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We’re Heather Burroughs and Steve Gonyea - parents, advocates, and community builders who know how overwhelming today’s challenges can feel. We started Finding Common Ground to prove that everyday people can create extraordinary change!

  • Co-Host - Finding Common Ground Podcast

    Hi! I’m Heather—a wife, mom of four, proud co-host of Finding Common Ground, published author, and unapologetic systems-buster with a big heart and even bigger ideas to create a future our loved ones need (and deserve). I grew up with a sister on the spectrum, long before most people even knew what autism was. Now, I’m raising four kids with wildly different support needs—including Devyn, my 18-year-old daughter who doesn’t use spoken words but has plenty to say. We live in Hilton, a suburb just outside Rochester, NY.

    I used to be painfully shy… Read more…

  • Co‑Host - Finding Common Ground
    Hey there! I’m Steve - a husband, dad of seven, longtime foster parent, and proud co-host of Finding Common Ground. But before all that, I was a single dad trying to figure out how to raise three kids - one of whom, my son with autism, is now 35. Back then, there weren’t roadmaps or resources, just gut instinct and grit. That early experience lit the fire for everything I do now. I learned to blaze trails where none existed, and that boots-on-the-ground mindset still drives me today.

    I don’t lead initiatives asking for handouts - I lead with heart… Read more…