René Brooks

René Brooks has taken a late-life diagnosis and used it to uplift others. After being diagnosed with ADHD 3 times (age 7, 11, and 25), at 25 she was able to get the treatment she deserved. She is the founder of Black Girl, Lost Keys, a blog that empowers black women with ADHD and shows them how to live well with the disorder.

In addition to Black Girl, Lost Keys, René has written for Healthline and is a Patient Contributor to TEVA Pharmaceutical’s Life Effects project. She has spoken at The International Alliance Of Patients Organization’s 8th Annual Congress

Maria Davis-Pierre

Founder and CEO of Autism in Black Inc.

Meet Maria Davis-Pierre LMHC, Founder and CEO of Autism in Black Inc., located in West Palm Beach, Florida.  This organization aims to bring awareness to Autism  and reduce the stigma associated with the diagnosis in the Black community. As a licensed mental health therapist, Maria primarily works with parents to provide support through education and advocacy training. Her passion for working in the field stems from her personal j0urney with Autism when her daughter received the diagnosis at a very early age. In addition to therapy, Maria dons many other titles including coach, speaker, advocate, and author. Her first published work, The Self-Care Affirmation Journal, is currently available for purchase on Amazon. Maria’s unique approach to coaching and counseling exemplifies her drive and motivation toward greater acceptance and overcoming the barriers and personal struggles associated with raising an autistic child.

Temple S. Lovelace, Ph.D., BCBA-D 

Associate Professor of Counseling, Psychology, and Special Education, Duquesne University

Temple S. Lovelace, Ph.D., BCBA-D is an Associate Professor in the department of Counseling, Psychology, and Special Education at Duquesne University. Her research centers on the examination of the intersectionality of disability, gender, and race, with particular interest in examining the experiences of Black autistic women and girls and creating innovative, culturally sustaining academic and behavioral interventions. In 2018, she opened eXiLab, a cooperative incubator for emancipatory research and development that focuses on ecobehavioral assessment to advance equitable learning spaces.

Jamell G. Mitchell

Neuro-Diverse Centers of Excellence Chief Talent-Strategy Leader, Ernst & Young

Jamell G. Mitchell serves as the Neuro-Diverse Centers of Excellence Chief Talent-Strategy Leader along with being the National ASA Tax and Assurance Practice Leader at EY.

His experience relative to market trend analysis and business strategies spans over fifteen years internally.  He is a sought-after conference orator that challenges organizations to consider cognitive diversity as a competitive advantage.  He is a leader who adapts to various cultural, linguistic and personal styles which promotes inclusive teaming.  His contributions creates a culture in which timely coaching is provided while demonstrating a passion in promoting strategy, service delivery and core values.

Morénike Giwa Onaiwu

Morénike Giwa Onaiwu (she/they) is an educator, writer, public speaker, parent, and global advocate. A proactive, resourceful professional and disabled woman of color in a multicultural, neurodiverse, serodifferent family, Morénike, who is American-born to immigrant parents, possesses undergraduate and graduate degrees in International Relations and Education. She is passionate about human rights, justice, and inclusion.

She is involved in various social justice advocacy endeavors including HIV awareness, learning via technology, research, gender, disability, and racial equity and other issues. A prolific writer, Morénike has written for and/or been featured in numerous blogs, abstracts, magazines, books, and other platforms, often drawing from her personal experiences as a late-diagnosed Autistic adult woman, a person of color, an Autistic parent of Autistic and non-Autistic children, and a survivor of intimate partner violence. She is also involved in several projects in addition to her advocacy and writing; notably, she is one of the editors (along with Lydia X.Z. Brown and E. Ashkenazy) of a groundbreaking anthology on autism and race as well as a co-coordinator of the Fund for Community Reparations for Autistic People of Color’s Interdependence, Survival, and Empowerment.

Inger Shaye, LCSW, MSW

Founder, Alchemy Coaching and Counseling

Inger Shaye Colzie is an ADHD Coach specializing in helping Black female executives and entrepreneurs, supporting women through clarity, empowerment and resilience. She successfully ran her practice as a therapist and Licensed Clinical Social Worker for 15 years even though undiagnosed until in her 50s. She offers the benefits of professional expertise with a lifetime of experience.

Serena Chen

Saint Francis High School

Serena Chen is a senior at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, CA; currently working on an online neurodiversity initiative (NeurodiverCity) that aims to reduce stigma and connect neurodiverse individuals through embracement, deeper discussion, support, and representation. Aside from advocacy, Serena has grown up channeling her ADHD into music (her cat, Catbalevsky, is named after the Russian composer Dmitri Kabalevsky) — she has been playing trumpet for 8 years, piano for 10, euphonium for two weeks, and the recorder she just found for about three minutes. Over the summers she’s attended multiple music festivals, including Brevard, where she has recently learned the falsetto-screaming method for improving high register on trumpet. At any given moment you’ll probably find her practicing, running, photoshopping her cat onto old Snoopy comics, generating bad puns, or re-shuffling her Spotify playlist because she can’t ever decide on what to listen to. She wishes she could run as fast as her thoughts do, but for now, she’ll just have to settle for pushing the 6 skips/hour limit on Spotify to compensate. 

Amy Faigin, BFA

Educator, Bridges Academy

Amy Faigin is a neurodivergent educator, activist and individual. Diagnosed as autistic at age thirteen, she attended Bridges Academy, a school for twice-exceptional students (students who are both gifted and learning disabled). Bridges was a transformative experience for her, instilling a powerful sense of ability and ambition. After graduating from high school, she pursued a degree in Digital Media at Otis College of Art and Design and began work as an independent designer. Her love of storytelling and deepening connection to her activism work lead her back to Bridges Academy in 2018 for a ten day mini-course. In this course she taught students how to write, draw and publish their own comics. Ten days has quickly become more than two years of joyful education work. Amy continues to teach at Bridges Academy, instructing in entertainment design, technological history, and mentoring students through their self-directed Young Expert program. She also works with the Ed Asner Family Center as a spokesperson, educator, and co-leader of their LGBTQ+ group. Amy is presently pursuing further education through the Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education in order to continue growing as an educator and advocate. She sees a bright future for neurodiversity, and looks forward to taking part in making it a reality.

Zachary Fung

Palo Alto High School

My name is Zachary Fung. I was the former chairman of a Neurodiversity club at Palo Alto High School. I am a person diagnosed with Autism and have a passion for creating mechanical objects.

Ila Perinkulam

Palo Alto High School

Ila Perinkulam is a sophomore at Palo Alto High School, and she identifies as a Neurodiverse student. She is one of the cofounders of PRICE, an organization that helps students of PAUSD become more familiar with neurodiversity through respect, inclusion, compassion, and education. She is very into the visual arts.

Lucy Wallace

Stanford University

Lucy Wallace is a sophomore at Stanford majoring in comparative literature and psychology. She was diagnosed with autism a little over a year ago and has not stopped talking about it since. Lucy is a big fan of disability rights, kindness, and marshmallows. She can’t read social cues, but she can read Russian.

Allison Zone

Fusion Academy

Allison Zone is a senior at Fusion Academy Palo Alto. In her Freshman year, she founded the school’s Student Leadership team and is the current head and student representative. Allison has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which she channels into playing and composing music and mixed-media art. She is always accompanied by her service dog, Kaldr, and plans to become a veterinarian to help animals like Kaldr has helped her.

Nish Parikh

CEO and Co-founder, Rangam

CEO and Co-founder of Rangam, Nish Parikh is a collaborator, innovator and technology architect who develops holistic workforce solutions for Rangam and its customers by aligning their disability and neurodiversity inclusion strategies with current and future talent acquisition needs. Nish is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and an Instrumentation and Control Engineer by profession. Over the past 15 years, he has built a culture of empathy and innovation while undertaking key people initiatives both within Rangam and outside. Over the past 25 years, he has been designing technologies for enterprise-wide business applications, special needs learning management, applicant tracking for talent acquisition and so on. Presently, he is working on HR-tech—which is powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning—to facilitate large-scale hiring of untapped talent in corporations. Driven by the philosophy of Employment for Everyone, Nish creates rewarding and sustainable career opportunities for individuals with autism, disabilities and military veterans. He serves on the external executive board of the Undergraduate Research and Innovation (URI) programs at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and is a member of the Forbes Human Resources Council.

Work & Recognition. Winner of Accenture’s Protégé of the Year Award, NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes Award and Verizon’s Powerful Answers Award, Nish has built a robust framework for holistic talent management. The technology that he has in place at Rangam is capable of processing a large volume of jobs every day and submitting hundreds of matching resumes to Rangam’s Fortune 500 clients. Rangam’s ABA-based autism intervention and job skills training apps are installed on over half-a-million devices globally.

Nish is a strong believer in cross-industry collaboration. He continues to partner with forward-thinking businesses, workforce game changers and thought leaders, disability support agencies, disability inclusion advocates, transition coaches and non-profit foundations to do well while doing good. He has donated a 20-acre land in Princeton, NJ to build an employment research park that will create community jobs for differently-abled individuals in the region.

Personal. Nish lives with his wife and two children in Princeton, New Jersey. He is an animal lover and also enjoys singing as well as driving well-engineered cars.

