Member Biographies
Federal Members
Thomas R. Insel, M.D.
Director, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and Chair of the IACCDr. Thomas Insel has served as Chair of the IACC since it was first convened in January 2007 after being reconstituted under the Combating Autism Act of 2006. Dr. Insel is a Federal member and also serves on the Subcommittee for Planning the Annual Strategic Plan Updating Process. He is the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the component of the National Institutes of Health charged with generating the knowledge needed to understand, treat, and prevent mental disorders. NIMH is home to a large autism research program that covers a wide variety of topics including diagnosis, basic biology, genetics, treatment and prevention, epidemiology, health services research and outcomes of autism across the lifespan. Prior to his appointment as NIMH Director in 2002, Dr. Insel was a Professor of Psychiatry at Emory University. There, he was founding Director of the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, one of the largest science and technology centers funded by the National Science Foundation and, concurrently, Director of an NIH-funded Center for Autism Research. From 1994 to 1999, he was Director of the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta. While at Emory, Dr. Insel continued the line of research he had initiated at NIMH studying the neurobiology of complex social behaviors. He has published over 250 scientific articles and four books, including the Neurobiology of Parental Care (with Michael Numan) in 2003. Dr. Insel graduated from the combined B.A.-M.D. program at Boston University.
James F. Battey, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)Dr. James Battey has served as a Federal member of the IACC since 2007. He is the Director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) at NIH. The Institute supports biomedical and behavioral research and research training in the normal and disordered processes of hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech, and language. Dr. Battey is widely recognized for his work on G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), a large family of proteins important in cell-to-cell communication, and integral to an array of physiological processes, including taste and smell, vision, immune response, and the transmission of messages between nerve cells. Much of his research has focused on mammalian bombesin receptors—GPCRs that mediate such processes as hormone release, smooth muscle contraction, and cell division—and he has collaborated on a large-scale project to identify molecules that are important for taste. Dr. Battey was appointed Director of the Intramural Research Program for NIDCD in 1995 and has served as the Director of NIDCD since 1998. He received his undergraduate education at the California Institute of Technology, where he earned his B.S. with honors in physics. He earned his M.D. and Ph.D. in Biophysics from Stanford University, where he also received residency training in Pediatrics.
Linda Birnbaum, Ph.D.
Director, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)Dr. Linda Birnbaum joined the IACC in 2009 and is Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at NIH and the National Toxicology Program (NTP). As NIEHS and NTP Director, Birnbaum oversees a budget of $850 million that funds biomedical research to discover how the environment influences human health and disease. A board-certified toxicologist, Dr. Birnbaum has served as a Federal scientist for 31 years. Prior to her appointment as NIEHS and NTP Director, she spent 19 years at the Environmental Protection Agency where she directed the largest division focusing on environmental health research. Birnbaum started her Federal career with 10 years at the NIEHS — first as a senior staff fellow in the National Toxicology Program, then as a Principal Investigator and research microbiologist, and finally as a group leader for the Institute's Chemical Disposition Group. Birnbaum is also an active member of the scientific community. She was Vice President of the International Union of Toxicology, the umbrella organization for toxicology societies in more than 50 countries; former President of the Society of Toxicology, the largest professional organization of toxicologists in the world; former Chair of the Division of Toxicology at the American Society of Pharmacology and Therapeutics; and former Vice President of the American Aging Association. Dr. Birnbaum's own research focuses on the pharmacokinetic behavior of environmental chemicals, mechanisms of actions of toxicants, including endocrine disruption, and linking of real-world exposures to effects. She is the author of more than 700 peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, abstracts and reports. In addition to her role at NIEHS, she is also an adjunct professor in the Gillings School of Global Public Health, the Curriculum in Toxicology, and the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as in the Integrated Toxicology Program at Duke University. In October 2010, she was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, one of the highest honors in the fields of medicine and health. Dr. Birnbaum received her M.S. and Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Ellen W. Blackwell, M.S.W.
