2024 Keynote Speakers
Jeff Karp, PhD (he/him)
Author, Entrepreneur, Harvard Medical School Professor, MIT Bioengineer, Biotech Innovator, and Humanitarian
Jeff is a passionate mentor and biomedical engineering professor at Harvard Medical School and MIT, a Distinguished Chair at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. As a bioengineer, Dr. Karp is at the forefront of taking inspiration from the most successful researchers of all time—evolution and nature—to find ways to improve our daily life, health, focus and productive purpose. His lab’s technologies have led to the formation of thirteen companies. The technologies they have developed include a tissue glue that can seal holes inside a beating heart; targeted therapy for osteoarthritis, Crohn’s disease, and brain disorders; “smart needles” that automatically stop when they reach their target; a nasal spray that neutralizes pathogens; and immunotherapy approaches to annihilate cancer.
Growing up in rural Canada he was written off by his school because of his learning differences. He evolved a process for embracing life, embodied by ‘Life Ignition Tools’, through years of iteration and tinkering to make his unique patterns of thought and behavior work for him. These LIT tools have been thoroughly road-tested, through Dr. Karp’s life, in his lab, and by his many mentees. His talk will cover how to use “nature’s playbook to energize your brain, spark ideas, and ignite action”.
Jeff is also Head of Innovation at Geoversity, Nature’s University, a rainforest bio-leadership training conservancy located in one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world. Dr. Karp lives in Brookline, Massachusetts, with his wife, children, and two Cavalier King Charles spaniels.
John Elder Robison (he/him)
Author, Scholar, and Advocate
John is a well-known American author of Switched On: A Memoir of Brain Change and Emotional Intelligence, Look Me in the Eye, Be Different, and Raising Cubby. He’s a leading voice for autism and neurodiversity, imploring audiences to find strengths where others see weaknesses based on societal standards. John is a neurodiversity scholar and one of the founders of the Neurodiversity Program at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA—one of the first of its kind at a major American University. John is the main keynote speaker for this conference, speaking on demanding issues related to neurodiversity and his personal experience as a neurodivergent engineer.
2024 Presenters
Verónica Cuevas Brenner, CCEP-I, MSJP, MSEM (she/her)
Co-Founder & Compliance Operations Officer (COO), Blazing Haven Ventures LLC
Verónica was born in Santo Domingo city, Dominican Republic to an Afro-Antillean (Antillanos) family forced to migrate to the USA during the 1990’s world economic depression. She’s neurodiverse, female engineer, and first generation to attend higher education in the USA. Verónica is a visionary compliance executive with increasing responsibility leading complex health science programs. She’s a skilled change agent who can quickly access requirement gaps and plan an innovative bridge to compliance through the creative ingenuity afforded by statutory knowledge and risk management. She’s an affiliative leader with unparalleled proficiency in engaging, collaborating, and coaching globally dispersed, cross-functional, and multigenerational teams. Her proven management track record and strategic planning skills directly aligns with internal and external stakeholders towards a cooperative goal. Verónica has a Health Science Technical Portfolio SME who demonstrated effectiveness managing end-to-end strategic regulatory operations of clinical and commercial therapies within the biologics, CGT, medical devices and pharmaceutical markets including mRNA, viral vectors, parenteral devices, IVD, orthopedics, SaMD, and combination thereof for US and OUS markets.
Michael John Carley (he/him)
Author, Consultant, and Executive Director
Michael is an author, school and business consultant, and former Executive Director in the autism, neurodiversity, mental health, disability, and DEI worlds. He received his B.A. from Hampshire College and his M.F.A. from Columbia University.
Between 2003 and 2013, as the Founder and first Executive Director of the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership (GRASP), at the time was the largest membership organization in the world that’s comprised of adults on the autism spectrum and spoke at over 200 conferences, hospitals, universities, and health care organizations. As the Executive Director of the Asperger Syndrome Training & Employment Partnership (ASTEP, now “Integrate”) from 2011-2014, he spoke at conferences focusing on Human Resources, Corporate Diversity & Inclusion, and he conducted numerous trainings and webinars for individual Fortune 1000 companies. From 2004-2016, he consulted for the New York City Public Schools, and he now works in higher education. He will be speaking at this conference about how to unlearn bias at higher education and in the workplace.
Keshard Chéry, MS (she/her)
Talent Aquisition Senior Associate, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Keshard is a disability advocate and an HR professional with a Master of Science in Human Resources Management from Northeastern University. She pioneers neurodiversity efforts at her current company, Vertex Pharmaceuticals. Keshard runs L&D sessions on various topics related to neurodiversity/disability for employee engagement and awareness efforts. She also is on a team, launching an employee resource group for people with disabilities and allies. She was a NextGen Leader for Disability:IN for 2022 and 2023. Keshard also has co-published a chapter in a book speaking on the transition from higher education to the workforce for disability/neurodiversity relating to people of color. In her free time she enjoys spending time with family and her beloved dog and cat.
