Andrew E. Abere, Ph.D., is the parent of a 14-year-old son with autism. Andrew is the immediate past Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Eden Family of Services. He also is President and founder of the Ride 4 Autism™, an annual charity bicycle tour to benefit COSAC. With his son, he has participated as part of a tandem team in Special Olympics cycling. Andrew received his B.A. and his Ph.D. (Economics) from Columbia University where he has taught, in addition to NYU and Rutgers University.
Linda Walder Fiddle, Esq., in addition to her role as founding Executive Director of The Daniel Jordan Fiddle Foundation, Linda is an advocate for the autism community. In 2007, Linda was appointed by New Jersey State Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. to serve on The New Jersey Adults with Autism Task Force. She is a Trustee of COSAC and Chair of its Adult Resources Initiative. She is a member of the Advisory Board of The Autism Center of the New Jersey Medical School and the Autism Advisory Committee of Easter Seals of New Jersey.
Joanne Gerenser, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, is the Executive Director of Eden II Programs. She received her Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Science at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Joanne is a past president of the New York State Association for Behavior Analysis and a member of the Scientific Advisory Council for the Organization for Autism Research. She is an adjunct Associate Professor at Brooklyn College and Penn State University. She has authored several book chapters and articles on speech language disorders in autism and developmental disabilities. She serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis-Speech Language Pathology. Joanne sits on
the advisory boards of several schools and programs for individuals with autism throughout the United States and abroad. She has presented nationally and internationally on autism and related topics.
Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D., President of the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) has more than 25 years of experience working with adolescents and adults with ASDs in educational, employment and community-based settings. He is the author and co-author of articles and book chapters regarding the needs of adults with ASDs, school-to-work-transition and analysis and intervention of problematic behavior. Dr. Gerhardt has presented nationally and internationally on these topics. He received his doctorate from the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education.
Robert LaRue, Ph.D., BCBA, is an Assistant Research Professor at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. He is the Assistant Director of Research and Training at The Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center. He has co-authored articles in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences.
Leslie Long, B.A., is the Director of Public Policy and Systems Advocacy for COSAC. She graduated from Stockton State College where she earned a BA in Psychology and a minor in Gerontology. Leslie has directed employment programs for individuals with disabilities throughout New Jersey. She was the Statewide Coordinator for Technical Assistance for The Arc of New Jersey, Director of Project HIRE and Statewide Coordinator of Adult Services for the NJ Division of Developmental Disabilities. She served on the board of the NJ Association for Supported Employment (NJAPSE) and has presented statewide on supported employment services. Leslie currently is responsible for advocating for increased
appropriate services for all individuals with autism with an emphasis on adults.
Gregory MacDuff, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Princeton Child Development Institute (PCDI) and Adjunct Professor at the University of Kansas and The College of New Jersey. He has authored articles and book chapters on incidental teaching, photographic activity schedules, staff training strategies, prompting and prompt-fading procedures, behavioral intervention for adults with autism and intervention models in residential settings. He has lectured nationally and internationally and provided consultation and training to a variety of public and private programs.
Linda Meyer, Ed.D., MPA, is the Executive Director of COSAC and a consultant in private practice (Linda S. Meyer Consulting LLC). She is the co-founder of the Alpine Learning Group in Paramus, NJ and served as its founding executive director from 1989 until 2005. She serves on the professional advisory boards of several schools and agencies supporting individuals with ASDs. Linda has presented at regional, national and international conferences, and authored articles and book chapters on various special education, nonprofit management and personal fitness topics. She has taught Doctoral and Master’s level students in educational and clinical psychology programs and currently is an
adjunct professor at Caldwell College.
Kenneth William Ritchey is the Assistant Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services’ Division of Developmental Disabilities. Mr. Ritchey received his Bachelor’s degree from Shippensburg University and his Master’s from the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. He has a second Master’s in Education Administration from the University of Dayton and participated in the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government sponsored by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Mr. Ritchey previously served as the Director of the Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
Robert Titus is a past COSAC Board President and the father of 25 year-old Joseph, a young man with autism who currently resides in a group home. Robert graduated Montclair State College and currently is an engineer for Verizon New Jersey Telecom. He also serves on the board of Princeton Child Development Institute.
Keynote Panel
Sibling Stories: Reflections and Responsibility
If ASDs are a “puzzle,” then what pieces of the solution do siblings hold? Sibling relationships thrive on connection. ASDs test conventional sibling bonds by stripping away the connections upon which that kinship is based. Through resilience, adaptability and experience, strong bonds can and do form between siblings.
COSAC is pleased to present a keynote panel that will share their experiences of growing up with a sibling with an ASD – the good, the bad and everything in between. Through poignant and powerful reflections, the panel will reveal the moments of pride and doubt that have shaped their roles as brother and sister, advocate and caregiver.