Social Worker/Health Insurance Specialist, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)Ms. Ellen Blackwell is a Federal member of the IACC who also serves as the Co-Chair of the Services Subcommittee and a member of the Subcommittee for Planning the Annual Strategic Plan Updating Process. She has been a member of the IACC since 2007. Ms. Blackwell is a social worker specializing in geriatrics, and a Health Insurance Specialist at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). She joined the Federal service in 2001 as a Presidential Management Fellow. Working primarily on long-term care issues, Ms. Blackwell helps states improve the quality and consistency of community based services, and mental health services delivered through managed care delivery systems. Prior to joining CMS, Ms. Blackwell worked at The Horizon Foundation, a philanthropic organization that promotes local health and wellness. She interned as a graduate student at The Hilltop Institute, a health research center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and the Howard County Maryland Office on Aging. Ms. Blackwell founded the Howard County chapter of the Autism Society in 1992, and has an adult son with autism spectrum disorder. She graduated from the University of Maryland - Baltimore, and the University of Wisconsin - Stout.
Coleen A. Boyle, Ph.D., M.S. hyg
Director, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities and Director (NCBDDD), Division of Birth Defects and Developmental DisabilitiesDr. Boyle joined the IACC as a Federal member in 2010 after she was named Director of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She also serves on the Subcommittee for Planning the Strategic Plan Updating Process and the Subcommittee on Safety, and the Services Subcommittee. Before joining CDC in 1984, Dr. Boyle served as a faculty member in epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts, Program in Public Health. Dr. Boyle began her career at CDC working on a large multi-faceted project to examine the impact of Agent Orange exposure on U.S. military personnel who served in Vietnam. Dr. Boyle joined the Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, in 1988, was appointed Chief of the Surveillance and Epidemiology Section in the Developmental Disabilities Branch in 1991 and assumed the responsibilities of the Branch Chief in 1995 focusing on epidemiology of major developmental disabilities including cerebral palsy and intellectual disabilities. In 2001, Dr. Boyle was named the Associate Director for Science and Public Health for the newly created National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD) at CDC. In that role, Dr. Boyle was responsible for developing and coordinating the science activities of the National Center. In October 2004, Dr. Boyle was appointed Director of the Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, NCBDDD. The Division has a budget of $60 million and focuses on surveillance, epidemiology research and prevention of major birth defects and developmental disabilities. Dr. Boyle is the recipient of the CDC Charles C. Shepard Award for scientific excellence in 1997 and 2004 and has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific peer-reviewed and other scientific publications. Dr. Boyle received her M.S. (hyg.) in Biostatistics and Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and completed postdoctoral training in Epidemiologic Methods at Yale University.
Henry Claypool
Director, Health and Human Services Office on DisabilityMr. Henry Claypool has been a Federal member of the IACC since 2009 and serves on the Services Subcommittee. He is Director of the Health and Human Services Office on Disability (OD). He was appointed to the position in April 2009. The mission of OD is to oversee the implementation and coordination of programs and policies that enhance the health and well being of people with disabilities. Before joining the Office of Disabilities, Mr. Claypool served as the Policy Director at Independence Care System, a managed long-term care provider in New York City. Mr. Claypool has advised the Federal government on disability policy for several years: From 1998-2002, he held various advisory positions at HHS, including Senior Advisor for Disability Policy to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services during the Clinton administration. From 2005-2006, he served as a Senior Advisor in the Social Security Administration's Office of Disability and Income Support Programs. Mr. Claypool was also appointed by Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia to serve on the Commonwealth's Health Reform Commission in 2007. Mr. Claypool sustained a spinal injury more than 25 years ago and in the years following his injury, he relied on Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income, which enabled him to complete his Bachelor's degree at the University of Colorado.
Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH)Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., joined the IACC in 2009, following his appointment as the 16th Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in August 2009. Dr. Collins, a physician-geneticist noted for his landmark discoveries of disease genes and his leadership of the Human Genome Project, served as Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the NIH from 1993-2008. With Dr. Collins at the helm, the Human Genome Project consistently met projected milestones ahead of schedule and under budget. This remarkable international project culminated in April 2003 with the completion of a finished sequence of the human DNA instruction book. On March 10, 2010, Dr. Collins was named a co-recipient of the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research for his leading role in this effort. In addition to his achievements as the NHGRI director, Dr. Collins' own research laboratory has discovered a number of important genes, including those responsible for cystic fibrosis, neurofibromatosis, Huntington's disease, a familial endocrine cancer syndrome, and most recently, genes for type 2 diabetes and the gene that causes Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome. Prior to coming to the NIH in 1993, he spent nine years on the faculty of the University of Michigan, where he was a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. He is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Collins was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007. In a White House ceremony on October 7, 2009, Dr. Collins received the National Medal of Science, the highest honor bestowed on scientists by the United States government. Dr. Collins received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Virginia, a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Yale University, and an M.D. with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Alan E. Guttmacher, M.D.
Acting Director, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)Dr. Alan Guttmacher joined the IACC in 2009 as a Federal member after he was appointed the Acting Director of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at NIH. The Institute supports research on all stages of human development, from preconception to adulthood, to better understand the health of children, adults, families, and communities. Prior to being named Acting Director of NICHD in December 2009, Dr. Guttmacher served as the Deputy Director, then Acting Director, of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). In those roles, he oversaw the Institute's efforts to advance genome research, integrate that research into medical practice, and explore the ethical, legal, and social implications of human genomics. Dr. Guttmacher came to the NIH from the University of Vermont, where he directed the Department of Pediatrics' Vermont Regional Genetics Center and Pregnancy Risk Information Service. His research interests have been dysmorphology (abnormalities of development), and the identification and description of syndromes. He also has an interest in hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia — a condition resulting in numerous malformations of the blood vessels. Dr. Guttmacher received an A.B. degree from Harvard College and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School.
Gail R. Houle, Ph.D.
Associate Division Director, Office of Special Education Programs, Department of EducationDr. Gail Houle has served as a Federal member of the IACC since 2007 and is a member of the Services Subcommittee. She is associate Division Director of the Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), where she oversees programs for children with disabilities and their families funded through the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In addition to oversight of the Parent Training and Intervention Program of IDEA and the Early Childhood discretionary programs of IDEA, her area of expertise focuses on services for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Her Federal oversight includes IDEA implementation in the areas of best practice, professional development, and outcome accountability for children receiving special education and related services. She and her staff provide expertise to collaborating Federal and State agencies to coordinate and maximize the provision services for children with disabilities. Prior to joining the Office of Special Education in 1989, Dr. Houle focused on the linguistic development of young children as a pediatric speech-language pathologist, early intervention provider, program administrator, researcher, and higher education faculty member. She holds M.S. and B.S. degrees in Communication Disorders from SUNY Buffalo and the University of Alabama and a Ph.D. from the American University.
Larke N. Huang, Ph.D.
Senior Advisor on Children, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)Dr. Larke Huang has served as a Federal member of the IACC since 2007 and is a member of the Services Subcommittee. She is a Senior Advisor on Children and a licensed clinical-community psychologist who provides leadership on Federal national policy pertaining to mental health and substance use issues for children, adolescents and families for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. She is also the agency lead on cultural competence and eliminating disparities. Dr. Huang has worked in the field of children's mental health for the past 25 years and has extensive experience as a community mental health provider and practitioner, researcher, university faculty and most recently in public policy for children's health and mental health services. She has worked with states and communities to build systems of care for children with serious emotional and behavioral disorders and their families, providing technical assistance on infrastructure and service delivery issues. Dr. Huang has developed programs for underserved, culturally and linguistically diverse youth, evaluated community-based programs, authored books and articles on children's mental health. Two more recent publications include: Children of Color: Psychological Interventions with Culturally Diverse Youth (2003) and Transforming Mental Health Care for Children and Their Families (2006). She received her Ph.D. in psychology from Yale University.