Contact: 270 Davidson Avenue, Suite 103, Somerset, NJ 08873 Phone: (908) 704-8843 x102 | Email: nish@rangam.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishparikh1/

Michael Fieldhouse

Director, Emerging Business and Cyber Security, DXC Technology

Dandelion Program Executive

As leader of DXC’s Social Impact Practice, Michael works with clients and the community to develop and run programs that benefit individuals and society. Focus areas include neurodiversity, veterans, disability, indigenous employment and climate change.

Michael has over 20 years' experience in strategy, change management and cyber security in the ICT industry and has worked extensively with private organisations and the Australian government.

In 2014, Michael identified that many people with autism have an eye for detecting patterns, making them uniquely qualified to make contributions to technology teams. In partnership with the Department of Human Services in Adelaide, Michael initiated the DXC Dandelion Program to provide skilled employment for people living with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Through Michael’s leadership, the Program has since expanded to other government departments and private organisations, and today employs over 100 people on the autism spectrum.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Technology, a Master of Business Administration and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He has been appointed by La Trobe University as Adjunct Professor in cyber security, and an advisor to Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal.

Mark Gavartin    

Stanford Neurodiversity Project

Mark Gavartin is a Program Manager for the Stanford Neurodiversity Project. He focuses on the Neurodiversity at Work Program. He holds a degree in Psychology from University of California, Santa Cruz and has worked in Employment Services for 10 years. Most recently, he was a Program Manager at Hope Services where he managed multiple programs to help Neurodiverse individuals find meaningful employment. Outside of work, he loves spending time with his family, cooking, and scuba diving.

Mark will answer questions about the Stanford Neurodiverse Candidate Registry and Stanford Neurodiversity Job Bank.

Andrew Komarow, Planning Across the Spectrum

Discussion topic: "A case for working when you are receiving disability benefits."

Andrew Komarow, the founder of Planning Across the Spectrum Andrew specializes in specialize in helping any individual, family or employer of those with autism and other disabilities pursue financial independence. Striving to enhance the quality of their lives, and their future. Andrew provides a unique perspective for those with unique needs, their caregivers, and their families because he has “walked in their shoes,” having received his autism diagnosis late in life.

To learn more about Andrew Komarow, visit planningacrossthespectrum.com/our-team. He can be reached at andrew@planningacrossthespectrum.com.

Nish Parikh

CEO and Co-founder, Rangam

CEO and Co-founder of Rangam, Nish Parikh is a collaborator, innovator and technology architect who develops holistic workforce solutions for Rangam and its customers by aligning their disability and neurodiversity inclusion strategies with current and future talent acquisition needs. Nish is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and an Instrumentation and Control Engineer by profession. Over the past 15 years, he has built a culture of empathy and innovation while undertaking key people initiatives both within Rangam and outside. Over the past 25 years, he has been designing technologies for enterprise-wide business applications, special needs learning management, applicant tracking for talent acquisition and so on. Presently, he is working on HR-tech—which is powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning—to facilitate large-scale hiring of untapped talent in corporations. Driven by the philosophy of Employment for Everyone, Nish creates rewarding and sustainable career opportunities for individuals with autism, disabilities and military veterans. He serves on the external executive board of the Undergraduate Research and Innovation (URI) programs at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and is a member of the Forbes Human Resources Council.

Work & Recognition. Winner of Accenture’s Protégé of the Year Award, NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes Award and Verizon’s Powerful Answers Award, Nish has built a robust framework for holistic talent management. The technology that he has in place at Rangam is capable of processing a large volume of jobs every day and submitting hundreds of matching resumes to Rangam’s Fortune 500 clients. Rangam’s ABA-based autism intervention and job skills training apps are installed on over half-a-million devices globally.

Nish is a strong believer in cross-industry collaboration. He continues to partner with forward-thinking businesses, workforce game changers and thought leaders, disability support agencies, disability inclusion advocates, transition coaches and non-profit foundations to do well while doing good. He has donated a 20-acre land in Princeton, NJ to build an employment research park that will create community jobs for differently-abled individuals in the region.

Personal. Nish lives with his wife and two children in Princeton, New Jersey. He is an animal lover and also enjoys singing as well as driving well-engineered cars.

Contact: 270 Davidson Avenue, Suite 103, Somerset, NJ 08873 Phone: (908) 704-8843 x102 | Email: nish@rangam.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishparikh1/

Michael Fieldhouse

Director, Emerging Business and Cyber Security, DXC Technology

Dandelion Program Executive

As leader of DXC’s Social Impact Practice, Michael works with clients and the community to develop and run programs that benefit individuals and society. Focus areas include neurodiversity, veterans, disability, indigenous employment and climate change.

Michael has over 20 years' experience in strategy, change management and cyber security in the ICT industry and has worked extensively with private organisations and the Australian government.

In 2014, Michael identified that many people with autism have an eye for detecting patterns, making them uniquely qualified to make contributions to technology teams. In partnership with the Department of Human Services in Adelaide, Michael initiated the DXC Dandelion Program to provide skilled employment for people living with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Through Michael’s leadership, the Program has since expanded to other government departments and private organisations, and today employs over 100 people on the autism spectrum.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Technology, a Master of Business Administration and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He has been appointed by La Trobe University as Adjunct Professor in cyber security, and an advisor to Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal.

Caroline Grantz, PhD

Clinical Neuropsychologist, UCLA Semel Institute

Dr. Caroline Grantz is a pediatric neuropsychologist with expertise in Autism Spectrum Disorder and related areas of difficulty. Originally from California, Dr. Grantz went to graduate school at the University of Miami in Florida. She completed Internship at Rush University Medical School in Chicago and Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Oregon Health & Sciences University in Portland, Oregon. Throughout her education, she received specialized training in neuropsychology, and is pursuing Board Certification as a Clinical Neuropsychologist. In 2016, Dr. Grantz was delighted to move back to California, where she worked for two years at CHOC Children’s helping to build Autism Spectrum Disorder assessment and treatment services in partnership with the UCI Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders before joining the UCLA Semel Institute Child and Adult Neurodevelopmental Clinic.

Christy Matta

Program Manager, Stanford Neurodiversity Project

Christy Matta, M.A. is a mental health practitioner specializing in Dialectical Behavior Therapy and work with emotional dysregulation and throughout her career she has worked with neurodiverse individuals. Prior to joining the Stanford Neurodiversity Project as Program Manager, she worked in non-profits and local government and in 2004, she co-designed and provided clinical supervision to a winner of the American Psychiatric Associations (APA) Gold Award. Christy is the author of “The Stress Response.”

Janet Miller, PhD, JD

Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine

Dr. Janet Miller is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Stanford Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. As a clinical psychologist in the Adult Neurodevelopment Clinic, she specializes in providing psychotherapy to neurodiverse adults and their families. She also has extensive experience conducting autism assessments and training clinicians and researchers on autism diagnostic instruments.

Thuc-Quyen Nguyen, MD

Clinical Instructor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine

Thuc-Quyen (Quyen) Nguyen is a Bay Area native and practicing child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist. She is a Clinical Instructor in the Stanford Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences who specializes in seeing neurodiverse patients in the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic as well as the Adult Neurodevelopment Clinic. She completed her psychiatry training in Boston and at Stanford. In her free time, Quyen enjoys reading, backpacking and practicing mindfulness through slacklining.

Marcelle Ciampi

Senior Recruiter and Outreach Specialist, Ultranauts

Marcelle Ciampi (aka Samantha Craft), a respected autistic author and community advocate, is best known for her writings found in the well-received blog and book Everyday Aspergers. A professional educator, she has been featured in various literature, including peer-reviewed journals, Autism Parenting Magazine, The Mighty, Project Aspie, Art of Autism, and Different Brains. Marcelle works as the Senior Recruiter and Outreach Specialist at Ultranauts, an engineering firm with a neurodiversity-hiring initiative, and is a consultant for Uptimize and Spectrum Fusion. A contributing author of Spectrum Women: Walking to the Beat of Autism, Marcelle speaks globally on the topic of neurodiversity. She also serves as the founder of Spectrum Suite LLC, the co-founder of the Spectrum Lights Inclusion Summit, co-executive of NeuroGuides, and a contributor to autism organizations internationally. Some of her works, especially The Ten Traits, have been translated into multiple languages and been shared in counseling offices around the world. She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her sons and life partner.

David Hall

CEO, Neuroguides

David is a Corporate neurodiversity consultant, keynote speaker, autist, anti-racist, relationship purist, cultural bridge builder, published writer, Dad to three autistic persons and founder, CEO of the 501 (c) (3) organization, Life Guides for Autistics | Neuroguides.

Passionately focused on guiding neurodivergent persons to discover their strengths, gifts and enjoy meaningful lives. A relentless optimist, an encourager who is out to build up individuals, to better communities one great relationship at a time.

Recent and upcoming appearances include: Different Brains podcast interviews, EACE Neurodiversity Conference, Washington State Employment Law & HR Conference, Spectrum Lights Inclusion Summit, Southwest Washington Autism Conference, Bellingham SHRM Luncheon, Metro Library Autism Advocacy Series, Microsoft accessibility lab, Seattle Aspiring Youth/Delphi Programs/Ryther, Stanford University Neurodiversity Summit speaker, ERE Recruiting Conference, Elijah Winfrey Show, BNY Mellon, General Assembly (NYC), corporate leadership trainings with Fortune 500 companies and government agencies in neurodiversity hiring and inclusivity and more.

David lives in Olympia, Washington with his personal and professional partner, Marcie, where they enjoy birding, books, writing and family.

