Diversity..........
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/03/20120329a.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29, 2012
|
Contact: HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343
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HHS announces new members of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius
announced today that she has invited 15 individuals to serve as public
members on the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC).
The
IACC is a federal advisory committee established by the Combating
Autism Act of 2006 and reauthorized by the Combating Autism
Reauthorization Act of 2011. The committee is composed of both federal
officials and public members, and is charged with (1) coordinating all
efforts within HHS concerning autism spectrum disorder (ASD), (2)
developing and annually updating a strategic plan for ASD, and (3)
providing advice to the Secretary on matters related to ASD.
Membership
of the committee includes a wide array of federal agencies involved in
ASD research and services, as well as public stakeholders who represent a
variety of perspectives from within the autism community. This makeup
of the IACC membership is designed to ensure that the committee is
equipped to address the wide range of issues and challenges faced by
families and individuals affected by autism.
“The individuals
invited to serve on the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee
represent people on the autism spectrum, autism advocates, parents,
clinicians, and researchers from across the country,” Secretary Sebelius
said. “I look forward to working with the committee members to make a
real difference in the lives of people with autism and their families.”
The
individuals invited to serve on the Interagency Autism Coordinating
Committee, subject to prescribed appointment procedures, include:
Idil Abdull
Ms.
Idil Abdull is the parent of a son with autism and Co-Founder of the
Somali American Autism Foundation. As a Somali-American mother, she has
worked to raise awareness about the high prevalence of autism among
Somali immigrants living in Minnesota and has helped to change autism
policies in the state. She also has a special interest in serving as a
voice for underrepresented groups more broadly, including those that are
struggling with language, cultural, and economic barriers as they seek
ways to help their family members with disabilities. Ms. Abdull holds a
bachelor’s degree in Health Care Administration.
James Ball
Dr.
Jim Ball is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D) who is the
President and CEO of JB Autism Consulting. He has worked in the private
sector field of autism for more than 25 years, providing educational,
employment, and residential services to children and adults affected
with autism. He is a Board member of the Autism Society's (AS) Board of
Directors and is currently the Chair of the National Board. He received
his doctorate of education from Nova Southeastern University in Fort
Lauderdale, Florida.
Anshu Batra
Dr. Anshu
Batra is a developmental pediatrician specializing in autism and early
childhood developmental disorders and is the mother of two sons with
autism spectrum disorder. She currently works in a private practice that
provides medical services to more than 600 patients with developmental
disabilities, the majority of whom have an autism diagnosis. The
practice is unique not only in terms of the racial, ethnic, and
socio-economic diversity of its patients, but also in its scope. Dr.
Batra has become an outspoken advocate to educate both the professional
and lay communities about autism and considers how to best integrate a
growing subpopulation of individuals on the spectrum into society. She
received her M.D. from the University of Michigan and trained in
Pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Noah Britton
Mr.
Britton was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome a decade ago as a
freshman in college and has spent every year since working directly with
people on the spectrum. He is an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at
Bunker Hill Community College and has presented on autism as a guest
lecturer at the University of Virginia and Tufts University. Prior to
that Mr. Britton worked directly with teenagers on the spectrum as head
counselor for the Northeast ARC’s Spotlight program and as a drama
teacher at the New England Academy in Massachusetts. Mr. Britton
currently serves on the scientific/educational advisory board of the
Autism Higher Education Foundation. He received his master’s degree in
psychology from Hunter College in 2010.
Sally Burton-Hoyle
Dr.
Sally Burton-Hoyle, sister to a person on the autism spectrum, has
focused her life and career on improving the education of people with
autism and other challenging behaviors. She serves as area coordinator
of the Masters of Autism Spectrum Disorders program at Eastern Michigan
University (EMU). This program is based on Positive Behavioral Supports
and family/community involvement. Dr. Burton-Hoyle has been at EMU since
2006 and was Executive Director of the Autism Society of Michigan prior
to EMU. In addition, she has classroom experience as a special
education teacher. Dr. Burton-Hoyle holds a doctorate in education from
the University of Idaho and a master’s degree in special education from
the University of Kansas.