Walter J. Koroshetz, M.D.
Deputy Director, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)Dr. Walter Koroshetz joined the IACC as a Federal member in 2009 and also serves on the Subcommittee for Planning the Annual Strategic Plan Updating Process. He is Deputy Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). He works with the NINDS Director in program planning and budgeting, and oversees Institute scientific and administrative functions. Before joining NINDS, Dr. Koroshetz served as Vice Chair of the Neurology Service and Director of Stroke and Neurointensive Care Services at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He was also a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and led neurology resident training at MGH between 1990 and 2007. Dr. Koroshetz trained in neurology at MGH, after which he did post-doctoral studies in cellular neurophysiology at MGH and the Harvard neurobiology department. He joined the neurology staff, first in the Huntington's disease unit and then in the stroke and neurointensive care service. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Koroshetz graduated from Georgetown University and received his medical degree from the University of Chicago. He trained in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago and Massachusetts General Hospital before specializing in Neurology.
Sharon Lewis
Commissioner, Administration on Developmental Disabilities; Administration for Children and FamiliesSharon Lewis joined the IACC as a Federal member in 2010 following her appointment as Commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities in March 2010. She serves on the Services Subcommittee and the Subcommittee for Planning the Strategic Plan Updating Process. She is also a co-chair of the Subcommittee on Safety. Well known as an effective advocate, Sharon has a proven track record in championing disability issues, while working for a better quality of life for all. Ms. Lewis has worked in disability policy for more than 10 years at local, state, and national levels. She originally came to Washington, D.C. to serve as a Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation Public Policy Fellow, working for Senator Chris Dodd's HELP subcommittee on Children and Families. In 2007, she joined Chairman George Miller's Education & Labor Committee staff as Senior Disability Policy Advisor, where she advised members of the Committee on disability concerns related to education, employment and healthcare. Ms. Lewis is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2010 Distinguished Leadership in National Disability Policy Award and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Chairman's Award. In Oregon, Ms. Lewis worked on public policy for the Oregon Developmental Disabilities Coalition and for the Arc. She served as the Co-Chair of the Oregon Family Action Coalition Team, founded DisabilityCompass.org 
and managed the Oregon Partners in Policymaking Program, working with individuals with disabilities and family members to participate in policy decisions at all levels. Ms. Lewis is a parent to three daughters, including one with disability. She is a native of Michigan and a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis.
Catherine E. Rice, Ph.D.
Epidemiologist and Developmental Psychologist, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Dr. Catherine Rice is a Federal member who serves as a permanent proxy for Dr. Coleen Boyle on the Services Subcommittee. She is an Epidemiologist and Developmental Psychologist with the Developmental Disabilities Branch at the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She has worked with people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through teaching, diagnostic assessment, program planning, consultation, training, and research for over 18 years. Dr. Rice's current work at CDC includes working with partners to track the rates and describe the population of children with ASD in multiple areas of the United States through the Autism Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. In addition to work on the prevalence of ASD in the US and internationally, she provides input on the CDC's Learn the Signs. Act Early. Campaign. Dr. Rice also serves as a Diagnostic Associate and Board Member at the Emory Autism Center and conducts training to professionals on the diagnosis and assessment of people with ASD. Dr. Rice is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Georgia Psychological Association, the Society for Research in Child Development, and the International Society for Autism Research. She was named the Autism Society of America Professional of the Year in 2008. Dr. Rice received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Emory University and her doctorate in Developmental Psychology from Boston College.
Public Members
Geraldine Dawson, Ph.D.