Bill Lyman, JD

Director, Research and Development, Kinesso

Bill Lyman was diagnosed as on the autism spectrum well into his 30s after spending time as a corporate lawyer, guitar player and composer, quantitative finance specialist, business school administrator, tech entrepreneur and musical instrument builder.  He now leads the technology R&D function inside the IPG group of companies, where he designs and develops algorithmic and AI-based solutions to complex problems in media consumption.  Stemming from this work and his own neurodiversity experience, he has increasingly turned his attention to researching quantitative models of the connections among incentives, information complexity, heuristics and behaviors in information processing agents, whether human, engineered or environmental, and to sculpture that explores the boundaries of our heuristic understanding of biologically dictated shapes and patterns.  His book “Arbitrary Intelligence and the Self-Creating Human” is anticipated in spring 2021.

Tom Moloney

Resale and Digital Marketing Manager, Blue Star Recyclers

As the first senior leadership level employee at Blue Star Recyclers with a diagnosed disability Tom represents the autistic workforce and manages the refurbishing of computers, the resale of tested components, and the social media presence for Blue Star Recyclers in order to advance the circular economy, bridge the digital divide, and provide employment to people, like himself, on the autism spectrum or with other disAbilities. 

Ron Sandison

Founder, Spectrum Inclusion

Ron Sandison works full time in the medical field and is a professor of theology at Destiny School of Ministry. He is an advisory board member of Autism Society Faith Initiative of Autism Society of American, Els’ Excellence Center and the Art of Autism. Sandison has a Master of Divinity from Oral Roberts University and is the author of A Parent’s Guide to Autism: Practical Advice. Biblical Wisdom published by Charisma House and Thought, Choice, Action. He is the founder of Spectrum Inclusion which empowers young adults with autism for employment and independence. Sandison speaks at over 70 events a year including 20 plus education conferences. Ron and his wife, Kristen, reside in Rochester Hills, MI, with their daughter, Makayla. His website is http://www.spectruminclusion.com You can contact him at sandison456@hotmail.com.

Link to Ron’s website: https://www.spectruminclusion.com Link to Ron’s Facebook fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/SpectrumRonSandison

Jan Johnston-Tyler.         Videorecording        

Founder and CEO, EvoLibri

Jan Johnston-Tyler is the founder and CEO of EvoLibri Consulting in Santa Clara, California. A multidisciplinary agency working exclusively with neurodivergent clients for the last 13 years, EvoLibri is a Department of Rehabilitation vendor who has worked with SAP, VMWare, Microsoft, Salesforce, Berkeley Bowl, IPG Mediabrands, and LinkedIn in both client support and neurodiversity training and hiring roles. Jan’s expansive vision of full inclusion in the workplace came from her previous professional experience as a high-tech program manager and raising two neurodivergent children – blending 20 years of business knowledge with pragmatic and compassionate understanding of her clients and their needs in the workplace.

Brandon Anderson

Operations Director, Journeyman WDP at California Workforce Association

Brandon Anderson manages CWA’s ETP Multiple Employer Contract program and works closely with State and Education partners on CWA’s WIOA Discretionary Fund and other partnership activities. Brandon comes to CWA from the Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (SETA). At SETA, Brandon served as a lead Workforce Development Professional on site-specific and agency-wide efforts and initiatives, such as the Disability Employment Initiative (DEI). At CWA Brandon led a unique, 34-session, statewide training initiative in partnership with the California Department of Rehabilitation to provide Local Workforce Development Boards with capacity building training relative to implementing Section 188 of WIOA which establishes guidelines within the public workforce system to promote physical and programmatic access to Title I services.

Under the Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative, and in partnership with California Workforce Development Board, Meristem, and the SETA, CWA provided key support in the development and implementation of the Meristem Transformative Autism Program (TAP). TAP is a free and virtually available training for employers dispelling myths of hiring and retaining Individuals with Autism developed from the points of view of young adults and their experiences in the workplace.

Brandon completed the Workforce Development Apprenticeship Program and is a certified Journeyman Workforce Development Professional. Brandon can be contacted at banderson@calworkforce.org.

Jerry Dattilo

Co-Director of Jobs Plus Employment and Vocational Services, Caminar

Jerry Dattilo has been working with Caminar Jobs Plus for over 22 years. As Co-Director of the Jobs Plus Program, he oversees all job coaching, job development, assessments, and fee-for-service programs in San Mateo County.  Prior to joining Caminar, Jerry worked as a fundraising director and sales representative for various companies. Jerry has a Bachelor of Science from Chico State University and a Master of Public Administration from San Jose State University.

Steffany Dignum

Employment Services Manager, The Pomeroy Center

Steffany Dignum (she/her) is the Employment Services Manager for The Pomeroy Center in San Francisco. Before moving to California, Ms. Dignum earned her Masters of Non-Profit Management from Regis University in Denver, Colorado. During her time in graduate school she supervised a day camp for children with IDD and worked as a community based service provider. She has over 6 years of experience with inclusion programming development, implementation and management. In the summer of 2016 she created WORK Ready, the Pomeroy Center’s on site vocational services program. Since its creation, WORK Ready has successfully increased participation in all facets of employment for clients that historically were not able to access or did not receive such services.

Lawrence Fung, MD, PhD

Director, Stanford Neurodiversity Project

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

Dr. Lawrence Fung is a scientist and psychiatrist specialized in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and the father of a neurodiverse teenager with ASD. He is the director of the Stanford Neurodiversity Project, which strives to uncover the strengths of neurodiverse individuals and utilize their talents to increase innovation and productivity of the society as a whole. He directs the Neurodiverse Student Support Program, Neurodiversity at Work Program (recently funded by Autism Speaks), and Adult Neurodevelopment Clinic at Stanford. Dr. Fung is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. His lab advances the understanding of neural bases of human socio-communicative and cognitive functions by using novel neuroimaging and technologies. His team devise and implement novel interventions to improve the lives of neurodiverse individuals by maximizing their potential and productivity. For example, he is conducting a study to demonstrate that specialized employment programs such as Neurodiversity at Work program will result in higher retention rates and quality of life.

Cathy Schwallie Farmer and Maureen Dunne, PhD

Autism Angel Startup Investor/Advisor, Board Member & Advocate

Cathy Schwallie Farmer is the co-founder and a partner of the newly formed Autism Angels Group. We are an angel investor group that invests in autism technology solutions, additionally we advocate for employment for ASD workers and support ASD entrepreneurs.  Cathy has been involved in Autism since the late 1960’when one of my four brothers were diagnosed with Autism (another brother diagnosed with Asperger’s in the 1980’s).  Cathy is a long time Venture Advisor at University of California, Berkeley, SkyDeck and LAUNCH accelerators. She is an Industry Mentor at National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (NSF i-Corps). Cathy sits on several boards including the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) and the Autism Center of Northern California. She is also an Autism Consumer Research Reviewer for the DOD CDMRP (US congressional directive medical research program).

Dr. Maureen Dunne has lectured on neurodiversity, entrepreneurship and innovation at the local, national, and international level. A former National Science Foundation Fellow, Kauffman Entrepreneurship Fellow and Women 2.0 "Founder to Watch," Maureen has deep industry and clinical expertise with a particular passion for healthcare and education technology companies that embrace inclusive and neurodiverse teams. Dr. Dunne spearheaded the Autism and Innovation Initiative with funding from the Discovery Partners Institute (a public/private partnership with an initial $1B in seed funding) and private donors with the mission "to strengthen the technology and innovation talent pipeline by including people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and taking a strength-based approach to training, entrepreneurship and workforce development." A lifelong autism advocate, Dr Dunne has been a foster parent to children with autism (including a nonverbal boy she taught to communicate), has set up the Dr. Maureen N. Dunne Autism Student Success Scholarship at select colleges and founded The Transition 2 Success Project, which provides $5,000 in customizable supports to promote the success of high school seniors with autism spectrum disorders in transitioning to college and/or apprenticeship work opportunities. She serves on multiple nonprofit and corporate boards and recently co-founded (with Cathy Farmer) the Autism Angels Group (https://www.autismangelsgroup.com/) to bring together capital and talent to aggressively drive economic opportunities and technology-driven solutions that create a positive social impact for the autism community.

Michael A. Freeman MD

Founder of Econa

Michael A. Freeman, MD is a psychiatrist, a fourth-generation serial entrepreneur, an executive coach, an entrepreneurship researcher and a behavioral health systems architect. Dr. Freeman serves as the Founder of Econa, the entrepreneur wellness and mental health accelerator, where he and his colleagues develop and implement scalable wellness, effectiveness and mental health solutions for entrepreneurs. Dr. Freeman is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, and a Mentor in the Entrepreneurship Center at UCSF. He received his MD from UCSF School of Medicine after completing related advanced training programs at U.C. Berkeley and the Sorbonne. With support from the Kauffman Foundation, Dr. Freeman studies issues related to entrepreneur mental health in collaboration with colleagues from U.C. Berkeley, the Gallup Organization, and other universities. His psychiatric and executive coaching practice is focused on entrepreneurs. As an entrepreneur, Dr. Freeman has held founder, co-founder and C-level positions with several for-profit and non-profit behavioral healthcare organizations. He was the founding Chief Medical Officer at U.S. Behavioral Health, now United Behavioral Health, the United Health Care managed behavioral health plan. He is politically active in initiatives to expand access to and insurance coverage for mental health and addiction treatment services.

