Ari Ne'eman
Ari Ne'eman is the Founding President of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, where he initiates and directs efforts to increase the representation of autistic individuals in public policy discussions. He is an adult on the autism spectrum and a leading advocate in the neurodiversity movement, frequently briefing policymakers and speaking publicly on disability and autism policy issues. In 2009, President Obama nominated Ari to the National Council on Disability, a federal agency charged with advising Congress and the President on disability policy issues. He was confirmed by the Senate in July 2010. In April 2010, he was appointed by Secretary Sebelius as a public member to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, a Federal advisory committee that coordinates all efforts within the Department of Health and Human Services concerning autism.
Appointed by Governor Jon Corzine, Ari 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. In 2008, Ari served as the first ever Patricia Morrissey Disability Policy Fellow at the Institute for Educational Leadership. That year, he also received the HSC Foundation “Advocates in Disability” Award, and in 2009, he received the Expanding Horizons Award from United Cerebral Palsy. He is also a board member of TASH, an advocacy organization focusing on advancing social justice for people with significant disabilities. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, where he studied political science in the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program.
Ari can be emailed at aneeman@autisticadvocacy.org
Scott Michael Robertson
Scott Michael Robertson is the Vice President of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and an adult on the autism spectrum. Scott has a bachelor's degree in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master's degree in human-computer interaction from Carnegie Mellon University. He is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in information sciences and technology at Penn State University's University Park campus. Scott's 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. He has authored several peer-reviewed academic journal articles and conference papers on this subject.
Beyond his research, Scott has actively served the cross-disability and autism communities as a mentor, teacher, advocate, public speaker, and writer. Scott serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare's Bureau of Autism Services, as the Graduate Student Representative to the Society for Disability Studies, as a member of the Board of Directors of ASCEND Group (The Asperger Syndrome Alliance for Greater Philadelphia), as a member of the Scientific and Educational Advisory Board of the Autism Higher Education Foundation, and as a co-investigator and a community representative of the Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership In Research and Education (AASPIRE). Scott has delivered more than 85 presentations on autism and other disabilities at conferences, schools, and associations throughout the U.S., including 12 keynote addresses. He has also previously taught and mentored adolescents and young adults with neurological and developmental disabilities, including youth on the autism spectrum.
He can be reached at srobertson@autisticadvocacy.org
Dora Raymaker
Dora Raymaker, MS, Systems Science, sits on the board of directors of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, co-directs the Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (http://aaspire.org), and is on the editorial board of Self Advocates as Leaders (http://asksaal.org). Dora also serves on the Oregon Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorder (http://www.orcommissionasd.org), a state government commission that seeks to improve autism services.
Dora currently works on a number of research projects on topics related to healthcare and well-being (through OHSU, http://ohsu.edu), alternative and augmentative communication (through AAC-RERC, http://aac-rerc.psu.edu), and interpersonal violence against individuals with developmental disabilities (through the AUCD, http://www.aucd.org). Dora is an autistic individual with strong interest in science and research, systems thinking, autistic and disability rights, quality of life, true inclusion, and accessibility.
Paula C. Durbin-Westby
Paula C. Durbin-Westby began her work with ASAN shortly after learning about being on the autism spectrum. She was involved with the opposition to the Ransom Notes advertising campaign in 2007. As part of her efforts to end abuse and seclusion of children with disabilities in the schools, she presented an ASAN statement to the Florida Department of Education Public Hearing on the Proposed Rules for the Use of Reasonable Force by School Personnel.
Paula has testified at numerous IACC meetings, calling for research into supports and services throughout the lifespan. She has urged NIMH to include autistic individuals as full partners in research projects, to fund research into Augmentative and Alternative Communication, and to include more autistic members on the IACC committee. She has compiled information for several IACC Requests for Information, including research into services and supports and the IACC Draft Strategic Plan. At the November 21, 2008 IACC meeting she gave an invited presentation on Ethical Concerns in Autism Research. She was an invited panelist at the IACC Scientific Workshop on September 30-October 1, 2009.
Paula is one of three ASAN Board members who is a parent; we are working on developing resources for parents and always welcome inquiries from other parents, on the spectrum or off. Paula is also an autistic community member of the Academic Autistic Partnership In Research and Education (AASPIRE). She blogs at http://paulacdurbinwestbyautisticblog.blogspot.com about autistic advocacy issues.
She can be contacted at pdurbinwestby@autisticadvocacy.org
Meg Evans
Meg Evans is the Secretary of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and is currently employed in the legal publishing industry. She is a licensed attorney in the State of Ohio and received her law degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She is married and has two grown children. Meg was identified as autistic in early childhood, and several of her family members are on the autistic spectrum.