Chief Science Officer, Autism Speaks; Research Professor of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillDr. Dawson joined the IACC as a public member in 2010 and serves on the Subcommittee for Planning the Annual Strategic Plan Updating Process. She 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. 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 (using electrophysiology). 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, 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. At the Center, she also oversaw multi-disciplinary diagnostic and treatment services for children with autism from infancy through late adolescence. Dawson has been a consultant to the National Institutes of Health since 1989, including participating on the NIH Committee on Practice Parameters for Screening and Diagnosis of Autism, NIH Scientific Advisory Panel to establish a 10 year road map for autism research, the NIH Consensus Panel on Phenylketonuria, and three NIH Grant Review Committees. Dawson is a Fellow of the American Psychological Society, American Psychological Association, and the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Dawson's honors include the Autism Society of America Award for Valuable Service, Washington Autism Society Achievement Award for Outstanding Service, Autism Society of Washington Medical Professional of the Year, Autism Society of America Award for Research Contributions, and the Autism Hero Award from Cure Autism Now. Dr. Dawson received her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology with a minor in Child Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington.
Gerald D. Fischbach, M.D.
Scientific Director, Simons FoundationDr. Gerald Fischbach joined the IACC in 2010 and is the Scientific Director for the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI). He has spent his career as a neuroscientist studying the formation and maintenance of synapses, the junctions between nerve cells which allow signals to be transmitted in the nervous system. His current research is focused on roles that neurotrophic factors play in determination of neural precursor fate, synapse formation, and neuronal survival, all which had crucial roles in the developing brain. Before joining the Simons Foundation in 2006, Dr. Fischbach served as the Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) from 1998 to 2001 and as the Executive Vice President of Columbia University Medical Center and Dean of the faculties of medicine from 2001 to 2006. In addition, he has held faculty positions at Harvard Medical School and the Washington University Medical School. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Science, the Institute of Medicine, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a non-resident Fellow of the Salk Institute. Dr. Fischbach received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical School.
Lee Grossman
President and CEO, Advance Enterprises, LLCMr. Lee Grossman has served as a public member of the committee since 2007. He is the Co-Chair of the Services Subcommittee and serves on the Subcommittee for Planning the Annual Strategic Plan Updating Process and the Subcommittee on Safety. Mr. Grossman is President and CEO of Advance Enterprises, LLC. From 2004-2011, he served as the President and CEO of the Autism Society and was the President of the Autism Society of America Foundation, publisher of the Autism Advocate journal. In his former position at the Autism Society, Mr. Grossman oversaw the nation's largest grassroots autism organization, with over 190,000 members and supporters and 160 chapters across the United States. In 2007, he initiated strategic partnerships with Easter Seals, the Autism Research Institute, the Celtic Nations for Autism, the Autism Society of the Philippines and the Autism Society of Parents in Hong Kong, as well as forming coalitions in the United States to deal with disability services issues. Mr. Grossman served on the Board of Directors of the Autism Society and is a past President of the Autism Society of Hawaii. While on the Board of the Autism Society, he served in numerous capacities, including Chair of National Autism Awareness Month, Nominating Chair, Development Chair and Public Relations Chair. Mr. Grossman and his wife Nina have three sons, one of whom has autism. Prior to his position at the Autism Society, Mr. Grossman owned a business for 25 years that specialized in consulting to the medical industry. He attended college at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, completing his senior year at Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu, Hawaii, and earning his Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration. Mr. Grossman has a Master's in Leadership from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business.
Yvette Janvier, M.D.
Medical Director, Children's Specialized HospitalDr. Yvette Janvier has served on the IACC as a public member since 2007. She is board-certified in Pediatrics, Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, and Developmental - Behavioral Pediatrics, and she has been practicing Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics for the past 19 years. Her clinical and research focus is on the early identification of autism. She completed a two-year fellowship in Developmental - Behavioral Pediatrics at Cornell Medical Center in June of 1990 and has served as the Medical Director of Children's Specialized Hospital - Toms River in New Jersey since its opening in March 1992. Dr. Janvier is a public member of the IACC and was a co-investigator on the NIMH study: A Clinical and Immunologic Investigation of Regression in Autism. Dr. Janvier is also the Principal Investigator for a clinical enhancement grant to expand and improve services for children on the autism spectrum at Children's Specialized Hospital. She is a member of the New Jersey Governor's Council on Medical Research and Treatment of Autism and serves on the Board of Directors for Autism New Jersey. The recipient of many awards, Dr. Janvier recently received the New Jersey Community Service Award given by Autism Family Services and the Wynona Lipman Innovation Award given by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Division on Women and the New Jersey Advisory Commission on the Status of Women. She was also named a finalist for "Physician of the Year" from the NJBIZ 2008 Healthcare Hero Award. She received her M.D. from the Academy of Medicine in Warsaw, Poland.