Mark Gavartin    

Stanford Neurodiversity Project

Mark Gavartin is a Program Manager for the Stanford Neurodiversity Project. He focuses on the Neurodiversity at Work Program. He holds a degree in Psychology from University of California, Santa Cruz and has worked in Employment Services for 10 years. Most recently, he was a Program Manager at Hope Services where he managed multiple programs to help Neurodiverse individuals find meaningful employment. Outside of work, he loves spending time with his family, cooking, and scuba diving.

Mark will answer questions about the Stanford Neurodiverse Candidate Registry and Stanford Neurodiversity Job Bank.

Andrew Komarow, Planning Across the Spectrum

Discussion topic: "How employers can scale up their neurodiversity hiring through employee wellness programs."

Andrew Komarow, the founder of Planning Across the Spectrum Andrew specializes in specialize in helping any individual, family or employer of those with autism and other disabilities pursue financial independence. Striving to enhance the quality of their lives, and their future. Andrew provides a unique perspective for those with unique needs, their caregivers, and their families because he has “walked in their shoes,” having received his autism diagnosis late in life.

To learn more about Andrew Komarow, visit planningacrossthespectrum.com/our-team. He can be reached at andrew@planningacrossthespectrum.com.

Tom Moloney

Resale and Digital Marketing Manager, Blue Star Recyclers

As the first senior leadership level employee at Blue Star Recyclers with a diagnosed disability Tom represents the autistic workforce and manages the refurbishing of computers, the resale of tested components, and the social media presence for Blue Star Recyclers in order to advance the circular economy, bridge the digital divide, and provide employment to people, like himself, on the autism spectrum or with other disAbilities. 

Nish Parikh

CEO and Co-founder, Rangam

CEO and Co-founder of Rangam, Nish Parikh is a collaborator, innovator and technology architect who develops holistic workforce solutions for Rangam and its customers by aligning their disability and neurodiversity inclusion strategies with current and future talent acquisition needs. Nish is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and an Instrumentation and Control Engineer by profession. Over the past 15 years, he has built a culture of empathy and innovation while undertaking key people initiatives both within Rangam and outside. Over the past 25 years, he has been designing technologies for enterprise-wide business applications, special needs learning management, applicant tracking for talent acquisition and so on. Presently, he is working on HR-tech—which is powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning—to facilitate large-scale hiring of untapped talent in corporations. Driven by the philosophy of Employment for Everyone, Nish creates rewarding and sustainable career opportunities for individuals with autism, disabilities and military veterans. He serves on the external executive board of the Undergraduate Research and Innovation (URI) programs at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and is a member of the Forbes Human Resources Council.

Work & Recognition. Winner of Accenture’s Protégé of the Year Award, NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes Award and Verizon’s Powerful Answers Award, Nish has built a robust framework for holistic talent management. The technology that he has in place at Rangam is capable of processing a large volume of jobs every day and submitting hundreds of matching resumes to Rangam’s Fortune 500 clients. Rangam’s ABA-based autism intervention and job skills training apps are installed on over half-a-million devices globally.

Nish is a strong believer in cross-industry collaboration. He continues to partner with forward-thinking businesses, workforce game changers and thought leaders, disability support agencies, disability inclusion advocates, transition coaches and non-profit foundations to do well while doing good. He has donated a 20-acre land in Princeton, NJ to build an employment research park that will create community jobs for differently-abled individuals in the region.

Personal. Nish lives with his wife and two children in Princeton, New Jersey. He is an animal lover and also enjoys singing as well as driving well-engineered cars.

Contact: 270 Davidson Avenue, Suite 103, Somerset, NJ 08873 Phone: (908) 704-8843 x102 | Email: nish@rangam.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishparikh1/

Wes Strickland

General Securities Principal, E*TRADE

Wes Strickland, M.A. (he/him/his) holds a master’s in psychology, a bachelor’s in philosophy, and is licensed as a general securities principal. Wes specializes in regulatory compliance, leading E*TRADE’s policy management team in brokerage compliance. He leverages his gifts in “systems thinking” as the subject matter expert for certain new regulations, implementing multiple large-scale regulatory change initiatives across the enterprise. Wes is a strong advocate for neurodiversity in the workforce and human rights. Wes started his service to the community as a Page for Representative Harry Goode at the Florida House of Representatives before he could drive. In college, he served as a Guardian ad Litem for the 18th Judicial Circuit of Florida, achieving the prestigious Presidential Volunteer Service Award, for providing competency training to the Florida Department of Children and Families for LGBTQ+ youth in foster care, while serving as their Court appointed advocate. Wes also worked with the American Psychological Association’s Division 44 to help overturn the adoption ban for all families in 2010. Additionally, Wes led the inaugural Space Coast Pride Festival as a board member of The Living Room in Brevard County, Florida. In New York, Wes co-launched E*TRADE’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group, helping to lead the firm to gain the honor of the Human Rights Campaign’s Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality in their inaugural year. The same year E*TRADE was also nominated for Investment News 2019 Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion Awards. Wes also serves as his firms’ member representative for Open Finance NYC, where he sits on the Community Service and Best Practices Committees. A scholar at heart, Wes enjoys travel, researching, cooking, sailing and video games.

Neil Barnett

Director of Inclusive Hiring for People with Disabilities, Microsoft

Since the announcement at World Autism Day in 2015, Neil Barnett has been responsible for the program evolution of the Microsoft Autism Hiring Program. He leads the inclusive hiring strategy for people with disabilities across Microsoft. Neil is also responsible for the strategy and operational performance of Microsoft’s consumer and enterprise Disability Answer Desk that provides specialist customer support to people with disabilities. Neil was recognized as one of Fastcompany’s 2017 Most Creative People in Business. Prior to joining Microsoft, Neil worked at a start up in San Francisco.  He is a graduate from Georgia Tech.

Michael Fieldhouse

Director, Emerging Business and Cyber Security, DXC Technology

Dandelion Program Executive

As leader of DXC’s Social Impact Practice, Michael works with clients and the community to develop and run programs that benefit individuals and society. Focus areas include neurodiversity, veterans, disability, indigenous employment and climate change.

Michael has over 20 years' experience in strategy, change management and cyber security in the ICT industry and has worked extensively with private organisations and the Australian government.

In 2014, Michael identified that many people with autism have an eye for detecting patterns, making them uniquely qualified to make contributions to technology teams. In partnership with the Department of Human Services in Adelaide, Michael initiated the DXC Dandelion Program to provide skilled employment for people living with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Through Michael’s leadership, the Program has since expanded to other government departments and private organisations, and today employs over 100 people on the autism spectrum.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Technology, a Master of Business Administration and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He has been appointed by La Trobe University as Adjunct Professor in cyber security, and an advisor to Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal.

Anthony Pacilio

Vice President, Autism at Work, JPMorgan Chase

Anthony Pacilio is a Vice President and Global Head of Autism at Work for JPMorgan Chase. In this role, he manages recruiting efforts, as well as developing candidate pipelines and ensuring best practices for ongoing support. Anthony has been with JPMC 8 years, serving in a variety of technology roles in Consumer and Community Banking.  Prior to joining JPMC, he held various positions in the finance and healthcare industry.  Anthony’s previous companies include MBNA America, Bank of America and CIGNA.

Hiren Shukla

Automation & Innovation/Neuro-diverse CoE Leader, Enst & Young

Hiren’s experience spans more than 20 years across the fields of accounting, strategy, automation, innovation and information technology. He currently leads the internal automation and innovation at Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) and is the founder of Neuro-Diverse Centers of Excellence at EY US. Hiren helps unlock human potential to drive innovation across emerging technology, blockchain, AI, cybersecurity and analytics. 

Hiren has helped to lead the EY Global intelligent automation hub, Automation Central, which has built more than 2,000 digital assets for the global organization, helping drive innovation across emerging technology and building the foundation for harnessing data for machine learning and predictive analytics. 

Hiren is the strategic link at EY US, responsible for converting the neurodiversity inclusiveness effort into commercial application for exceptional client service and tangible ROI. His efforts allow EY US to bring this innovation model to its largest clients, and to rapidly open additional Neuro-Diverse Centers of Excellence across their global footprint.   

Samples of notable media coverage of Hiren are as follows (a full list is available on request):

• Bloomberg “Walk the Talk”: How EY Is Tapping Into Autistic Talent (4/27/18)
• Business Insider: An EY exec successfully pitched a new hiring initiative to his boss — and you can use the same strategy to convince your manager of anything (7/8/19)
• Chicago Tribune: “We don’t care about the eye contact.” Autistic people thrive in Chicago tech jobs after years of underemployment (6/11/19)
• WSJ Pro: People With Autism Are Hot Hires for AI Jobs (8/1/19)

Jose Velasco

Vice President, Product Management, SAP

Jose H. Velasco is a Chief Program Manager in the Product Engineering Board area at SAP and Autism at Work Ambassador. Jose’s 30-year Information Technology career spans private and public sectors and companies ranging from startups to Fortune 50 enterprises. During his tenure of 22 years at SAP, Jose has occupied positions in product management, consulting, development, strategy, go-to-market and diversity functions.