Kendra Evans, MAT/MBA (she/her)
Director of Spectrum Support Programs, Rochester Institute of Technology
Kendra is the Director of the Spectrum Support Program (SSP) and the Neurodiverse Hiring Initiative (NHI) at RIT. She has cultivated partnerships across campus to enrich the neurodivergent student experience, developed meaningful relationships with national advocacy organizations and employers, serves as content expert and PI on grants, and frequently presents at conferences. Evans was awarded RIT’s Presidential Excellence Award in spring of 2023.
Cherie Fishbaugh, MAT/MBA (she/her)
Director of Autism Services, West Chester University of Pennsylvania
Cherie is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst. She earned her M.A. in special education with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis from The Ohio State University. Cherie has worked with individuals from the age of 18 months to adulthood. Her experience includes working at the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, serving as an Education Consultant for the May Institute, and assisting with program and clinical development for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Autism Resource Center (SPARC). In 2016, Cherie joined West Chester University as the Director of Autism Services and developed Dub-C Autism Program (D-CAP). Cherie’s clinical and research expertise are in the areas of behavior analysis, autism spectrum disorders, behavior management, social skills training, and positive behavior support.
Other: Co-founder and executive board member of Neurodiversity Employment Network- Philadelphia; Steering committee for Alliance: College to Employment Program. Co-Chair Planning Committee for College Autism Summit; Advisor for Eagles Autism Foundation- College Program at WCU; Mentor for SquareOne; PEERS certified
Wes Garton, MS (he/him)
Spectrum Scholars Program Manager, University of Delaware
Wes is Program Manager for the Spectrum Scholars initiative at University of Delaware. Spectrum Scholars’ vision is to empower autistic people and their communities, through collaboration, advocacy, research, education, and service. Wes has worked in higher education for ten years in a variety of roles supporting neurodivergent students, including academic coach, coordinator, advisor, and most recently manager. Wes has presented at several national conferences including twice at the College Autism Summit. In his personal time Wes loves running, traveling, and spending time with his wife.
AC Goldberg, PhD, CCC/SLP (he/him)
Professor, Northeastern University Bouvé College of Health Sciences
AC is a physically disabled, neurodivergent, intersex/transgender Professor, DEIB Consultant and Speech/Language Pathologist whose mission is to cultivate affirming spaces for all people. Dr. Goldberg is a visiting assistant clinical professor at Northeastern University’s Bouvé College of Health sciences, where he runs a gender-affirming voice clinic and teaches courses in DEI and transgender health. He is a recipient of Northeastern’s Inclusive Impact grant funding for a project on Transgender Health Equity and Belonging. Dr. Goldberg’s consulting work centers around empathy, humanity and intersectional cultural responsiveness. Since beginning his speaking career, AC has delivered nearly 1000 lectures and trainings on affirming practices in spaces like corporations, higher education and healthcare settings. His continuing education nonprofit, The CREDIT Institute, is dedicated to advancing intersectional equity in educational and healthcare settings. He is the 2022 recipient of the American Speech Language Hearing Association’s (ASHA) Outstanding Service Award, the 2023 recipient of Sargent College’s Special Recognition Award and the 2024 recipient of the Influential Leadership in Healthcare Award. Dr. Goldberg currently serves as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion co-chair for the American Speech-Language Hearing Association’s convention planning committee and he is a mentor for voice professionals through the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH).
Jeanne Kramer, SLPD CCC-SLP (she/her)
Teaching Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
Jeanne is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies and Director of the Autism Program (TAP) and the Illinois Neurodiversity Initiative (INI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She has over thirty years of experience as a Speech Language Pathologist specializing in traumatic brain injury and stroke, spending the past five years concentrating on community supports for autism. Her area of specialization is executive function intervention. She is the founder and creator of INI, a campus-wide support program for the academic, mental health, social, and employment success of neurodivergent UIUC students. She is mom to four adult children, two of whom are on the autism spectrum. The eldest graduated from UIUC in the Business Honors program and her youngest is a senior at Baylor University in Mechanical Engineering. Her other two children are pretty wonderful too! Dr. Kramer will share how she fosters a neuro-inclusive campus during the High Education Programs Panel.