Meg is ASAN's Director of Community Liaison and, as such, provides information to the community about ASAN's activities and responds to inquiries. If you have a question about ASAN's advocacy efforts or a suggestion for us, Meg would love to hear from you! She is one of the authors of the ASAN Southwest Ohio blog (http://asansouthwestohio.blogspot.com) and has contributed guest posts to other blogs, including the Change.org blog on autism and disability rights.
She can be reached at mevans@autisticadvocacy.org
Elesia Ashkenazy
Elesia Ashkenazy heads the Autistic Self Advocacy Network's Chapter Anatomy Committee, as well as chairs the Portland, Oregon chapter of ASAN. She is a community board member, as well as a Research Assistant for Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE). Elesia is an AASPIRE/ASAN representative to the Gateway Project Advisory Council, which is a collaboration between Dr. Morton Ann Gernsbacher's Laboratory and AASPIRE.
Elesia is a member of the Screening, Identification, and Assessment Subcommittee for the Oregon Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Elesia Ashkenazy is diagnosed on the autism spectrum, and is also profoundly deaf. She is fluent in American Sign Language and is also a cochlear implant recipient. Elesia is the mother of an autistic son and has several extended family members who are on the autism spectrum. She is doing her part to promote a better understanding of the needs of autistics in the here and now. Elesia possesses a B.A. degree in Speech & Hearing Sciences from Portland State University. She is a licensed Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA).
Elesia authors the blog Aspitude (http://aspitude.blogspot.com), and has contributed guest posts to other blogs including the Change.org blog on autism and disability rights.
Elesia may be reached at eashkenaz@autisticadvocacy.org
Melanie Yergeau
Melanie Yergeau is a Ph.D. candidate in Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy at The Ohio State University, where she also teaches courses in writing, digital media, and disability studies. A recipient of the 2009 Kairos Best Webtext Award and the 2008 Kairos/Bedford St. Martin's Graduate Student Award for Service, she researches how disability studies and digital technologies complicate our understandings of writing and communication.
She has published in Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy; Computers and Composition Online; and Disability Studies Quarterly. She is also an associate editor of Computers and Composition: An International Journal and is the editorial design director for Computers and Composition Digital Press, an imprint of Utah State University Press.
Melanie currently directs the Central Ohio/Ohio State chapter of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN). She blogs semi-regularly at http://aspierhetor.com
She can be contacted at myergeau@gmail.com
Ari Ne'eman is the Founding President of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, where he initiates and directs efforts to increase the representation of autistic individuals in public policy discussions. He is an adult on the autism spectrum and a leading advocate in the neurodiversity movement, frequently briefing policymakers and speaking publicly on disability and autism policy issues. In 2009, President Obama nominated Ari to the National Council on Disability, a federal agency charged with advising Congress and the President on disability policy issues. He was confirmed by the Senate in July 2010. In April 2010, he was appointed by Secretary Sebelius as a public member to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, a Federal advisory committee that coordinates all efforts within the Department of Health and Human Services concerning autism.
Appointed by Governor Jon Corzine, Ari 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. In 2008, Ari served as the first ever Patricia Morrissey Disability Policy Fellow at the Institute for Educational Leadership. That year, he also received the HSC Foundation “Advocates in Disability” Award, and in 2009, he received the Expanding Horizons Award from United Cerebral Palsy. He is also a board member of TASH, an advocacy organization focusing on advancing social justice for people with significant disabilities. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, where he studied political science in the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program.
Ari can be emailed at aneeman@autisticadvocacy.org
Scott Michael Robertson
Scott Michael Robertson is the Vice President of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and an adult on the autism spectrum. Scott has a bachelor's degree in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master's degree in human-computer interaction from Carnegie Mellon University. He is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in information sciences and technology at Penn State University's University Park campus. Scott's 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. He has authored several peer-reviewed academic journal articles and conference papers on this subject.
Beyond his research, Scott has actively served the cross-disability and autism communities as a mentor, teacher, advocate, public speaker, and writer. Scott serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare's Bureau of Autism Services, as the Graduate Student Representative to the Society for Disability Studies, as a member of the Board of Directors of ASCEND Group (The Asperger Syndrome Alliance for Greater Philadelphia), as a member of the Scientific and Educational Advisory Board of the Autism Higher Education Foundation, and as a co-investigator and a community representative of the Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership In Research and Education (AASPIRE). Scott has delivered more than 85 presentations on autism and other disabilities at conferences, schools, and associations throughout the U.S., including 12 keynote addresses. He has also previously taught and mentored adolescents and young adults with neurological and developmental disabilities, including youth on the autism spectrum.
