Speaker bios
OAR’s Eighth Annual Applied Autism Research and Intervention Conference
Bill Ahearn, Ph.D., BCBA-D joined The New England Center for Children in August 1996, and currently serves at NECC as the Director of Research. He is also a Clinical Assistant Professor in Northeastern University’s Master’s program in Applied Behavior Analysis and Adjunct Faculty in Western New England College’s doctoral program. Bill was named the 2009 American Psychological Association – Division 25 awardee for Enduring Contributions to Applied Behavioral Research. Bill is the ACE coordinator for providing BCBA continuing education at NECC and for the Berkshire Association for Behavior Analysis and Therapy. He also serves on the Autism Advisory Committees for the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts and the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies. Bill’s research interests include social skills in children with autism, verbal behavior, assessment and treatment of stereotypy, severe problem behavior, and pediatric feeding difficulties. He is also interested in resistance to change, behavioral economics, and conditioned reinforcement. His work has been published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, Behavioral Interventions, Behavior Modification, The Lancet, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and has written book chapters on teaching children with autism and pediatric feeding problems in children with autism. Bill is currently on the Editorial Boards for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, and Behavioral Interventions and has served as a guest reviewer for several other journals. He has also been Principal Investigator on an NIH-funded grant with Dr. William Dube, is funded through by the Organization for Autism Research along with Dr. Becky MacDonald, and is a past-President of the Berkshire Association for Behavior Analysis and Therapy.
Toli Anastassiou, MA, BCBA is
the Program Director for Quest Autism Programs. He received his MA in Psychology with a specialty in Applied Behavior Analysis from the University of Nevada, Reno. He is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has worked with children, adolescents and young adults with autism and their families for ten years. Toli has presented at local and national and international conferences on topics including staff training, programming, and transition to adolescence and young adulthood.
 Emily H. Callahan, Ph.D. is Coordinator of Development, Research and Training at the Institute for Child Development, State University of New York at Binghamton. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from SUNY Binghamton. She has been involved in a wide variety of clinical activities focusing on social skills development in children with autism, and the needs of siblings and parents. Dr. Callahan has provided consultation services for school districts in various states as well as consultation to service providers across numerous professions.
She is a member of multiple professional organizations, and has presented her work at regional and national conferences addressing research and clinical aspects of autism spectrum disorders. Teaching activities are focused on staff training, undergraduate education, and graduate supervision. Her current work focuses upon improving large-scale service delivery for individuals with ASD by working directly with state government on systems change.
 Rachel N. Straub Cavalari, M.S. is a Psychology Assistant, Project Coordinator at the Institute for Child Development, and doctoral graduate student in clinical psychology at the State University of New York at Binghamton. She received her M.S. in clinical psychology from SUNY Binghamton in 2009. During her tenure, she has been involved in numerous clinical activities, including development of habilitative and educational programs for children with autism and consultation with families of children with autism for management of challenging behavior and parental stress. She has been involved in several projects centering on systems evaluation to improve service delivery to children, adolescents, and adults with autism in the state of New York.
Mrs. Cavalari has presented her research and clinical work at numerous regional and national conferences focusing on autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities. She is also actively involved in the didactic and applied training of undergraduate and graduate students, staff, and parents of children with autism.
Ivy Feldman, Ph.D, BCBA-D has been educational director of the McCarton School since 2002. As such, Dr. Feldman is responsible for the curriculum, behavioral planning, and setting of the educational policies at the McCarton School. She also provides ongoing staff training and coordinating educational planning with parents and outside therapists. Dr. Feldman is licensed psychologist specializing in child psychology and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
Dr. Feldman received her M.A. in psychology from New York University and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from St. John’s University, Queens, New York. She has worked as a special education teacher at League School in Brooklyn and provided Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy, supervision, and consultation. In addition to her work with special-needs children, Dr. Feldman has done research with high-risk infants.
Peggy Halliday, M.Ed., BCBA is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Ms. Halliday is the Director of Outreach Services at the Virginia Institute of Autism in Charlottesville (VIA). She joined VIA in 1998, and now directs home-based early intervention programs and home-based programs for elementary age students, consultation to public schools, and training for parents and professionals. Ms. Halliday received her bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary and her Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Northern Arizona University. Ms. Halliday serves as a Consumer Liaison for the Parent Professional Partnership Special Interest Group of the Association for Behavior Analysis International.