Jose participated as a panelist at the United Nations World Autism Awareness Day, testified before U.S. Congress on the “Global Challenge of Autism” and collaborated on the topic of Corporate Social Innovation at the World Economic Forum. Through his work at SAP Autism at Work, Mr. Velasco and his team have been featured in more than 1,000 global, national and local publications including the Wall Street Journal, CBS This Morning, NBC, Fox, Inc. Magazine and Forbes among others.

In 2016, Jose launched the Autism at Work Summit, a conference series designed to foster collaboration between private and public sectors, academia, government, schools, philanthropists, civil societies and the autism community with the ultimate purpose of improving opportunities for individuals with autism in the labor market.

Jose is a board member of The Arc, the largest national community-based organization in the United States advocating for and serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. He holds a master’s degree in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas at Austin and B.S. in Computer Science from Tecnologico de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico.

Jay Dunlap

Head of School and Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Renaissance Learner Academy

Chief Educational Officer, Learning Farm Educational Resources

Jay M Dunlap has dedicated over 25 years to educating neurologically and culturally diverse students. His experience is rooted a wide range of educational settings including public, private, rural and urban schools. Over the last 15 years as Principal and Head of School, he has mentored several teachers and administrators, while continuing to teach students in the classroom. In 2010, he founded Learning Farm Educational Consultants (www.learningfarmED.org) which evolved into an educational non-profit that provides resources to neurologically diverse students, their families, their teachers, and their schools. Today, Mr. Dunlap is concurrently Head of School and Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Renaissance Learner Academy.

Louise Kindell, PsyD

Dr. Kindell is a California and Oregon state licensed Doctor of Psychology. She received her doctorate from Argosy University, and completed her training at EMQ, UCSF Psychosocial Medicine Outpatient Clinic, and the Kaiser Santa Teresa ASD Clinic. Dr. Kindell specializes in working with neurodiverse individuals and their families operating from a collaborative strength-based integrative perspective. Dr. Kindell also helped build Camp Altitude, an overnight camp for kids and teens on the Autism Spectrum. She has been involved in her Local Advocacy Network through MBPA to inform legislators about policy pertaining to the field of psychology, and currently serves on the California Psychological Association Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. 

Scott Fitzwater, MA, LPC

Assistant Admissions Director, Mansfield Hall

Scott is a clinician, with nearly 25 years working with a variety of youth populations and their families.  During the past decade, he has made the education and self-exploration of one’s inner capability, specifically Executive Function and “functional innate gifts”, a primary focus with neurodiverse youth and their families. As the Assistant Director of Admissions with Mansfield Hall, he persists with his pursuit of educating, advocating, and supporting young adults, their families, and their ancillary supports.

Lisa Medoff, PhD

Learning Specialist, Stanford University School of Medicine

Lisa Medoff, PhD, is a developmental psychologist who specializes in adolescent mental health and education. She teaches courses on adolescent development, adolescent mental health, and adolescent sexuality in the Program in Human Biology at Stanford University, where she is also the School of Medicine's learning specialist. Lisa also works privately with adolescents who have mental health and/or learning needs, working directly with students and consulting with families and schools to help them provide the optimal home and school environments for their children. She is the author of Resilience in the Classroom, and a consultant to Bridge to Learning, a project of Stanford Medicine’s Early Life Stress and Resilience Program.

http://med.stanford.edu/elspap/bridgetolearning.html

http://med.stanford.edu/md/academic-support/learning-strategies.html

Isabelle Morris

Program Coordinator, Stanford Neurodiversity Project

Isabelle graduated with honors from Stanford in 2019 with her bachelor’s in psychology. She  now works for the Stanford Neurodiversity Project as the program coordinator for the Neurodiverse Student Support Program. Isabelle is unapologetically Autistic and passionate about using her experiences to help others and change systems for the better. She grew up loathing public speaking, but since receiving her diagnosis at age 19, Isabelle has given numerous talks and guest lectures; as it turns out, she only disliked public speaking because she was required to pretend to be neurotypical. The fact that other people want to hear her talk never ceases to amaze her. When not at work, she can be found coaching rowing, hanging out with a tiny human (toddler), and saying “hi” to dogs.

Hari Srinivasan

Undergraduate Student, UC Berkeley

Hari Srinivasan is a non-speaking autistic at UC Berkeley majoring in psychology and minoring in Disability Studies, one of the only 2 nonspeakers at UC Berkeley. 

This will be his fourth semester teaching a course on autism; yes even nonspeakers can teach when accommodations are made. This fall he will be the first non-speaking autistic President of the student body Spectrum: Autism at Ca which does community outreach and autism awareness.

Hari also writes for the Daily Californian and his 5657 word article on the Neurodiversity of Autism at Cal is the longest article published by the Daily Cal. He writes about both disability and non-disability issues. Another interview he is very proud of was with the disability civil rights legend Judy Heumann.

He is RA at The Golden Bear Mood and Sleep Research Clinic & hopes to join the Berkeley Social Interaction Lab in fall. In the past he has been an RA at Hinshaw Lab (ADHD/Mental

Cathy Schwallie Farmer and Maureen Dunne, PhD

Autism Angel Startup Investor/Advisor, Board Member & Advocate

Cathy Schwallie Farmer is the co-founder and a partner of the newly formed Autism Angels Group. We are an angel investor group that invests in autism technology solutions, additionally we advocate for employment for ASD workers and support ASD entrepreneurs.  Cathy has been involved in Autism since the late 1960’when one of my four brothers were diagnosed with Autism (another brother diagnosed with Asperger’s in the 1980’s).  Cathy is a long time Venture Advisor at University of California, Berkeley, SkyDeck and LAUNCH accelerators. She is an Industry Mentor at National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (NSF i-Corps). Cathy sits on several boards including the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) and the Autism Center of Northern California. She is also an Autism Consumer Research Reviewer for the DOD CDMRP (US congressional directive medical research program).

Dr. Maureen Dunne has lectured on neurodiversity, entrepreneurship and innovation at the local, national, and international level. A former National Science Foundation Fellow, Kauffman Entrepreneurship Fellow and Women 2.0 "Founder to Watch," Maureen has deep industry and clinical expertise with a particular passion for healthcare and education technology companies that embrace inclusive and neurodiverse teams. Dr. Dunne spearheaded the Autism and Innovation Initiative with funding from the Discovery Partners Institute (a public/private partnership with an initial $1B in seed funding) and private donors with the mission "to strengthen the technology and innovation talent pipeline by including people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and taking a strength-based approach to training, entrepreneurship and workforce development." A lifelong autism advocate, Dr Dunne has been a foster parent to children with autism (including a nonverbal boy she taught to communicate), has set up the Dr. Maureen N. Dunne Autism Student Success Scholarship at select colleges and founded The Transition 2 Success Project, which provides $5,000 in customizable supports to promote the success of high school seniors with autism spectrum disorders in transitioning to college and/or apprenticeship work opportunities. She serves on multiple nonprofit and corporate boards and recently co-founded (with Cathy Farmer) the Autism Angels Group (https://www.autismangelsgroup.com/) to bring together capital and talent to aggressively drive economic opportunities and technology-driven solutions that create a positive social impact for the autism community.

Mark Gavartin    

Stanford Neurodiversity Project

Mark Gavartin is a Program Manager for the Stanford Neurodiversity Project. He focuses on the Neurodiversity at Work Program. He holds a degree in Psychology from University of California, Santa Cruz and has worked in Employment Services for 10 years. Most recently, he was a Program Manager at Hope Services where he managed multiple programs to help Neurodiverse individuals find meaningful employment. Outside of work, he loves spending time with his family, cooking, and scuba diving.

Mark will answer questions about the Stanford Neurodiverse Candidate Registry and Stanford Neurodiversity Job Bank.

Andrew Komarow, Planning Across the Spectrum

Discussion topic: "Your workspace and hiring practices are inclusive, what about your benefits package?"

Andrew Komarow, the founder of Planning Across the Spectrum Andrew specializes in specialize in helping any individual, family or employer of those with autism and other disabilities pursue financial independence. Striving to enhance the quality of their lives, and their future. Andrew provides a unique perspective for those with unique needs, their caregivers, and their families because he has “walked in their shoes,” having received his autism diagnosis late in life.

To learn more about Andrew Komarow, visit planningacrossthespectrum.com/our-team. He can be reached at andrew@planningacrossthespectrum.com.

Nish Parikh

CEO and Co-founder, Rangam

CEO and Co-founder of Rangam, Nish Parikh is a collaborator, innovator and technology architect who develops holistic workforce solutions for Rangam and its customers by aligning their disability and neurodiversity inclusion strategies with current and future talent acquisition needs. Nish is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and an Instrumentation and Control Engineer by profession. Over the past 15 years, he has built a culture of empathy and innovation while undertaking key people initiatives both within Rangam and outside. Over the past 25 years, he has been designing technologies for enterprise-wide business applications, special needs learning management, applicant tracking for talent acquisition and so on. Presently, he is working on HR-tech—which is powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning—to facilitate large-scale hiring of untapped talent in corporations. Driven by the philosophy of Employment for Everyone, Nish creates rewarding and sustainable career opportunities for individuals with autism, disabilities and military veterans. He serves on the external executive board of the Undergraduate Research and Innovation (URI) programs at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and is a member of the Forbes Human Resources Council.