Christine M. McKee, J.D.
Public MemberMs. Christine McKee has served as a public member of the IACC since 2007 and is a member of the IACC Services Subcommittee. She is the parent of a child with an autism spectrum disorder. In her professional career, Ms. McKee worked as a labor and employment defense attorney in Kansas City, Missouri and as a career law clerk for the Honorable Nanette K. Laughrey, United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri. She served as judge pro tem for the Municipal Court of Prairie Village, Kansas, and volunteered for the American Red Cross of Kansas City, Missouri's human resources committee. In 2009, Ms. McKee participated as a public member in the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) review panel for grant applications submitted in response to special ASD research initiatives under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). She also currently oversees the Autism Speaks Lending Library as a parent volunteer. Ms. McKee graduated from the University of Notre Dame Law School.
Ari Ne'eman
Founding President of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN)Mr. Ari Ne'eman was appointed to the IACC as a public member in 2010. He serves on all three of the IACC subcommittees - the Services Subcommittee, the Subcommittee for Planning the Annual Strategic Plan Updating Process, and the Subcommittee on Safety. He is the Founding President of the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network, where he initiates and directs efforts to increase the representation of people with ASD in public policy discussions. He is an adult on the autism spectrum and a leading advocate in the neurodiversity movement, often briefing policymakers and speaking publicly on disability and autism policy issues. Mr. Ne'eman has served as Vice Chair of the New Jersey Adults with Autism Task Force, where he represented autistic adults in reviewing the state's autism services. He also previously served on the New Jersey Special Education Review Commission, where he authored a minority report on the topic of aversives, restraint and seclusion, and has served as the Policy Workgroup Leader for the Youth Advisory Council to the National Council on Disability. In 2010, Mr. Ne'eman was appointed to the National Council on Disabilities by President Barack Obama. He is a board member of TASH, an advocacy group for people with disabilities, and is involved with the Maryland Coalition for Inclusive Education. Mr. Ne'eman received his Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Maryland – Baltimore County.
Lyn Redwood, R.N., M.S.N.
Executive Director, Coalition for SafeMindsMs. Lyn Redwood has served as a public member of the IACC since 2007. She also sits on the IACC Subcommittee for Planning the Annual Strategic Plan Updating Process and Co-Chairs the Subcommittee on Safety. Ms. Redwood is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Coalition for SafeMinds and Co-Founder of the National Autism Association. She became interested in autism research and advocacy when he son was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder. Ms. Redwood testified before the Government Reform Committee on "Mercury in medicine: Are we taking unnecessary risks?" in 2000, and before a Congressional sub-committee on health in 2003. She has published in the journals Neurotoxicology, Molecular Psychiatry, Expert Opin Pharmacother, Am. J Med Genet, Medical Hypotheses, Mothering Magazine, and Autism-Aspergers Digest. Ms. Redwood has appeared on "Good Morning America," the Montel Williams Show, and has been interviewed by U.S News and World Report, Wired Magazine, People and numerous other publications. She is prominently featured in the award-winning book by David Kirby Evidence of Harm. 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.
