Influential Woman · Development disabilities
Michele Burto
Referring Coordinator, Coordinator of Community Service, --
Nottingham, MD
Her Story
About Michele
Michele Burto serves as a Referring Coordinator, handling intake processing for referrals and assisting families in accessing services for individuals with developmental disabilities. Her career in this field spans more than 20 years, starting in 2005 or 2006 when she worked as a direct care provider for DDA in Ohio. She later became a provider with her own company before transitioning to her current role as a Coordinator of Community Service. After moving to Maryland six years ago, she adapted to the different program structures and cultures there, excelling in her ability to connect clients with appropriate resources. Burto acts as a mentor to families, drawing on her extensive knowledge and personal life experiences, including caring for her grandson with autism, to relate to and support those she serves. She is also a notary and attributes her success to her children and her genuine desire to help others with kindness and clear boundaries.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Michele
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my children for keeping me on my toes and to my love of helping people. They mean a lot to me and help me stay grounded. I go into helping out of the kindness of my heart but with boundaries, and I try not to talk down to anyone. I explain scenarios from my own life to relate and show people they are not alone.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received is to slow down and try to enjoy what you're doing. Because if you enjoy what you're doing, you can exceed.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It takes patience and knowledge. It takes a special kind of person to be in this field, and you have to really care about the job. It can't be just the job or to get a paycheck, but these are people's lives. You gotta really know what's going on in their life and get to know them.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The challenges are adjusting to different people and different cultures since no one's the same. You really have to know how to adjust to people, come to them where they are, meet them right where they're at to get through to them, make them understand, build trust, and calm them if they have trust issues or aggression from past experiences.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
God, respect each other, communicate, be honest, and keep it real. I value a person that keeps it real. I don't talk down to people and try to relate through my own experiences so they know they're not alone.
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