Work & Recognition. Winner of Accenture’s Protégé of the Year Award, NJBIZ Healthcare Heroes Award and Verizon’s Powerful Answers Award, Nish has built a robust framework for holistic talent management. The technology that he has in place at Rangam is capable of processing a large volume of jobs every day and submitting hundreds of matching resumes to Rangam’s Fortune 500 clients. Rangam’s ABA-based autism intervention and job skills training apps are installed on over half-a-million devices globally.

Nish is a strong believer in cross-industry collaboration. He continues to partner with forward-thinking businesses, workforce game changers and thought leaders, disability support agencies, disability inclusion advocates, transition coaches and non-profit foundations to do well while doing good. He has donated a 20-acre land in Princeton, NJ to build an employment research park that will create community jobs for differently-abled individuals in the region.

Personal. Nish lives with his wife and two children in Princeton, New Jersey. He is an animal lover and also enjoys singing as well as driving well-engineered cars.

Contact: 270 Davidson Avenue, Suite 103, Somerset, NJ 08873 Phone: (908) 704-8843 x102 | Email: nish@rangam.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nishparikh1/

Hiren Shukla

Automation & Innovation/Neuro-diverse CoE Leader, Enst & Young

Hiren’s experience spans more than 20 years across the fields of accounting, strategy, automation, innovation and information technology. He currently leads the internal automation and innovation at Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) and is the founder of Neuro-Diverse Centers of Excellence at EY US. Hiren helps unlock human potential to drive innovation across emerging technology, blockchain, AI, cybersecurity and analytics. 

Hiren has helped to lead the EY Global intelligent automation hub, Automation Central, which has built more than 2,000 digital assets for the global organization, helping drive innovation across emerging technology and building the foundation for harnessing data for machine learning and predictive analytics. 

Hiren is the strategic link at EY US, responsible for converting the neurodiversity inclusiveness effort into commercial application for exceptional client service and tangible ROI. His efforts allow EY US to bring this innovation model to its largest clients, and to rapidly open additional Neuro-Diverse Centers of Excellence across their global footprint.   

Samples of notable media coverage of Hiren are as follows (a full list is available on request):

• Bloomberg “Walk the Talk”: How EY Is Tapping Into Autistic Talent (4/27/18)
• Business Insider: An EY exec successfully pitched a new hiring initiative to his boss — and you can use the same strategy to convince your manager of anything (7/8/19)
• Chicago Tribune: “We don’t care about the eye contact.” Autistic people thrive in Chicago tech jobs after years of underemployment (6/11/19)
• WSJ Pro: People With Autism Are Hot Hires for AI Jobs (8/1/19)

Kristen Bates

Employment Specialist, Golden Gate Regional Center

Kristen Bates  joined Golden Gate Regional Center in June of 2020 as the Employment Specialist. Prior to working with the Regional Center, I worked as the Work Based Learning Supervisor/ Business Community Liaison for a Federally funded vocational training program for low income youth.

Mike Bernick

Duane Morris LLP

Mr. Bernick is an attorney with the international law firm of Duane Morris LLP, Adjunct Professor at Stanford, and involved in employment initiatives throughout California, testing employment strategies for neurodiverse adults. He has written extensively over the past decade on neurodiversity and employment, including The Autism Job Club (2018). He has a new volume, The Autism Full Employment Act, scheduled for early 2021. Mr. Bernick is a graduate of Harvard College, Oxford University (Balliol College), and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.

Steffany Dignum

Employment Services Manager, The Pomeroy Center

Steffany Dignum (she/her) is the Employment Services Manager for The Pomeroy Center in San Francisco. Before moving to California, Ms. Dignum earned her Masters of Non-Profit Management from Regis University in Denver, Colorado. During her time in graduate school she supervised a day camp for children with IDD and worked as a community based service provider. She has over 6 years of experience with inclusion programming development, implementation and management. In the summer of 2016 she created WORK Ready, the Pomeroy Center’s on site vocational services program. Since its creation, WORK Ready has successfully increased participation in all facets of employment for clients that historically were not able to access or did not receive such services.

Sean Galvin

Employment Specialist, Golden Gate Regional Center

sean Galvin joined Golden Gate Regional Center in June of 2017 as the Employment Specialist.  He is currently the manager of the Community Services Unit overseeing resource development, quality assurance and the employment specialist.  Prior to working with the Regional Center he worked with a service provider for 18 years starting as a job coach.  He has supervised, managed and developed various employment and community based day programs.

Chris Lindholm

Chris Lindholm is a branding and market research professional who specializes in brand research. She has over 30 years of experience conducting research designed to deliver insights to her many and varied clients. Chris has been applying her professional skills in the recent past in various ASD advocacy roles, including advocating for her 24-year-old son, a recent graduate of UC Davis. She moderates two support groups for parents of ASD young adults. In her down time, she enjoys rollerblading, yoga and hanging with her puppies.

Rita Obeid, PhD

Case Western Reserve University

Dr. Obeid received her PhD in Psychology from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY). Prior to joining Case Western Reserve University, Dr. Obeid was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Lehman College, CUNY. She has taught multiple courses ranging from Child Development to Experimental Psychology. Dr. Obeid’s research has examined predictors influencing language difficulties in school aged children. She is also interested in research examining factors that predict stigma towards people with disabilities, both in the United States and across cultures. Dr. Obeid is passionate about teaching and working with students. She incorporates methods of student-centered teaching in all of her courses.

Stephanie Keeney Parks

Doctoral Student, UCLA

Stephanie is a doctoral student at the University of California, Los Angeles in the Department of Anthropology where she studies medical/psychological and linguistic anthropology. She also possesses a master’s degree in medical anthropology from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Stephanie’s research centers on the everyday lives of Black parents who have children with autism. She is also interested in the process of diagnosing a Black child with autism as well as the healthcare disparities that these families face. Stephanie is interested in centering the Black parent’s narrative and experience as the expert to decenter white ideologies on health, healthcare, disability, and Black culture. Her research stems from her experiences as a Black woman, wife, and mother of two children. Stephanie’s oldest child is diagnosed with autism. 

Sarah Vinson, MD

Associate Clinical Professor, Morehouse School of Medicine

Dr. Sarah Vinson is a triple board certified physician who specializes in adult, child and adolescent, and forensic psychiatry. She is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at Morehouse School of Medicine, where she is the creator and rotation director of Psychiatry Mini-Rotation for pediatric interns. She is the co-editor of two texts, Social (In)Justice and Mental Health and Pediatric Mental Health for Primary Care Providers and has written book chapters on the social determinants of children’s mental health, child trauma, social media and children’s mental health, and fostering resilience. During her tenure on the board of the Georgia Council on Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, she strengthened connections with the local pediatric community. She has planned CME events and spoken at multiple conferences with pediatric audiences. Additionally, she has experience being co-located with and providing integrated care services and consultation to pediatric providers.

Dr. Vinson is the founder of the Lorio Psych Group, an Atlanta, Georgia, based mental health practice providing expert care and consultation. Dr. Vinson graduated Summa Cum Laude from Florida A&M University. After graduating from medical school at the University of Florida with Research Honors and as an Inductee in the Chapman Humanism Honors Society, she completed her general psychiatry training at Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School. While there, she also received specialized training in trauma through the Victims of Violence Program. She then returned to the South to complete fellowships in both child & adolescent and forensic psychiatry at Emory University School of Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Vinson was appointed by the Georgia governor to the 24 member Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission and is the Child Subcommittee chair.

Lawrence Fung, MD, PhD

Director, Stanford Neurodiversity Project

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

Dr. Lawrence Fung is a scientist and psychiatrist specialized in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and the father of a neurodiverse teenager with ASD. He is the director of the Stanford Neurodiversity Project, which strives to uncover the strengths of neurodiverse individuals and utilize their talents to increase innovation and productivity of the society as a whole. He directs the Neurodiverse Student Support Program, Neurodiversity at Work Program (recently funded by Autism Speaks), and Adult Neurodevelopment Clinic at Stanford. Dr. Fung is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. His lab advances the understanding of neural bases of human socio-communicative and cognitive functions by using novel neuroimaging and technologies. His team devise and implement novel interventions to improve the lives of neurodiverse individuals by maximizing their potential and productivity. For example, he is conducting a study to demonstrate that specialized employment programs such as Neurodiversity at Work program will result in higher retention rates and quality of life.

Janie Hong, PhD

Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine

Dr. Hong is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and psychologist in the Adult Neurodevelopment Clinic. She is invested in developing evidence-based ways to individualize care and address diversity factors in therapy. She has published and presented widely on these and other topics in psychology.

In clinical practice, she specializes in providing cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and other evidence based treatments. She is also committed to helping neurodiverse and culturally diverse individuals work with their differences, navigate prevailing social norms, and advocate for their needs as diverse individuals.

Greg Yates

AASCEND Co-Chair

Gregory Yates is co-founder and co-chair of the San-Francisco-based non-profit AASCEND.org, the Autism Asperger Spectrum Coalition for Education, Networking and Development, one of America's oldest non-profits devoted specifically to the needs of adults on the autism spectrum. In childhood Greg was a head-banging, toe-walking, sensory-overloaded and socially inept "little professor". Preceded by three generations of Stanford professors in his family, Greg studied brain science at UC Berkeley and then briefly in a PhD program at MIT, where autism caught up with him. With this background Greg realized that he was on the autism spectrum. He helped found AASCEND in 1999, and has contributed to a variety of other autism organizations and projects since that time, including founding the Autsit(.net) meditation retreat for autistic adults. Greg continues independent work in brain science and is a student of non-dogmatic spiritual practice with decades of experience in basic meditative practice, belief-optional prayer, and suicide prevention. He maintains an interest in the emotional challenges faced by intellectually gifted autistic adults. Greg works happily as a part-time handyman in the San Francisco area and lives with his partner Anlor Davin, author of the autism memoir Being Seen.