Denise D. Resnik
Co-founder of the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center; President of Denise Resnik & AssociateMs. Denise D. Resnik joined the IACC as a public member in 2010 and also serves on the IACC Services Subcommittee. Ms. Resnik is the Co-Founder of the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC), which is dedicated to autism research, education and community outreach, and support for individuals with ASDs and their families throughout their lifetimes. She is the mother of a young adult son with autism. Serving as Board Chairman from 1997-2007, she now chairs SARRC’s Board Development and Vocational & Life Skills Committees, and serves on its Research & Medical Affairs and Public Policy Committees. Ms. Resnik is a member of the Autism Speaks Family Services Committee and Advancing Futures for Adults with Autism (AFAA) Steering Committee, and has served as a Managing Partner of Autism Cares. She has also been involved with the IACC in the past, serving as a member of the 2006 NIMH Autism Matrix Review Committee and participating in the scientific workshops held to develop the IACC Strategic Plan and its subsequent updates. In addition to her pro bono work with SARRC, she is the Founder and President of a strategic marketing and public relations agency, Denise Resnik & Associates, and serves as a board member of the Arizona Community Foundation, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, BioAccel, Urban Land Institute-Arizona and Nature Conservancy-Arizona, and as a member of the Arizona BioScience Roadmap Steering Committee. She received her B.A. in Business from Arizona State University.
Stephen M. Shore, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor of Special Education, Adelphi University; Executive Director of Autism Spectrum ConsultingDr. Stephen Shore has served on the Committee as a public member since 2007 and also is a member of the IACC Services Subcommittee and the Subcommittee for Planning the Annual Strategic Plan Updating Process. Diagnosed with "atypical development and strong autistic tendencies" and "too sick" for outpatient treatment, Dr. Stephen Shore was recommended for institutionalization. Nonverbal until four, and with much support from his parents, teachers, wife, and others, Dr. Shore is now an Assistant Professor of Special Education at Adelphi University where his research focuses on matching best practice to the needs of people with autism. In addition to working with children and talking about life on the autism spectrum, Dr. Shore presents and consults internationally on adult issues pertinent to education, relationships, employment, advocacy, and disclosure as discussed in his books Beyond the Wall: Personal Experiences with Autism and Asperger Syndrome, Ask and Tell: Self-advocacy and Disclosure for People on the Autism Spectrum, and the critically acclaimed Understanding Autism for Dummies. Dr. Shore serves on the IACC and on the Board of Directors for Autism Society, Unlocking Autism, and other autism-related organizations.
Alison Tepper Singer, M.B.A.
President, Autism Science FoundationMs. Alison Singer has served as a public member on the committee since 2007. She is the Co-Chair of the Subcommittee on Safety and serves on the Subcommittee for Planning the Strategic Plan Updating Process. She 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 child 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 also currently serves on the Executive Board of the Yale Child Study Center Associates Committee, on the external advisory board of the Autism Baby Siblings Research Consortium, on the external advisory board of the CDC's Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, and as a member of the program committee for the International Meeting for Autism Research (IMFAR). 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.
Marjorie Solomon, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of California, DavisDr. Marjorie Solomon joined the IACC as a public member in 2010 and is also a member of the IACC Subcommittee for Planning the Strategic Plan Updating Process. Dr. Solomon is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Davis, where she serves on the faculty of the M.I.N.D. Institute and the Autism Research Training Program. In 2000, she was awarded a Fellowship from M.I.N.D. Institute to study a social skills training group intervention for high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorders. The intervention program incorporates parents and siblings into the treatment model and is considered one of the few empirically validated treatments for children with high-functioning ASD. In addition to providing services to over 200 children and families over the past 10 years, the program has trained multiple psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians, social workers, speech and language pathologists and educators in northern California. Dr. Solomon also studies cognition and learning in high-functioning individuals with ASD using cognitive neuroscience methods including functional neuroimaging. During the development of the 2010 IACC Strategic Plan, she was consulted as an expert on autism services and lifespan issues. She received her B.A. at Harvard College, an M.B.A. at Stanford Graduate School of Business, and a Ph.D. in Psychology from U.C. Berkeley.