Matthew Carey
Dr.
Matthew Carey is the father of a young child with multiple
disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder, and is a frequent
contributor to the Left Brain/Right Brain blog and the Autism Science
Foundation Blog. His writing focuses on reviewing current autism
research in an understandable way for the public and he is deeply
committed to communicating the importance of getting the science right
for autism. He is also interested in analyzing trends in health and
education public datasets. Dr. Carey is an active industrial researcher
in computer hardware whose current research interests include magnetic
thin films, spintronics, and magnetic nanostructures. He received his
Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, San Diego, and his
M.S. in Physics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Dennis Choi
Dr.
Dennis Choi is the Executive Vice President of the Simons Foundation,
the second largest funder of autism research, and he was previously a
member of the Foundation’s Scientific Advisory Board. His past positions
have included Vice President of Academic Health Affairs at Emory
University, Executive Vice President of Neuroscience at Merck Research
Labs, and professor and head of Neurology at Washington University
Medical School. His research experience has included work on the
physiological mechanism of action of benzodiazepine drugs and the
processes responsible for nerve cell death after ischemic or traumatic
insults. His research on mechanisms of brain and spinal cord injury has
been recognized with several awards. Dr. Choi received his M.D. from the
Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program, as well as a Ph.D.
in pharmacology and neurology residency/fellowship training from Harvard
University, before joining the faculty at Stanford University School of
Medicine from 1983-1991.
Jose Cordero
Dr. Corderois
the Dean of the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of
Puerto Rico. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Cordero was an Assistant
Surgeon General of the Public Health Service and the Founding Director
of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
(NCBDDD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in
Atlanta, Georgia. He served in this capacity since the establishment of
the center on April 16, 2001. Dr. Cordero worked for 27 years at the CDC
and has extensive public health experience in the fields of birth
defects, developmental disabilities, and child health. He obtained his
medical degree from the University of Puerto Rico in 1973, completing
residency training in pediatrics at Boston City Hospital and a
fellowship in medical genetics at the Massachusetts General Hospital. In
1979, Dr. Cordero obtained a Masters in Public Health from Harvard
University.
Jan Crandy
Ms. Jan Crandy is a
case manager for the Nevada State Autism Treatment Assistance Program
(ATAP) and has been a leader in raising awareness and treating autism
spectrum disorders in Nevada for more than 15 years. She is a dedicated
advocate and parent of a child with autism. In her current position at
ATAP, Ms. Crandy manages and develops programs for more than 65 children
with ASD. In 2007, Ms. Crandy was appointed to the Nevada Autism Task
Force by Governor Jim Gibbons. In that role, Ms. Crandy helped develop
policy recommendations for state policymakers on ways to improve the
delivery and coordination of autism services in Nevada. She also serves
as Chair of the Nevada Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Ms.
Crandy began her career in advocacy in 1996 when her daughter was
diagnosed with autism. With the support of family and friends, Ms.
Crandy started a nonprofit organization called Families for Early Autism
Treatment (FEAT) to help parents of children with ASD in Southern
Nevada.
Geraldine Dawson
Dr. Dawson is the
Chief Science Officer for Autism Speaks, where she works with the
scientific community and other stakeholders to shape and expand the
organization's scientific vision. In addition to her work with Autism
Speaks, Dr. Dawson holds the positions of Research Professor of
Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Adjunct
Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, and Professor Emeritus
of Psychology at University of Washington. Dr. Dawson is a licensed
clinical psychologist who has published extensively on autism spectrum
disorders, focusing on early detection and intervention and early
patterns of brain dysfunction. In collaboration with Dr. Sally Rogers,
Dawson helped to develop and empirically-validated the Early Start
Denver Model, the first comprehensive early intervention program for
toddlers with autism. She has collaborated on numerous studies of brain
development and function and genetic risk factors in autism. From
1996-2008, Dr. Dawson was Founding Director of the University of
Washington Autism Center where she directed three NIH Autism Center of
Excellence Award programs of research focusing on genetics,
neuroimaging, early diagnosis, and clinical trials. Dr. Dawson has
served as a public member on the Interagency Autism Coordinating
Committee since 2010 and has been invited to continue her service. Dr.
