public and private settings. That breadth matters. It gave her a panoramic view—how classroom challenges ripple into homes; how district policy touches a child’s daily life; how a parent’s capacity rises when a system treats them as a partner. Mauria’s voice carries the quiet authority of someone who has sat at every table.

Building Hope for Autism Foundation: Mission in Motion

As Executive Director of the Building Hope for Autism Foundation (BHFA), Mauria leads with both compass and clock: setting direction while moving programs forward on schedule. BHFA serves families navigating autism by providing practical support, guidance, and community-building. Think navigators instead of gatekeepers—help with resources, referrals, problem-solving, and the often-overlooked emotional scaffolding that families need to keep going.

Her leadership emphasizes three things:

  • Accessibility: making supports understandable, affordable, and timely.
  • Partnership: aligning schools, providers, and families rather than letting them operate in silos.
  • Dignity: focusing on strengths, choice, and family-defined goals.

BHFA’s work is the kind that doesn’t make loud headlines, but it changes Tuesday afternoons—the day-to-day rhythm where real life is lived.

A Family Thread Woven Through Kansas City

The Stonestreet family is synonymous with generosity in Kansas City, and Mauria is central to that story. Alongside her mother, Jamey, and her brothers, Paul and Eric, she helped create the Vincent A. Stonestreet Family Fund, honoring their late father’s legacy. Launched in 2022, the fund supports pediatric home health and hospice care—deeply personal work that acknowledges how fragile times can be made gentler with the right help.

Their approach is notable for its humility and presence. Rather than one-off appearances, the family invests in durable partnerships and shows up year after year, including at high-profile community events like Kansas City’s Big Slick weekend, where Mauria has worked on patient-story production and behind-the-scenes planning. It’s philanthropy that looks like teamwork.

Timeline Highlights

Year/Period Milestone
2000s–2010s Builds career in special education as teacher, autism specialist, and consultant
2010s–Present Expands autism-focused consulting and family support across school systems
2022 Producer credit on “Just Like You: Anxiety & Depression”
2022 Family launches the Vincent A. Stonestreet Family Fund supporting pediatric home health/hospice
Present Executive Director of Building Hope for Autism Foundation (BHFA), leading programs and partnerships

Turning Expertise Into Everyday Tools

Mauria’s professional hallmark is translation—taking the complex and making it useful. Parents often need concrete tools: visual schedules that work in busy households, simple language for IEP meetings, community connections that don’t require endless forms, and strategies for easing tough moments at home. Educators need clear, feasible plans—the kind that honor classroom realities like time, staffing, and curriculum demands.

That’s where Mauria is strongest. She helps teams identify what works and why, then packages those insights so teachers can implement them without losing their sanity and families can adapt them without feeling judged. The result is steady progress measured not just in charts, but in calmer mornings, better sleep, fewer crises, and more joy.

Storytelling as a Bridge: Media and Advocacy

In 2022, Mauria earned a producer credit on the documentary “Just Like You: Anxiety & Depression,” a film designed to demystify mental health challenges for young audiences and their caretakers. The project mirrors her broader philosophy: when people understand each other, support becomes easier to offer and to receive. It’s also a recognition that autism and mental health often intersect—two rivers shaping the same landscape.

By bringing narrative craft to clinical topics, Mauria helps the public move beyond labels. The stories she supports build bridges: between students and teachers, parents and clinicians, neighbors and friends.

Leadership Style: Steady, Practical, Compassionate

Colleagues describe Mauria’s leadership as both kind and firm. She asks hard questions—What will this change for families next month? What’s our plan B?—and she expects clear answers. Her style is entrepreneurial in spirit and educator in method: find the need, test the approach, teach the steps, measure the outcome, refine, repeat.

She values:

  • Evidence-based practice infused with empathy.
  • Systems that are strong yet flexible.
  • Collaboration that respects roles but resists hierarchy.

In a field where burnout is common, her steadiness functions like ballast. She keeps programs pointed toward real-world outcomes without losing sight of the humans at the center.

Community Presence and Public Persona

Though widely recognized in the Kansas City region and connected to well-known family members, Mauria’s public profile remains centered on service. She uses social platforms to highlight nonprofit work, amplify community efforts, and celebrate the teams behind the scenes. The spotlight, when it turns her way, often reflects outward onto the families and organizations she supports.

Her influence is best measured by the people who call her first when a child needs help, a school needs a plan, or a community needs a partner. In that way, she’s more conduit than celebrity—moving resources where they’re needed most.

Impact, Measured in Small Victories

The wins that define Mauria’s career are intensely local and often quiet:

  • A first successful school drop-off after weeks of tears.
  • An IEP meeting that finally feels collaborative.
  • A family who no longer feels alone navigating a diagnosis.
  • A hospital team with more options for home-based, dignified care.

These are small hinges that swing big doors. They’re also the markers of a life’s work lived close to the ground, attuned to the details that change everything.

FAQ

Who is Mauria Stonestreet?

She is an autism specialist and nonprofit executive based in Kansas City with 20+ years in special education and family support.

What organization does she lead?

She serves as Executive Director of the Building Hope for Autism Foundation (BHFA).

What is the Vincent A. Stonestreet Family Fund?

It’s a family-created fund honoring her late father that supports pediatric home health and hospice care.

Yes, Eric is her brother; they collaborate on philanthropic efforts in Kansas City.

What is her educational background?

She holds a master’s degree in Special Education from the University of Kansas.

Does she have any media credits?

Yes, she is credited as a producer on the 2022 documentary “Just Like You: Anxiety & Depression.”

How long has she worked in autism services?

More than two decades, spanning teaching, specialist roles, and consulting.

Where is she primarily active?

In the Kansas City metropolitan area and surrounding communities.

What’s known about her net worth?

No verified public estimate is available.

How can people engage with her work?

Follow BHFA’s programs and local philanthropic initiatives that support autism, family services, and pediatric care.

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