Carrie Hennessy has served as the Clinical Director of the Quest Autism Programs since they opened their doors in July 2005. She has a BA in Psychology from St. John Fisher College and attended graduate school at Montclair State University where she received her Teacher of the Handicapped certification. She has her graduate certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis from the University of North Texas. Carrie has worked with children, young adults and adults with autism and their families for the past 14 years. She previously worked as a teacher at the Alpine Learning Group and as a clinical evaluator on a NIH-funded ABA study at the University of Rochester Medical Center’s STAART (Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment) Center. Carrie has presented at national and international conferences on topics related to programming and transitioning for adolescents with autism, supported volunteer/employment, and various other topics related to ABA and adults with autism.
Rorie Hutter, M.S.Ed. has been with the Virginia Institute of Autism in Charlottesville, VA since 2000 and currently serves as the Director of Education for VIA’s school program. Ms. Hutter received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Virginia and her master’s degree in Special Education from Old Dominion University. She is currently completing coursework through Florida Institute of Technology to fulfill requirements toward board certification in behavior analysis.
 David L. Jaquess, Ph.D. is a licensed pediatric psychologist who has been helping children overcome behavior problems for over 20 years. He favors individualized treatment planning with an eye toward being able to measure when and how situations change, especially elements related to parent training and family involvement. A coauthor of several articles in professional journals, Dr. Jaquess currently is the Director of Pediatric Feeding and Pediatric Psychology services at Marcus Autism Center, and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University’s School of Medicine.
Ethan S. Long, Ph.D., BCBA-D is the Executive Director of The Virginia Institute of Autism (VIA), a nonprofit organization serving individuals with autism and their families in the greater Charlottesville, Virginia area. Dr. Long is responsible for the growth and development of day school, outreach, and new program development at VIA. He has a Ph.D. in child clinical psychology from West Virginia University and he is a board certified behavior analyst. He completed a research fellowship and a clinical internship at the Kennedy Krieger Institute at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Long has authored over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters related to applied behavior analysis and he currently serves on the editorial board of Behavior Analysis in Practice.
 Rebecca MacDonald, Ph.D., BCBA is a Licensed Psychologist in Massachusetts and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who serves as the Director of Intensive Instructional Preschool Program for children with autism at the New England Center for Children. She has faculty appointments in the Masters in Applied Behavior Analysis (MABA) Program at Northeastern University, the Special Education Department at Simmons College and the Psychology Department at Western New England College. Rebecca received her doctorate in Developmental and Child Psychology from the University of Kansas in 1983. Dr. MacDonald has presented her research at numerous conferences over the past twenty years and published studies that have appeared in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Research in Developmental Disabilities, and Behavioral Interventions. She has written a number of book chapters on social behavior in autism. Dr. MacDonald’s research interests are focused on teaching social skills to children with autism and have been support by both federal (NICHD) and private (OAR) grant sources. Her current projects include assessing and teaching joint attention, teaching play and social reciprocity to children with autism using video modeling, and measuring clinical outcomes of early intensive behavior intervention.
 Valerie Paradiz, Ph.D. develops educational programs for children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Redbook Magazine, NPR Radio, andThe Guardian. She is the developer of Integrated Self Advocacy ISA®, a curriculum and training series for educators, therapists and families who wish to support individuals with ASDs in achieving greater ability in self-advocacy (Autism Asperger Publishing Company). Valerie’s memoir,Elijah's Cup: A Family's Journey into the Community and Culture of High-Functioning Autism and Asperger's Syndrome(Jessica Kingsley, 2005) is the compelling story of the author's experiences raising her autistic son, their involvement together in the advocacy community, and her own ultimate diagnosis with Asperger syndrome. For more information, visit www.ValerieParadiz.com.
 Karen Pierce Ph.D. is Director of Clinical Research at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Autism Center of Excellence and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurosciences at UCSD. Dr. Pierce has been in the field of autism research for 20 years and is an invited speaker both nationally and internationally on the topic of autism. She has published dozens of autism research articles spanning the topics of treatment and behavior to functional brain imaging. Dr. Pierce’s past functional brain imaging research focused on understanding the neural substrates of abnormal social processing in young children and adults with autism. Within the past few years Dr. Pierce has focused her efforts exclusively on the 12-36 month age period and engages in research aimed at discovering an early biological and behavioral signature of autism. In order to study autism prospectively beginning at 12-months, Dr. Pierce developed the “1-Year Well-Baby Check-Up Approach” wherein thousands of babies in the general population are screened around their first birthday. Her research is funded by several grants from the NIMH as well as private organizations such as Autism Speaks, National Foundation for Autism Research and the Organization for Autism Research.