Offering insight into the sibling relationship will be moderator John Donvan of ABC News. Mr. Donvan has reported a dozen feature stories about autism for “Nightline,” including “Kids With Asperger’s Disorder: Bullied on a Daily Basis,” “Love Complicates Life Even for the Autistic: Autistic Man Practices Art of Dating,” “Underdiagnosed Girls With Autism Struggle to Fit In,” and “Siblings Coping With Autism.” Dr. Mary Jane Weiss, co-author of “Sibling Stories: Reflections on Life with a Brother or Sister on the Autism Spectrum,” will provide an autism professional’s perspective.
Moderator: John Donvan, ABC News
John Donvan is a correspondent for ABC News “Nightline,” and was an occasional substitute anchorman for formal anchor Ted Koppel. For more than two decades, he has served in the following capacities for ABC News: Chief White House Correspondent, Chief Moscow Correspondent, Amman Bureau Chief, Jerusalem Correspondent and Correspondent for the ABC News Magazine “Turning Point.” More recently, Mr. Donvan has received positive reviews for his work covering the war in Iraq
as a unilateral reporter, for which the "Chicago Sun Times" named him one of the ten war stars. He has since made several return trips to Baghdad. Mr. Donvan has won two Emmy Awards, several Overseas Press Club Awards, two Cine Golden Eagles and been honored by the National Association of Black Journalists, the Committee of 100 and the Media Action Network for Asian-Americans. He graduated magna cum laude from Dartmouth College and the Columbia School of Journalism. He and his wife, Dr. Ranit Mishori, have a son, Ben, and a daughter, Noa. He has a personal connection to autism, as his wife’s brother is diagnosed with an ASD.
Mikey’s Sister: Alexandra Abend
Alex is a high school senior at Kent Place School and lives in Warren, New Jersey. Most notably, in 2007 and 2008 Alex organized a statewide “Autism Family Night” at T.G.I. Fridays to promote a family-friendly dining experience. With her father, she also created a Sports Clinic for Children with Special Needs, which teaches children with special needs how to play soccer, basketball and baseball. The program has been active for six years. Alex: “Autism is dark and
difficult and unpredictable. It has taught me always to be on edge, never to judge someone or something just by looking at it, because I know that there is always another level, another page to the story.”
Jessie’s Sister: Erica Lynne Harr
Miss New Jersey 2004, Erica currently is completing her Master’s of Fine Arts at the New School for Drama in New York City. As a Miss America contestant, she used her platform to raise autism awareness and continues to make appearances to discuss autism and how it has impacted her family. Erica: “Jessie is non-verbal; communicating her desires and needs is difficult. Equally challenging is her behavior, which, at times, is aggressive. Yet, as severely disabled as she is, she is
and will always be my little sister and my inspiration; I will always be her advocate and best friend.”
David's Brother: Paul Prior, Esq. Paul is a partner of Hinkle, Fingles and Prior, Attorneys at Law, and represents families in special education, adult service, guardianship and estate planning matters. Paul: “Although my brother has never said a word during my lifetime, more than any other person he taught me about inequality, justice, despair, hope, compassion, perseverance, fragility of life and strength of the human spirit.”
Jeffrey’s Sister: Ellen Schisler
Ellen currently serves as Director of Development for COSAC and is on the Board of Directors of Lifetime Support, an organization that provides advocacy and guardianship services in Union County, NJ. Ellen: “On my best days, my brother and I are not that different. A freshly baked chocolate chip cookie and a trip to the mall are sometimes all we need to make us happy. Jeffrey is perhaps the single biggest influence in my life and reinforces the importance of keeping perspective.”
Ian’s Sister: Renee Wells
Renee currently is enrolled at Temple University School of Social Administration pursing a degree in Social Work. Renee: “Before Ian's diagnosis, I had never heard of autism. When I was younger and it was still a new part of my life, I had no understanding of the disability and how it would impact Ian and our family. It has become a part of my daily vocabulary.”
Discussant: Mary Jane Weiss, Ph.D., BCBA
Mary Jane Weiss received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Rutgers University in 1990. She became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in 2000. She is an Associate Research Professor at Rutgers University and the Director of Research and Training at The Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center. She has written numerous articles and four books on autism: Practical Solutions for Educating Young Children with High Functioning Autism and Asperger’s Disorder (2008), Right
from the Start: Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism (co-authored with Sandra Harris, 2nd edition 2007), Reaching out, Joining in: Teaching Social Skills to Young Children with Autism (co-authored with Sandra Harris, 2001) and Sibling Stories: Reflections on Life with a Brother or Sister on the Autism Spectrum (co-authored with Lynne Stern Feiges, 2004). She also is a regular presenter at regional, national and international conferences on topics relevant to ABA and autism. She currently is the President of the Autism Special Interest Group of the Association for Behavior Analysis.