Kyle Oddis, PhD (she/her)
Senior Associate, Neurodiversity in the Workplace
Kyle is an award-winning university instructor with cross-disciplinary program administration and project management experience in higher education, EdTech, and nonprofits. Kyle applies her experience building virtual, hybrid, and in-person learning communities to her current role at Neurodiversity in the Workplace (NITW), where she leads neuro-inclusion initiatives in the Greater Boston/New England area. She will take part in the Neurodiversity at Work Panel, discussing employers create neurodiversity hiring/co-op programs and hiring neurodivergent candidates.
Maricla Pirozzi, EdD (she/her)
Program Director, Northeastern University College of Engineering
Maricla earned her BA in Arts Foreign Languages and Literature with a Concentration in American Studies from the Instituto Universitario L’ Orientale, her MS in Data Architecture from the European School of Economics, and her EdD in Higher Education Administration from Northeastern University. She’s also a IACT Certified ADHD Coach. Dr. Pirozzi currently serves as the Program Director of the Master of Science in Information Systems Bridge program at Northeastern University College of Engineering, driving force in promoting inclusivity and expanding academic opportunities. Her research focuses on developing innovative instructional strategies and tools to empower college students with ADHD and will be presenting ADHD approaches during the conference program.
Nina Schiarizzi-Tobin, M.Ed (she/her)
Assistant Director, Disability, Access & Inclusion, University of Rhode Island
Nina is a proudly neurodivergent, veteran inclusive educator, with nearly 25 years of experience in teaching, evaluation, curriculum design, legislation, transition-planning, disability justice activism, advocacy, administration, research, inclusion practices, and program development. Nina has worked with and for such institutions as the Boston Public Schools, Lesley University, MGH’s Lurie Center and their Aspire summer Program, the AdCouncil on disclosure, and founded several in-person and online disability communities for advocacy, education, and peer support. She served on the Educator Advisory Board for the MFA Boston for ten years, and co-facilitated the first inter-museum panel in Boston focused on building educational programming for autistic students. Nina consults for and with numerous districts throughout New England on transition planning and ADA/504/508 law in higher education. Nina has taught and worked in various institutions of higher education, and currently serves as part time faculty, and the Assistant Director of Disability, Access, and Inclusion at the University of Rhode Island. In her free time, she loves to be outdoors, making art and music, tending to her many plants, or watching movies with her three amazing children and four unruly cats.
Bridget M. Smyser, PhD (she/her)
Teaching Professor, Northeastern University College of Engineering
Bridget earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She is currently working towards a M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration at Northeastern University. Her research interests include the pedagogy of laboratory and design courses, inclusive teaching, and supporting underrepresented students in engineering. Dr. Smyser will be discussing neurodiversity approaches and what is neurodiversity during the conference.
Bruce Soltys (he/him)
Vice President of Emerging Talent, Travelers
As the Vice President of Emerging Talent, Bruce is tasked with leading teams accountable for the design and delivery of the enterprise strategy for sourcing, attracting, recruiting, and developing talent via colleges, universities and other recruiting partners. Prior to Travelers, he held Campus Recruiting leadership positions with Prudential Financial and Verizon. His previous experience also includes HR Business Partner and Experienced Recruiting roles with Citi, Ernst & Young and Lucent Technologies. Bruce holds a BA in Economics from Rutgers University and is a graduate of the National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE) Leadership Advancement Program. He also served on the NACE Board of Directors for the 2017-2019 term.
Keivan Stassun, PhD (he/him)
Stevenson Professor of Astrophysics, Director of First Center for Autism & Innovation, Vanderbilt University
Keivan holds the Stevenson chair in Astrophysics and holds secondary appointments in Computer Science and in Management, at Vanderbilt University. Stassun is a deputy lead investigator for NASA’s Ultraviolet Explorer (UVEX) mission, co-investigator for NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission, chairs the executive committee of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, serves on the National Academy of Sciences Space Studies Board, and recently served on the National Academy of Sciences Decadal Steering Committee for Astronomy & Astrophysics. His research on stars and exoplanets has appeared in more than 500 peer-reviewed journal articles, with an emphasis on developing new data-driven methods for making precise measurements of the fundamental physical properties of stars and planets.
From 2004 to 2015, he served as founding director of the Fisk-Vanderbilt Masters-to-PhD Bridge Program, which has become one of the nation’s top producers of PhDs to underrepresented minorities in the physical sciences. Having trained more than fifty PhD students and postdoctoral scholars from diverse backgrounds, Stassun is a leader and advocate for broadening participation of individuals from underrepresented groups in STEM fields, especially underrepresented minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. He has served on NSF’s Committee for Equal Opportunity in Science and Engineering, chaired the American Astronomical Society’s Committee on Minorities, is a recipient of the American Physical Society’s Nicholson Medal for Human Outreach, has been named Mentor of the Year by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has been honored with a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. Stassun currently serves as founding director of the Frist Center for Autism & Innovation in Vanderbilt’s School of Engineering, focused on advancing science and engineering through the engagement and workforce development of autistic individuals and those with other forms of neurodiversity. In 2023, Stassun was appointed to a six-year term on the National Science Board by President Joseph R. Biden.
