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Photo taken at first official Especially Everyone Concert (10/21/18 - Garcia's | Port Chester, NY)
About Especially Everyone
Especially Everyone is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit building a more connected world through music that celebrates neurodiversity.
We address the loneliness epidemic by redesigning social opportunity itself – producing live experiences, community programs, and consulting initiatives that embed inclusion into the structure of shared spaces and make meaningful connection more accessible.
Our work is rooted in a simple belief: when public spaces are designed to welcome many different ways of participating, connection strengthens – and communities become healthier for everyone.
Why We Built This
Especially Everyone began from a simple idea: that meaningful connection should be accessible to everyone.
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For more than 15 years, Pete worked alongside individuals with developmental disabilities – supporting people whose support needs often left them navigating social systems that were not designed for them. He saw how quickly isolation could follow when structured programs ended, and how few spaces existed for meaningful, ongoing connection. At the same time, as a professional musician performing in mainstream venues, he experienced the opposite reality: live music created community almost effortlessly, bringing strangers together and giving people a reason to feel part of something larger than themselves.
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Jill’s path unfolded differently, but led to the same tension. As a neurodivergent leader working in live event production and large-scale operations, she experienced both the power of live events to generate connection and the subtle ways public spaces can be structured around a narrow definition of participation. Navigating that landscape personally, she understood how differences that aren’t always visible can quietly shape who feels comfortable, who adapts, and who withdraws.
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From different vantage points, they were witnessing the same pattern.
The loneliness epidemic was growing. Mental health challenges were rising. And yet the spaces designed for social connection were often inaccessible, unintentional, or structured around assumptions that left many people adapting instead of belonging.
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They began asking:
If live music can create community so naturally, why isn’t that experience accessible to everyone?
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What would it look like to design public spaces so that connection wasn’t accidental, but intentional?
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How can we share the kind of belonging we have been fortunate to experience, and make it structurally available?
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Especially Everyone emerged from those questions.
Not as a niche program, but as a response to a systemic gap in social opportunity – using music as the vehicle to build connection in a time of profound isolation.
Where We're Headed
What began as live music experiences has evolved into something larger.
Especially Everyone is building a model that addresses systemic gaps in social opportunity at the root of the loneliness epidemic. Through live events, education, advocacy, and cross-industry partnerships, we are working to influence how public spaces are designed – expanding access to meaningful connection and strengthening mental health across communities.
Music is our vehicle. It allows us to demonstrate – in real time – what becomes possible when connection is embedded into the structure of shared space.
Our work now extends beyond programming. We are building coalitions, educating industry leaders, and advancing a broader conversation about how social infrastructure can be designed to reduce isolation and foster belonging.
This is not about creating separate spaces. It is about reshaping shared spaces so more people can fully participate.
Who We Are
- Leadership
Pete Kozak
Founder / Executive Director
Pete is the visionary and community builder behind Especially Everyone, bringing more than 15 years of experience working alongside individuals whose support needs were often navigating systems not designed for them. Through that work, he saw how quickly isolation can take hold when structured supports end – and how essential meaningful connection is to wellbeing.
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At the same time, Pete has spent his adult life as a professional musician, performing in mainstream venues and building community through live music. He experienced firsthand how powerfully music can create belonging – and how easily traditional event structures can exclude.
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At EE, Pete leads the design of live experiences and community programming, building local coalitions and cross-sector partnerships that address systemic gaps in social opportunity. Through participatory performance and intentional design, he uses music to demonstrate what becomes possible when connection is embedded into shared space.
Jill Tuck
Chief Operating Officer
Jill is a neurodivergent entrepreneur with 11+ years in the live event and concert production industry before pivoting to social impact.
As former COO of 15toKnow, she led regional COVID testing and vaccine operations across Greater Philadelphia — work rooted in the same drive: bringing people back together safely. She founded OneTribe, bridging the worlds of public health and live events, and has held senior nonprofit leadership roles including Sr. Director of Development & Business Operations at Women’s Campaign International.
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At EE, Jill is the architect behind the organization’s broader strategic vision — from the shift toward movement building and systems change to new initiatives like I.A. Consulting. As a neurodivergent leader embedded at the operational level, her lived experience ensures community voice is woven into every decision — not consulted, but driving.