Presenter Bios

These are some of the exciting presenters we have scheduled to speak.


jane th.pngJane Thierfeld Brown is Director, College Autism Spectrum, Assistant Clinical Professor, Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT and Director of Student Services at the University of Connecticut School of Law. She has worked in Disability Services for 33 years. Dr. Brown received her B.A. from the University of Rhode Island in Speech Pathology. While coordinator of disability services at URI she received her M.S. in Counseling and M.A. in Education. She holds an Ed.D from Columbia University, Teachers College. At Barnard College she directed a federal grant program on women with disabilities in higher education. Dr. Brown's main research interests are students with Asperger's Syndrome in higher education and students with disabilities in high stakes graduate programs. She consults at many higher education institutions and is a frequent speaker at conferences on Asperger's Syndrome. She co-authored, "Students with Asperger's: A Guide for College Professionals," which was published in 2009. The second volume, "The Parent's Guide to College for Students on the Autism Spectrum," was published in 2012. Dr. Brown consults with colleges, students and families around the country on issues for students with autism spectrum disorders. She has three children, the youngest being a 20 year old son on the spectrum.

See The Spectacular Spectrum: College Students and a New Way of Understanding for details on her conference presentation.
 

Nancy Kanwisher.pngNancy Kanwisher is the Walter A. Rosenblith Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and a founding member of the McGovern Institute. She joined the MIT faculty in 1997, and prior to that was a faculty member at UCLA and Harvard University. In 1999, she received the National Academy of Sciences Troland Research Award. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2005 and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2009.

See Attention and Face Processing in Autism for details on her conference presentation.

 

Rebecca Saxe.pngRebecca Saxe While still a graduate student, Rebecca Saxe made a breakthrough discovery: There's a specific region in our brain that becomes active when we contemplate the workings of other minds. Now, at MIT's Saxelab, she and her team have been further exploring her grad-school finding, exploring how it may help us understand conditions such as autism. As Saxe delves into the complexities of social cognition, this young scientist is working toward revealing the enigma of human minds interacting.

See Thinking about thoughts: the neural basis of social cognition for details on her conference presentation.

 

Jean morrell.jpgJean Morrell has been with the Entry Point Internship program since 1997. She first became involved as the designated IBM executive on loan to American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to help expand the program and integrate it into IBM’s internship and hiring processes. When she retired from IBM in 2004 after 32 years, she began working directly with AAAS and the Entry Point internship program as a consultant and recruiter. In this capacity, Jean works directly with applicants, preparing them for phone and in-person interviews. Prior IBM positions include Project Executive responsible for several systems integration projects in the US and abroad; including assignments in Thailand, India, Singapore and South Africa. She also held several senior management positions in Global Services and Field Engineering.

See Innovative Employment Strategies for details on her conference presentation.

 

mark bowers.jpgMark Bowers is a licensed pediatric psychologist in private practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has provided psychological services to children, adolescents, and families for over a decade. He specializes in neurodevelopmental diagnoses (i.e., Autism, Asperger's, ADHD, Traumatic Brain Injury, and Learning Difficulties), and he is an expert in social skills. Dr. Mark has worked with children at the world-renowned Menninger Clinic, worked as a consultant and therapist within the public school system, and completed his internship in Clinical Child/Pediatric Psychology at Denver Children's Hospital. Mark has contributed to articles in Web MD Magazine, Scholastic, and Parenting: The Early Years.

See "S?sh-ial" Security: Using Mobile Technology to Improve Social Skills for details on his conference presentation.


Laurence Sugarman.pngLaurence Sugarman is Research Professor and Director of the Center for Applied Psychophysiology and Self-regulation (CAPS) in the College of Health Sciences and Technology at Rochester Institute of Technology; Clinical Associate Professor in Pediatrics at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, and a behavioral pediatrician at the Easter Seals Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Rochester, New York. A graduate (BA) of Washington University, he earned an MD from the University of Missouri School of Medicine. After training in pediatrics at the University of Rochester he spent 26 years in pediatric practice developing clinical strategies that effectively address psychobiological problems by helping people help themselves. Dr. Sugarman has achieved international recognition for his teaching and writing in the field of hypnosis and biofeedback with children. He is a Fellow, past Vice-President, and Co-Director of Education with the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and Immediate Past President of the American Board of Medical Hypnosis. With William Wester, Dr. Sugarman is the co-author/editor of Therapeutic Hypnosis with Children and Adolescents. Under his direction, CAPS at RIT drives innovation in health care by promoting the integration of psychophysiological self-regulation.

See Investing in Autonomic Balance for Students with Autism: The Minding Anxiety Project for details on his conference presentation.
 

bonni_alpert.jpgBonni Alpert, who holds her Ed.D in Counseling Psychology from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst, has worked in the field of disability services in higher education for over 25 years. Currently, she is the Assistant Dean of Student Disability Services at Western New England University (WNE), in Springfield, MA, where she has facilitated access and coordinated support services and accommodations for students with disabilities for approximately 16 years. While knowledgeable in the field of disabilities in higher education, with respect to technology, legal issues, support strategies, accommodations and accessibility, Dr. Alpert feels her work is guided by her commitment to the belief that education should both enable and empower all community members to live and work in an environment sensitive to diversity. It is this directive that forms the basis for the peer mentoring program for students with ADHD and Autism Spectrum disorders that she has developed and implemented at WNE since 2007. With this program, she continues to facilitate educational opportunities for Western New England University students to gain quality supervised clinical experience while providing cutting edge support to students with ADHD and those on the Autism Spectrum.

See Western New England University Peer Mentoring Program: Creating a Community for Learning for details on her conference presentation.

 

Harold Fields is an Area Director at the Rochester Institute of Technology, Center for Residence Life. Biography coming soon, please check back.

See Living and Learning Panel for details on his conference presentation.
 

LaurieAckles.jpgLaurie Ackles serves as the Director of the Spectrum Support Program at Rochester Institute of Technology. In its fifth year, the Spectrum Support Program represents one of the nation's largest formal programs focused on meeting the needs of highly capable college students on the autism spectrum. Laurie is a licensed Master level Social Worker and holds permanent certification as a NYS school social worker. Prior to coming to RIT, she coordinated the NYS VESID Model Transition Project for Monroe 2 Orleans BOCES, worked with high school students with disabilities as a Transition Coordinator to assist them in transitioning to post-secondary education and work, and coordinated a successful summer work program for students with disabilities.

 

See Rochester Institute of Technology's Co-Op and Career Success Seminar for Students with ASD for details on her conference presentation.