Patrick Felong

Salesforce

Born with a mouse in his hand and pixels in his pupils, Patrick was raised by feral internet forum-goers and ragged science fiction novels.

He has been a: dishwasher, media technician, competitive video gaming champion, graphic artist, game developer, UX designer, project manager, & principal engineer.

He studied interaction design at UCSD, business at Wharton, and Machine Learning at Stanford- all online.

Despite struggling with Autism Spectrum Disorder, he has overcome early life trauma, bipolar depression, ADHD, and PTSD to attain peak physical and mental health, sustained emotional wellbeing, and confidence about the future.

Last year, a journey for personal growth led him through transformative experiences in the EvoLibri, Neurodiversity Pathways, & Specialisterne programs for autists - culminating in his joining Salesforce as a software engineer.

At home he’s focused on leveraging Machine Learning to forecast financial markets and generally predict the future. He enjoys SoulCycle, studying artificial intelligence, Transcendental Meditation, and listening to in-depth podcast interviews with world-class role models.

Magnus Hedemark 

UnitedHealth Group

Magnus Hedemark (he/him) is Sr. Director of Health Care Cloud at UnitedHealth Group. He's also quite active in Autism and Neurodiversity advocacy as host of the Neuroverse and Autism-First Language podcasts. He also serves on the advisory board for NCSU's Students Moving Forward program for Autistic students, and also at Ultranauts, a company where 75% of the workforce identifies as Neurodivergent. Magnus is Autistic, and parent to an Autistic teenager.

Andrew Komarow, Planning Across the Spectrum

Discussion topic: "Your workspace and hiring practices are inclusive, what about your benefits package?"

Andrew Komarow, the founder of Planning Across the Spectrum Andrew specializes in specialize in helping any individual, family or employer of those with autism and other disabilities pursue financial independence. Striving to enhance the quality of their lives, and their future. Andrew provides a unique perspective for those with unique needs, their caregivers, and their families because he has “walked in their shoes,” having received his autism diagnosis late in life.

To learn more about Andrew Komarow, visit planningacrossthespectrum.com/our-team. He can be reached at andrew@planningacrossthespectrum.com.

Haley Moss

Haley Moss made international headlines for becoming as the first documented openly autistic attorney admitted to The Florida Bar. She received her Juris Doctor from the University of Miami School of Law in 2018 and graduated from the University of Florida in 2015 with her B.S. in Psychology and B.A. in Criminology. Haley is a speaker, educator, scholar and consultant on neurodiversity at work, the Americans with Disabilities Act, autism and disability-adjacent topics.

Haley is working on her latest book, Great Minds Think Differently: Neurodiversity for Lawyers. She is also the author of Middle School: The Stuff Nobody Tells You About and A Freshman Survival Guide for College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Stuff Nobody Tells You About. Haley’s work on neurodiversity, autism and disability has also been published in The Washington Post, HuffPost, Teen Vogue, Fast Company, and others.

She was appointed to the Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division Board of Governors, the Florida Bar Journal Editorial Board, the Florida Bar Standing Committee on Diversity & Inclusion. Haley also serves on the constituency board for the University of Miami – Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism & Related Disabilities and the Board of Directors for Different Brains.

You can find Haley on haleymoss.net.

Sridhar Sarnobat

Cisco

Sridhar Sarnobat is a 38 year old software engineer currently working for Cisco here in Silicon Valley. Throughout his career has struggled to perform well in any job and has been forced to find a new job almost every 12 months. His workplace challenges arise from autistic traits of being a slow learner, difficulty in multitasking, weak auditory comprehension and retention, and social anxiety. He feels he has much to contribute to organizations but requires double the time a neurotypical employee does to achieve productivity.

Selena Sparks

EY

Selena Sparks is an Account Support Associate for the EY Neurodiversity Center of Excellence in San Jose, CA. Selena was diagnosed with Autism as a child. In 2015, she moved from his home state of Florida to Silicon Valley to finish his bachelor’s degree in computer science and start her career as a computer programmer. For four years, Selena worked in both retail and security while attending school before joining EY in June 2019. Since then, Selena has worked on projects developing automation tools to simplify and speed up the manual work processes at EY. During this time, she has also expanded her knowledge and experience in Python, Visual Basic, Power BI, and Alteryx. When not at work, she likes to practice music, play with animals, and hang out online playing video games with a close group of friends.

Wes Strickland

General Securities Principal, E*TRADE

Wes Strickland, M.A. (he/him/his) holds a master’s in psychology, a bachelor’s in philosophy, and is licensed as a general securities principal. Wes specializes in regulatory compliance, leading E*TRADE’s policy management team in brokerage compliance. He leverages his gifts in “systems thinking” as the subject matter expert for certain new regulations, implementing multiple large-scale regulatory change initiatives across the enterprise. Wes is a strong advocate for neurodiversity in the workforce and human rights. Wes started his service to the community as a Page for Representative Harry Goode at the Florida House of Representatives before he could drive. In college, he served as a Guardian ad Litem for the 18th Judicial Circuit of Florida, achieving the prestigious Presidential Volunteer Service Award, for providing competency training to the Florida Department of Children and Families for LGBTQ+ youth in foster care, while serving as their Court appointed advocate. Wes also worked with the American Psychological Association’s Division 44 to help overturn the adoption ban for all families in 2010. Additionally, Wes led the inaugural Space Coast Pride Festival as a board member of The Living Room in Brevard County, Florida. In New York, Wes co-launched E*TRADE’s LGBTQ+ employee resource group, helping to lead the firm to gain the honor of the Human Rights Campaign’s Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality in their inaugural year. The same year E*TRADE was also nominated for Investment News 2019 Excellence in Diversity & Inclusion Awards. Wes also serves as his firms’ member representative for Open Finance NYC, where he sits on the Community Service and Best Practices Committees. A scholar at heart, Wes enjoys travel, researching, cooking, sailing and video games.

Marcelle Ciampi         Videorecording

Senior Recruiter and Outreach Specialist, Ultranauts

Marcelle Ciampi (aka Samantha Craft), a respected autistic author and community advocate, is best known for her writings found in the well-received blog and book Everyday Aspergers. A professional educator, she has been featured in various literature, including peer-reviewed journals, Autism Parenting Magazine, The Mighty, Project Aspie, Art of Autism, and Different Brains. Marcelle works as the Senior Recruiter and Outreach Specialist at Ultranauts, an engineering firm with a neurodiversity-hiring initiative, and is a consultant for Uptimize and Spectrum Fusion. A contributing author of Spectrum Women: Walking to the Beat of Autism, Marcelle speaks globally on the topic of neurodiversity. She also serves as the founder of Spectrum Suite LLC, the co-founder of the Spectrum Lights Inclusion Summit, co-executive of NeuroGuides, and a contributor to autism organizations internationally. Some of her works, especially The Ten Traits, have been translated into multiple languages and been shared in counseling offices around the world. She resides in the Pacific Northwest with her sons and life partner.

Cathy Schwallie Farmer

Autism Angel Startup Investor/Advisor, Board Member & Advocate

Cathy Schwallie Farmer is the co-founder and a partner of the newly formed Autism Angels Group. We are an angel investor group that invests in autism technology solutions, additionally we advocate for employment for ASD workers and support ASD entrepreneurs.  Cathy has been involved in Autism since the late 1960’when one of my four brothers were diagnosed with Autism (another brother diagnosed with Asperger’s in the 1980’s).  Cathy is a long time Venture Advisor at University of California, Berkeley, SkyDeck and LAUNCH accelerators. She is an Industry Mentor at National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (NSF i-Corps). Cathy sits on several boards including the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) and the Autism Center of Northern California. She is also an Autism Consumer Research Reviewer for the DOD CDMRP (US congressional directive medical research program).

Videorecording

Cathy Schwallie Farmer

Autism Angel Startup Investor/Advisor, Board Member & Advocate

Cathy Schwallie Farmer is the co-founder and a partner of the newly formed Autism Angels Group. We are an angel investor group that invests in autism technology solutions, additionally we advocate for employment for ASD workers and support ASD entrepreneurs.  Cathy has been involved in Autism since the late 1960’when one of my four brothers were diagnosed with Autism (another brother diagnosed with Asperger’s in the 1980’s).  Cathy is a long time Venture Advisor at University of California, Berkeley, SkyDeck and LAUNCH accelerators. She is an Industry Mentor at National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (NSF i-Corps). Cathy sits on several boards including the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) and the Autism Center of Northern California. She is also an Autism Consumer Research Reviewer for the DOD CDMRP (US congressional directive medical research program).

Maureen Dunne, PhD 

Autism Angel Startup Investor/Advisor, Board Member & Advocate

Dr. Maureen Dunne has lectured on neurodiversity, entrepreneurship and innovation at the local, national, and international level. A former National Science Foundation Fellow, Kauffman Entrepreneurship Fellow and Women 2.0 "Founder to Watch," Maureen has deep industry and clinical expertise with a particular passion for healthcare and education technology companies that embrace inclusive and neurodiverse teams. Dr. Dunne spearheaded the Autism and Innovation Initiative with funding from the Discovery Partners Institute (a public/private partnership with an initial $1B in seed funding) and private donors with the mission "to strengthen the technology and innovation talent pipeline by including people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and taking a strength-based approach to training, entrepreneurship and workforce development."