Connie Syharat (she/her)
Research Assistant, University of Connecticut
Connie is a Research Assistant at the University of Connecticut as a part of two neurodiversity-centered NSF-funded projects. She is Program Manager for the Include Program as part of a Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (NSF:RED) grant titled “Beyond Accommodation: Leveraging Neurodiversity for Engineering Innovation.” As a graduate researcher, she is conducting qualitative research related to the experiences of neurodiverse graduate students in STEM fields through an Innovations in Graduate Education (NSF:IGE) project titled “Encouraging the Participation of Neurodiverse Students in STEM Graduate Programs to Radically Enhance the Creativity of the Professional Workforce.” Previously, she spent eight years as a K-12 teacher in Connecticut, where she maintained a focus on providing a varied learning environment and differentiated instruction for all types of learners. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Engineering Education in UConn’s College of Engineering.
Amy Tavares (she/her)
Neurodiversity Program Manager & Career Consultant, Carnegie Mellon University
Amy is currently the inaugural program manager for the Olitsky Family Foundation Career Readiness Program at Carnegie Mellon University. This grant-funded program takes a multi-faceted approach by engaging with students, alumni, faculty, staff, employers, and the community to work towards reducing barriers to employment for individuals with cognitive and/or emotional differences. Amy is a licensed counselor in Pennsylvania and is passionate about neuroinclusion and mental well-being in the workplace.
Charles Watson (he/his)
Assistant Dean, DEI, COE, University of Rhode Island (URI)
Charles is an active member of the College of Engineering DE&I Advaisory Board, The Partnership, INC., Community, Equity and Diversity (CED) College Diversity Professionals and Partners, National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates (NAMEPA) and serves as Region A Chair, National Advisory Council for the Minorities in Engineering (NACME). He is the University representative member of the National GEM Consortium (GEM gradlab), National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), Society of Advancing Chicano/Hispanic & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), 50K Coalition, Cox Communications Charities Executive Board, the Northeast Louis Stoke Alliance for Minority Participation Executive Board (NELSAMP), Lights & Sirens International Board of Directors and has served on the URI Alumni Executive Board and Institutional Review Board (IRB), Rhode Island Community Food Bank Executive Board and the YMCA Executive Board Cranston, RI.
For 20 years plus Charles has been the senior coordinator for the URI’s NSF Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation initiative so that thousands of additional underrepresented minority students in STEM can receive significant financial and academic support. He is and has been diversity lead on more than $48 million in National Science Foundation (NSF) awards that supports the broader impact for underrepresented minority research efforts, including a $19 million NSF grant funded Rhode Island Consortium for Coastal Ecology Assessment, Innovation, and Modeling (RI C-AIM) and serves as lead for the grants Diversity Action Committee (DAC). His open, candid, and personal discussion of the needs of underrepresented minority students pursuing engineering and science and the personal responsibility that goes with it has been embraced by University of Rhodes Island leadership.
David Yozzi, EdD (he/him)
EVP General Manager Inclusive Workplaces, Texthelp
David has a blend of academic expertise in adult education, sales leadership, organizational consulting, and global program development. He has a background spanning multiple sectors from Education, Publishing, Professional Services, Social Media, Life Sciences to Technology. His professional trajectory is marked by consistent success, from his early years in the academic realm to leadership roles at organizations such as IBM, Duke Corporate Education, Dell, HP, Medidata, Twitter, and most recently, Texthelp.
As the EVP of Workplace Sales, David leads and drives sales for Texthelp’s workplace division globally, while overseeing a high-performing sales team. His role focuses on streamlining and expanding Workplace sales, fostering a data-driven performance culture, and collaborating with partners to enhance market reach. Alongside, he contributes to building a world-class organization, optimizing sales processes, and proactively managing the team’s performance to maintain Texthelp’s prominence in the SaaS space.
Texthelp is a global technology company that helps over 200 million people across the world. We have a number of different products, but our flagship product is an inclusion tool called Read&Write. Read&Write is a digital literacy toolbar which aims to increase neuro-inclusion among employees who think, learn and work differently.
Read&Write supports employees with neurodiverse conditions such as Dyslexia, ADHD and Autism, but also people for whom English is not their first language as well as staff with low literacy or who have low confidence in reading and writing.