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HISTORY
The idea for Farmsteads of New England, Inc. (FNE) simmered
and grew in the mind of founder, Deborah Gray, for a
number of years. Deborah is the mother of a child with
significant special needs and has worked in the field
of special education as a teacher, program coordinator,
and consultant for almost twenty years.
In the early 1990’s, while thinking about her son’s
future, Deborah realized that he would not be a candidate
for a competitive employment situation. However, the
thought of him working in a traditional sheltered workshop,
being coerced into doing work for which he could not
understand the meaning, was intolerable to her. As she
thought about the things he liked to do and the type
of settings in which he was most comfortable, she decided
that a farm would be the best fit for him. Because she
did not want him to be isolated, she envisioned a farmstead
that would serve the needs of several people with autism
and other developmental disabilities. In late 1999,
she began working to make her dream become a reality.
Farmsteads of New England, Inc. was formed as a non-profit
corporation in the state of New Hampshire in March 2000
and received its tax-exempt status from the federal
government in February 2001.
Deborah Gray received her B.S. in elementary education
from Gordon College in 1978. She earned her M.Ed. in
learning disabilities and emotional disturbances from
the University of Virginia in 1979. She also completed
the coursework towards a doctorate in special education
administration at Boston University during the 1990’s.
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