Carson Fortner
Founder & CEO
Carson founded the Special Kicks program in 2010 when he was given the opportunity to work with a student with cerebral palsy and was able to help her talk and walk for the first time. His passion grew from there, and he has worked with over 200 Special Kicks students over the course of 13 years.
Millie Orme
Executive Director
Millie has been the Director of Special Kicks for over four years. She works diligently with all fundraising, event planning, community outreach, networking, and resourcing for our Special Kicks students and their families. She is a huge advocate for our students and has a great passion for her position. Millie has a BA in studio art from Georgia Southern University and is also our Head Krav Maga Instructor.
Matthew Sangiorge
Chief Instructor
Matthew holds a 3rd degree black belt in American Tang Soo Do and a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He started martial arts at the age of four. For over six years, Matthew has helped over 150 students improve their abilities and achieve their goals. He is a gifted instructor in the special needs community and has experience working with a wide range of abilities.
Gabriel Deines
Head Instructor
Gabriel is a 3rd degree black belt in American Tang Soo Do. He has been a part of the Special Kicks program since 2018 when he first got his black belt. He loves seeing the kids' faces light up and getting them out on the mat to have fun. In addition to karate, he trains Krav Maga as well. Mr. Gabriel is now the Chief Instructor at our Savannah location.
Angelina Grant
Instructor
Angelina is a 1st degree black belt in American Tang Soo Do and has been training since 2019. She loves working with kids, especially her Special Kicks students. Her favorite thing about the Special Kicks program is getting the time to bond with each student in their own unique way.
Sydney preiss
Instructor
Sydney is one of our newest Special Kicks instructors. She is currently learning sign language to better communicate with our non-verbal students. She is a 2nd degree black belt in American Tang Soo Do.
Joseph Bouchard
Veteran Program Instructor
"Chappy" is a retired Army Ranger. Chappy has been teaching Krav Maga since 2016 and has since earned his 2nd degree black belt in Krav Maga. His entire family of five trains at our facility along with his daughter, Jacqueline, who is in the Special Kicks program. He has experience working with students with PTSD as well as students with amputations.
Taylor Johnston
Instructor
Taylor was born and raised in Savannah, Georgia. She originally trained Taekwondo and earned her 3rd degree black belt. She is a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and has been training for four years. She is currently an assistant instructor for the youth jiu-jitsu program and is so excited to work with more Special Kicks students.
Kelley Bouchard
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Instructor
Kelley is married with three kids, all who train at Pooler Karate. She has been training jiu-jitsu since 2017 and currently holds a purple belt under Sergio Machado. Kelly also trains Krav Maga and is working toward her black belt. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, cooking, and spending time with her friends and family.
Miguel Lopez
Instructor
Miguel is a 2nd degree black belt and a sophomore in high school. One of his favorite things to do is karate, and it makes him happy watching his students enjoy it as well. He trains in both Tang Soo Do and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu so that he can be a well-rounded martial artist. He loves not only being able to learn but also being able to pass it on to people that love to learn like he does.