A lifelong autism advocate, Dr Dunne has been a foster parent to children with autism (including a nonverbal boy she taught to communicate), has set up the Dr. Maureen N. Dunne Autism Student Success Scholarship at select colleges and founded The Transition 2 Success Project, which provides $5,000 in customizable supports to promote the success of high school seniors with autism spectrum disorders in transitioning to college and/or apprenticeship work opportunities.

She serves on multiple nonprofit and corporate boards and recently co-founded (with Cathy Farmer) the Autism Angels Group (https://www.autismangelsgroup.com/) to bring together capital and talent to aggressively drive economic opportunities and technology-driven solutions that create a positive social impact for the autism community.

Vanessa Castañeda Gill

It's Vanessa Castañeda Gill's mission to unite her passions for art and stories in innovative ways that help people. Learning from her experiences growing up on the autism spectrum, she founded Social Cipher: a social-emotional learning platform that connects neurodivergent youth and their advocates (counselors, teachers, mental health professionals) in an immersive virtual world. Their empowering, game-based approach helps autistic youth fail safely for social-emotional success beyond the screen. Her team of designers and autistic advocates is currently developing Ava: a space-pirate adventure that explores social challenges through the eyes of an autistic protagonist. Vanessa and her team have earned recognition as Forbes 30 Under 30s, AT&T Aspire and Camelback Ventures Fellows, and Facebook Global Gaming Citizens.

Johnny Doan

JD (pronouns they/them) is the Co-Founder and Program Manager of the ProFound Incubator, an initiative from Apps People, supported by Curtin University's Autism Talent Hub which comprises of AASQA (The Autism Academy for Software Quality Assurance) and CSMP (the Curtin Specialist Mentoring Program.

ProFound Incubator is a tailored program for people who are neurodivergent to be immersed into the startup ecosystem and have the opportunity to build a digital startup.

As a social entrepreneur, they specialise in working with a range of stakeholders to design community-led iniatives. As someone who is neurodivergent and of Cantonese-Vietnamese heritage, they are a passionate advocate for structural changes for diversity and inclusion across all sectors of industry.

Previously, they have worked with Spacecubed and Chuffed.org, and is currently a Perth Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum, and a fellow of Australian Progress through the 2020 National Fellowship.

Michael A. Freeman MD

Michael A. Freeman, MD is a psychiatrist, a fourth-generation serial entrepreneur, an executive coach, an entrepreneurship researcher and a behavioral health systems architect. Dr. Freeman serves as the Founder of Econa, the entrepreneur wellness and mental health accelerator, where he and his colleagues develop and implement scalable wellness, effectiveness and mental health solutions for entrepreneurs. Dr. Freeman is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine, and a Mentor in the Entrepreneurship Center at UCSF. He received his MD from UCSF School of Medicine after completing related advanced training programs at U.C. Berkeley and the Sorbonne. With support from the Kauffman Foundation, Dr. Freeman studies issues related to entrepreneur mental health in collaboration with colleagues from U.C. Berkeley, the Gallup Organization, and other universities. His psychiatric and executive coaching practice is focused on entrepreneurs. As an entrepreneur, Dr. Freeman has held founder, co-founder and C-level positions with several for-profit and non-profit behavioral healthcare organizations. He was the founding Chief Medical Officer at U.S. Behavioral Health, now United Behavioral Health, the United Health Care managed behavioral health plan. He is politically active in initiatives to expand access to and insurance coverage for mental health and addiction treatment services

James Murray-Parkes

For the past seven years or so, renowned scientist and engineer, James Murray-Parkes has been the director of the Brookfield Scientific Solutions Group, part of the famed Brookfield Asset Management out of Toronto and New York.

In March 1st 2020, James begun a new journey and whilst working closely with Swinburne University, The University of Newcastle, in industry and exclusively with his colleagues at Brookfield, James now heads up a brand new group that he co-owns with Aucklander, Paul Chrystall and close mates Robert Cornish & Rod Keller. Now based in Newcastle NSW in Australia and known as Technotia Laboratories, this new group now devotes a large portion of its time searching the physical world for inspiration to help solve problems and more importantly, learning about how to find them. Being inspired by the natural world, from the smells to the colour, textures, shapes, sounds, structures and anatomy, has been a consistent element for James in his career. It’s what is often referred to as biomimicry, but that’s not what James calls it however, he just calls it physics.

To James and his team, our physical world provides an endless resource for visual study and exploration to develop a unique and yet organic approach that allows him and his team at Technotia to build scientific platforms to base on, then expand and thrive.

Tamara Stenn

Dr. Tamara Stenn is an economist, social enterprise developer, author, researcher, Professional Studies faculty and coordinator of the Landmark College Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program (LEAP) at Landmark College -  a school that specializes in teaching students with Learning Differences.

Tamara recently completed a 3-year Fulbright study on the well-being of Bolivia's women quinoa growers (2015-2018). Together with the producers studied, Tamara founded A Perfect Seed, Inc. a farmer-run cooperative specializing in Royal Quinoa seed varieties. She is also presenting and publishing papers and book chapters analyzing the experience for management and economics disciplines.

She authored the text, Social Entrepreneurship as Sustainability, introducing the Sustainability Lens (Springer, 2017) which creates new ways for entrepreneurs to approach business development. From this she developed The Sustainability Lens Game – a board game the enables anyone to develop a sustainability mindset to build resilience and fun into any enterprise or organization.  Tamara also wrote The Cultural and Political Intersection of Fair Trade and Justice, Managing a Global Industry (Palgrave, Sept. 2013) a book that critically examines Fair Trade, handicrafts and coffee, women’s leadership and development economics, and has classroom exercises at the end of each chapter.

Lastly, Tamara is also the founder and CEO of KUSIKUY, an eco-fashion brand of hand-knit Bolivian alpaca clothing using FairTrade methods. In her free time, Tamara enjoys yoga, adventure travel, swimming, the outdoors, and relaxing with family and friends. Hablo Espanol! 

Dr. Heidi Stieglitz Ham

Dr. Heidi Stieglitz Ham is a social entrepreneur, autism researcher, adjunct professor at Rice University, and founder of Spectrum Fusion, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. She completed her undergraduate and graduate studies in Human Communication Disorders, and in 2010 she graduated with her PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the University of Edinburgh specializing in autism. After completing her PhD, she taught and conducted research at the University of Queensland before moving to Western Australia. 

After listening to parents across continents share their concerns regarding the lack of opportunities and positive outcomes for their adult children, she created a vision to shape the future of neurodiversity by creating a model grounded in sense-of-belonging, community, embracing the science of hope, and empowering adults on the spectrum to reach their full potential. This conceptual vision was presented at TEDxPerth in 2014.

Dr. Stieglitz Ham founded Spectrum Fusion in 2014 in Australia, and in 2017 brought her concept of a social impact model empowering adults to realize their full potential. She launched the Reactor Room Program: ‘A Shark Tank’ for Adults on the Autism Spectrum designed to create new and innovative opportunities for individuals providing them access to important connections. The Reactor Room Program® is the only program of its kind. Each Reactor Room focuses on the individual needs of participants and brings together business leaders, community connectors, entrepreneurs, and individuals with specialized knowledge who come prepared with their ideas and networks specifically tailored for the participants.

Currently, Dr. Stieglitz Ham is the Principal Investigator on a research study at Rice University assessing the effectiveness of traditional assessment measures that employers typically administer in adults on the autism spectrum.

Social Media

LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/in/Heidi-Stieglitz-Ham-PhD

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spectrumfusionUS/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spectrumfusion/

Twitter:     https://twitter.com/spectrum_fusion

Website:   http://www.spectrumfusion.org

Johan Wiklund

Johan Wiklund is the Al Berg Chair and Professor of Entrepreneurship at Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University, USA, and Professor Two at Nord University, Norway His research interests include entrepreneurship and mental health as well as the entry, performance, and exit of entrepreneurial firms. He is considered a leading authority in entrepreneurship research with  over 100 articles appearing in leading entrepreneurship and management journals and over 32,000 citations to his research. He is Editor-in-Chief for Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, a premier entrepreneurship journal. A prolific advisor of Ph.D. students, he received the Academy of Management Entrepreneurship Division Mentor Award in 2011.

Final Concluding Session

Lawrence Fung, MD, PhD

Director, Stanford Neurodiversity Project

Assistant Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences

Dr. Lawrence Fung is a scientist and psychiatrist specialized in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and the father of a neurodiverse teenager with ASD. He is the director of the Stanford Neurodiversity Project, which strives to uncover the strengths of neurodiverse individuals and utilize their talents to increase innovation and productivity of the society as a whole. He directs the Neurodiverse Student Support Program, Neurodiversity at Work Program (recently funded by Autism Speaks), and Adult Neurodevelopment Clinic at Stanford. Dr. Fung is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. His lab advances the understanding of neural bases of human socio-communicative and cognitive functions by using novel neuroimaging and technologies. His team devise and implement novel interventions to improve the lives of neurodiverse individuals by maximizing their potential and productivity. For example, he is conducting a study to demonstrate that specialized employment programs such as Neurodiversity at Work program will result in higher retention rates and quality of life.