Dawson received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology with a minor in
Child Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington.
David Mandell
Dr.
David Mandell is a health services researcher and psychiatric
epidemiologist who seeks to identify the best ways to organize, finance
and deliver services to children with psychiatric and developmental
disabilities. He is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics
at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine. The goal of his
current research is to improve care for children with autism and their
families by developing successful interventions at the individual,
provider and system levels to decrease the age at which children with
autism are recognized and enter treatment, and to improve the services
and supports available to them and their families. Dr. Mandell holds a
bachelor of arts in psychology from Columbia University and a doctorate
of science from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health.
Lyn Redwood
Ms.
Lyn Redwood is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Coalition for
SafeMinds and Co-Founder of the National Autism Association (NAA). She
became interested in autism research and advocacy when her son was
diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Ms. Redwood served on
the Department of Defense Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Program from
2007-2009 and was acknowledged for a decade of service by Spectrum
Magazine as their Person of the Year in 2009. Ms. Redwood has served as a
public member on the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee since
2007 and has been invited to continue her service. Ms. Redwood holds a
Master’s of Science in Nursing from University of Alabama and is a
registered nurse in the state of Georgia.
Scott Michael Robertson
Mr.
Scott Michael Robertson co-founded the Autistic Self Advocacy Network
(ASAN) in 2006 and currently serves as ASAN’s Vice Chair of Development.
Mr. Robertson, an adult on the autism spectrum, is currently a Ph.D.
Candidate in information sciences and technology at Penn State
University’s University Park campus. His research pursuits in the fields
of disability studies, human-computer interaction, and computer
supported work/learning focus on understanding and improving the lives
of people with neurological and developmental disabilities. Beyond his
research, Mr. Robertson has actively served the cross-disability and
autism communities as a mentor, teacher, advocate, public speaker, and
writer. Mr. Robertson holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master’s degree in
human-computer interaction from Carnegie Mellon University.
John Elder Robison
John
Elder Robison is an adult on the autism spectrum who grew up in the
1960s before the Asperger diagnosis came into common use. At age
sixteen, Mr. Robison left high school to join his first band as a sound
engineer. Within a few years he was building equipment for Pink Floyd's
sound company, touring the hockey rinks of Canada with April Wine, and
creating the signature special effects guitars for the rock band, KISS.
John went on to design sound effects and other circuits for some of the
most popular electronic games and toys of the era before moving into
more conventional engineering management. In the late 1980s, John left
electronics for a new career - cars. His company, J E Robison Service,
grew to be one of the largest independent restoration and service
specialists for BMW, Bentley, Jaguar, Land Rover, Mercedes, and Rolls
Royce cars. Mr. Robison is an adjunct faculty member in the Department
of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Elms College in Chicopee,
Massachusetts; speaks publicly about his experience as a person on the
autism spectrum; and is the author of popular books about living life
with autism,
Look Me in the Eye, My Life with Asperger's, and
Be Different, Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian.
Alison Singer
Ms.
Alison Singer is Co-Founder and President of the Autism Science
Foundation, a not-for-profit organization launched in April 2009 to
support autism research. The Autism Science Foundation supports autism
research by providing funding and other assistance to scientists and
organizations conducting, facilitating, publicizing and disseminating
autism research. Ms. Singer is the mother of a daughter with autism and
legal guardian of her adult brother with autism. From 2005-2009 she
served as Executive Vice President and a Member of the Board of
Directors at Autism Speaks. Ms. Singer has served as a public member on
the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee since 2007 and has been
invited to continue her service. Ms. Singer graduated magna cum laude
from Yale University with a B.A. in Economics and has an M.B.A. from
Harvard Business School.
Public announcement of the formal appointments of federal and public members to the IACC will follow in the coming weeks.
More information about the Interagency Autism Coordinating committee is available at:
http://iacc.hhs.gov/.