He can be reached at srobertson@autisticadvocacy.org
Dora Raymaker
Dora Raymaker, MS, Systems Science, sits on the board of directors of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, co-directs the Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (http://aaspire.org), and is on the editorial board of Self Advocates as Leaders (http://asksaal.org). Dora also serves on the Oregon Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorder (http://www.orcommissionasd.org), a state government commission that seeks to improve autism services.
Dora currently works on a number of research projects on topics related to healthcare and well-being (through OHSU, http://ohsu.edu), alternative and augmentative communication (through AAC-RERC, http://aac-rerc.psu.edu), and interpersonal violence against individuals with developmental disabilities (through the AUCD, http://www.aucd.org). Dora is an autistic individual with strong interest in science and research, systems thinking, autistic and disability rights, quality of life, true inclusion, and accessibility.
Paula C. Durbin-Westby
Paula C. Durbin-Westby began her work with ASAN shortly after learning about being on the autism spectrum. She was involved with the opposition to the Ransom Notes advertising campaign in 2007. As part of her efforts to end abuse and seclusion of children with disabilities in the schools, she presented an ASAN statement to the Florida Department of Education Public Hearing on the Proposed Rules for the Use of Reasonable Force by School Personnel.
Paula has testified at numerous IACC meetings, calling for research into supports and services throughout the lifespan. She has urged NIMH to include autistic individuals as full partners in research projects, to fund research into Augmentative and Alternative Communication, and to include more autistic members on the IACC committee. She has compiled information for several IACC Requests for Information, including research into services and supports and the IACC Draft Strategic Plan. At the November 21, 2008 IACC meeting she gave an invited presentation on Ethical Concerns in Autism Research. She was an invited panelist at the IACC Scientific Workshop on September 30-October 1, 2009.
Paula is one of three ASAN Board members who is a parent; we are working on developing resources for parents and always welcome inquiries from other parents, on the spectrum or off. Paula is also an autistic community member of the Academic Autistic Partnership In Research and Education (AASPIRE). She blogs at http://paulacdurbinwestbyautisticblog.blogspot.com about autistic advocacy issues.
She can be contacted at pdurbinwestby@autisticadvocacy.org
Meg Evans
Meg Evans is the Secretary of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and is currently employed in the legal publishing industry. She is a licensed attorney in the State of Ohio and received her law degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. She is married and has two grown children. Meg was identified as autistic in early childhood, and several of her family members are on the autistic spectrum.
Meg is ASAN's Director of Community Liaison and, as such, provides information to the community about ASAN's activities and responds to inquiries. If you have a question about ASAN's advocacy efforts or a suggestion for us, Meg would love to hear from you! She is one of the authors of the ASAN Southwest Ohio blog (http://asansouthwestohio.blogspot.com) and has contributed guest posts to other blogs, including the Change.org blog on autism and disability rights.
She can be reached at mevans@autisticadvocacy.org
Elesia Ashkenazy
Elesia Ashkenazy heads the Autistic Self Advocacy Network's Chapter Anatomy Committee, as well as chairs the Portland, Oregon chapter of ASAN. She is a community board member, as well as a Research Assistant for Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education (AASPIRE). Elesia is an AASPIRE/ASAN representative to the Gateway Project Advisory Council, which is a collaboration between Dr. Morton Ann Gernsbacher's Laboratory and AASPIRE.
Elesia is a member of the Screening, Identification, and Assessment Subcommittee for the Oregon Commission on Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Elesia Ashkenazy is diagnosed on the autism spectrum, and is also profoundly deaf. She is fluent in American Sign Language and is also a cochlear implant recipient. Elesia is the mother of an autistic son and has several extended family members who are on the autism spectrum. She is doing her part to promote a better understanding of the needs of autistics in the here and now. Elesia possesses a B.A. degree in Speech & Hearing Sciences from Portland State University. She is a licensed Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA).
Elesia authors the blog Aspitude (http://aspitude.blogspot.com), and has contributed guest posts to other blogs including the Change.org blog on autism and disability rights.
Elesia may be reached at eashkenaz@autisticadvocacy.org
Melanie Yergeau
Melanie Yergeau is a Ph.D. candidate in Rhetoric, Composition, and Literacy at The Ohio State University, where she also teaches courses in writing, digital media, and disability studies. A recipient of the 2009 Kairos Best Webtext Award and the 2008 Kairos/Bedford St. Martin's Graduate Student Award for Service, she researches how disability studies and digital technologies complicate our understandings of writing and communication.
She has published in Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy; Computers and Composition Online; and Disability Studies Quarterly. She is also an associate editor of Computers and Composition: An International Journal and is the editorial design director for Computers and Composition Digital Press, an imprint of Utah State University Press.
Melanie currently directs the Central Ohio/Ohio State chapter of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN). She blogs semi-regularly at http://aspierhetor.com
She can be contacted at myergeau@gmail.com
