Meet Stephanie Polukoff

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Stephanie Polukoff. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Stephanie, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I am not sure you ‘overcome’ imposter syndrome. I think it is what makes you do the hard things in life. I often think of the sentiment “if your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough”. When Bridge21 started we did not have a blueprint of how to support adults with intellectual-developmental disabilities in supportive housing. We are designing a model that we believe works in Park City and can be replicable in other communities around the country. In our case, I did the research, made some good & ‘better’ decisions, kept pushing forward and relied heavily on people who knew parts of what I needed then I put the parts together to complete our vision. I guess, the essential quality I have learned is to not be afraid to try scary things.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

I feel like I wear two very different hats in this job. As the Executive Director, I am writing policies, strategic plans, budgets, advocating for our population & mission, writing grants, attending meetings, performing house maintenance, managing Human Resources etc. On those same days, I am an occupational therapist who designs sensory friendly spaces, creates then modifies programming for our residents, teaches life skills training, moderates interpersonal relationships within our B21 home, coordinates evaluations and independent living plans and collaborates with other professionals to include young adults with IDD into housing, employment and the community. This is a lot but I am always conscious of how I spend the dollars donated to our organization and want to be a good steward of philanthropy. As we grow, we do not have to reinvent the wheel. It is designed so we can replicate the accessible housing component and the programming/skills training easily. One of our most successful programs, is Family Dinner Night. Every Thursday, a volunteer comes to the B21 house to teach cooking skills, while making dinner for our residents and friends. Everyone then sits down at the table for a family dinner. They learn, they laugh, they connect! It’s been a blessing to Bridge21.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

The skills that were the most impactful to my journey were a). inviting support and advice from experts b). understanding & having experience with the A/I/DD population c). follow-through; doing what I say I will do.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Bridge21 is seeking 1 or 2 bedroom units with individual bathrooms that allows Bridge21 to be a master lease holder and sublease to our community with disabilities. We would like ground floor or elevator units to allow for ADA accessibility. We envision a new developer property that would allow us this opportunity at an affordable rate. B21 would like to collaborate with the new Summit County Housing Authority to include “accessible” housing options to this population. We understand that current LIHTC rules do not allow a masterlease option or to modify the apartments for intellectual disabilities. We would like to discuss options for this population.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bridge21parkcity.org
• Instagram: bridge21 park city
• Facebook: bridge21 park city
• Youtube: @Bridge21ParkCity