Our Company

Stefan, Pam, Matt and Warren

The advent of Xcite Steps is the fusion of ideas espoused by Stefan Hochfilzer and Matt Winkley. Each hails from distinct upbringings and experiences but have met under the umbrella of their uniform interest to serve those stigmatized with being different. As children, both surmounted personal disabilities of learning and communication and have carried forth their success with a desire to see others achieve the same.

It is this empathy that motivates them daily and coaxed the launching of San Diego’s Xcite Steps in the summer of 2005. Priding themselves on being a heart-centered organization with an eye to the future, Xcite Steps has been able to offer exceptional services to our communities that were once lacking. Today’s current infrastructure in San Diego allows for only a small handful of recreational and social development options for teens and adults with disabilities. What institutions do exist, moreover, frequently only make themselves available to the easily diagnosed and limit their services to a fraction of those afflicted. Such is the nature of bureaucratic care, but Xcite Steps seeks to fill the void for kids who have a foot in both worlds, the world of special education and the world of normalcy. Many of our schools take the approach of mainstreaming special needs children in some classes and placing others in special education. Consequently, children are left middling between different sets of social groups and managing multiple expectations and behavioral forms. Our goal is to help bridge this gap and make maneuvering between these worlds manageable and exciting. The joy of life and the experiences it brings should be enjoyed by all, but a methodology for ensuring this happiness must first be struck.

We believe in the benefits of one-on-one mentorship coupled with orchestrated group interaction. Xcite Steps has created a truly unique and innovative approach where members can be themselves, check their disabilities at the door, and enjoy themselves and their friends. All mentors have experience working with said disabilities and our success working with high functioning children, teens, and adults is unmatched. In the company of skilled mentors facilitating exciting events and issuing important lessons, the benefits are difficult to even articulate.

Xcite Steps impassioned leaders demand that our service is always familial and always gratifying. Stefan Hochfilzer has found a truly satisfying calling in serving others, and as a UC Berkeley graduate with a business degree and years of managerial and entrepreneurship experience, he also possesses the tools and resources to see that Xcite Steps meets its lofty expectations. Matt Winkley, similarly, has all the assets to guide a program where success means improved quality of life. Grouping a degree in social work from Salve Regina University, a Masters degree of Divinity from the University of Spiritual Healing & Sufism, a solid foundation of social services, 20 years of working with individuals experiencing disabilities, and an amazing desire to identify what works, Matt has gained an incredible ability to connect with each individual. They are proud to represent Xcite Steps.