Black Bear®Academy

              Black Bear Owners and Directors
                  Maureen and Kevin Black

Maureen Black, after living in Dallas for many years, moved back home in 1987. She received both her Bachelor's and Master's of Science degrees in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. 
She then moved to Chicago with her new husband, Kevin Black, in the winter of 1989 where he attended the MBA program at the University of Chicago.
In 1990 they started a company called Clinical Assist with the goal of providing speech therapy services to Chicago area schools, hospitals, pediatric clinics and TBI programs. That first year, being the only UNPAID employee, Maureen worked 12-14 hour days, seven days a week for a solid year. Kevin accepted a position in the airline industry, the income earner, where he worked for twelve years during the day and at Clinical Assist at night, in our TINY 1 bedroom apartment.
In 2002, after both 9-11 and the birth of our son Colin, Kevin joined Clinical Assist full-time. The concept of Black Bear was developed many years prior to its establishment but having an 18 month old ourselves and being unwilling to leave him with others, the concept was quickly put into motion. It began in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood as a pilot program in June of 2003. 
We started out in 1400 square feet on Irving Park and Hermitage with three employees. Maureen currently serves as the Executive Program Director and consults with families, schools and therapists regarding service provision at both Black Bear^® Academy and external programs to support the success of the Black Bear students as they transition into other city programs. 
Kevin, after leaving the airline industry, serves as the CFO and administrator for payroll and benefits, accounting, and all of the Bears financial records.
Recently in the fall of 2009, after 20 years in business, Maureen and Kevin Black stopped operations at Clinical Assist, Ltd. Due to the overwhelming amount of responsibility required to run both companies and it’s negative impact of their personal health and quality of family life with their son Colin, they felt they had no other choice.
Previously, profits from Clinical Assist funded the overhead costs for Black Bear, making fund raising events unnecessary. Currently, and for the first time ever, the absence of these funds, now require external revenue resources to maintain the level and quality of excellence in the programs at Black Bear Academy.
As you know, this work is important for ALL of us. It truly does represent the model of how to facilitate the most effective neurological development for our children in their first seven years of life. The first seven years, when 90% of our brains are constructed.
I can only imagine the impact that our children will have on our world, later in their lives. They will be the future doctors, scientists, the architects, and the leaders, bringing our country, our world, through difficult times and beyond.
Your support on a daily basis, at Black Bear, is appreciated more than you could know. Your kind words to our staff, your smiles to other families, your understanding and compassion for the difficulty of others represents your grace. Most of all, your willingness to stand for what you know to be right and good, as we move forward to create a healthy Black Bear parent community within our program, speaks to the quality of our families and the strength of their characters.

A heartfelt and sincere thank you,



Maureen, Kevin and Colin Black