Dennis H. Reid, Ph.D., BCBA (Ph.D., Florida State University, 1975) has over 35 years experience as a manager and clinician, and has consulted with human service agencies in the majority of states of the United States as well as Canada and New Zealand. He has published over 100 refereed journal articles focusing on applied behavior analysis and authored or co-authored seven books. In 2007 he was awarded Fellowship status in the Association for Behavior Analysis International and in 2006 received the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Annual Research Award. Dennis is the founder and current director of the Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center in Morganton, North Carolina. His company has employed adults with severe autism in a supported work capacity for the last 15 years.
 Carol Schall, Ph.D. has been learning from and supporting individuals with autism since the early 1980’s. She is involved in supporting individuals across Virginia through her work as the director of the Virginia Autism Resource Center at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is well versed in completing functional behavior assessments and using positive behavior supports to develop comprehensive plans for individuals from a person-centered approach. She is a state trainer for the Positive Behavior Support project with the Partnership for People with Disabilities at Virginia Commonwealth University. Finally, she in the principal investigator for the VCU ASD Career Links Project. Her research interests include the monitoring of psychotropic medication for individuals with autism spectrum disorders, transition from school to work and adulthood, and training for parents and professionals on serving individuals with developmental disabilities. Dr. Schall is listed in the 2005 and 2006 editions of Who’s Who in America and has been honored by TASH with their Positive Approaches Award. Finally, she is the lead author of the Youth with Autism Chapter in the 4th edition of Dr. Paul Wehman’s popular book Life Beyond the Classroom and editor and author of Autism and the Transition to Adulthood: Success Beyond the Classroom available through Paul H. Brookes Publishers.
 William Sharp, Ph.D. is the Program Manager for outpatient services in the Feeding Disorders Program at the Marcus Autism Center, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to provide information, services and programs to children with autism and related disorders. He is also an Instructor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Sharp’s work focuses on developing and evaluating behavioral approaches for addressing severe feeding difficulties and other challenging behaviors related to autism and disseminating this technology to parents, educators, and practitioners. He has co-authored a treatment manual for parents on this topic, and he has published numerous peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters related to psychological treatment of children.
 Paul T. Shattuck, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. Shattuck conducts research aimed at improving systems of care and services for people with autism and their families. He is especially interested in two key service transitions: getting a diagnosis in early childhood and exiting high school in adolescence.
Stephen Shore, Ed.D. Diagnosed with "Atypical Development with strong autistic tendencies" Dr. Shore was viewed as "too sick" to be treated on an outpatient basis and recommended for institutionalization. Nonverbal until four, and with much help from his parents, teachers, and others, Stephen completed his doctoral dissertation at Boston University focused on matching best practice to the needs of people on the autism spectrum. Recently, Dr. Shore has accepted a professorship at Adelphi University teaching courses in special education and autism.
In addition to working with children and talking about life on the autism spectrum, Stephen 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.
President emeritus of the Asperger’s Association of New England, Dr. Shore serves on the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee, for the Board of Directors for Autism Society of America, Unlocking Autism, MAAP, the College Internship Program, and USAAA.
Lawrence Sutton, Ph.D. (coming soon)
 Luke Tsai, M.D. is Visiting Professor at Oakland University School of Education and Human Services. Dr. Tsai is a scholar, researcher, consultant, teacher, father of a young man with autism, and a friend of individuals with autism and related disorders. He has received numerous awards and honors for his work with individuals having neuropsychiatric disorders, including the President’s Award (2003) from the Autism Society of Michigan.
Dr. Tsai received his medical degree from Taipei Medical University (Taiwan), and completed residency training in General Psychiatry and his fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Iowa Hospitals. Prior to his current position at OU, he held academic and professional appointments at the University of Iowa College of Medicine, the University of Kansas School of Medicine, and the University of Michigan Medical School and College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. He has been selected by his peers as one of the Best Doctors in America. Dr. Tsai is the author of Taking the Mystery out of Medications in Autism/Asperger’s Syndromes. His work is widely published; he has authored more than 80 articles, and either written or made contributions to 35 books.
Prior to his retirement from University of Michigan in 2008, Dr. Tsai had for nearly thirty years been the principal investigator for numerous research grants on autism. He is highly respected both nationally and internationally, and his research has been published in numerous journals including the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, Biological Psychiatry, and the British Journal of Psychiatry.
 Mary Jane Weiss, Ph.D., BCBA 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 she is the Clinical Director at the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center at Rutgers University. Her clinical and research interests center on: the identification of best practice ABA techniques; evaluating the impact of ABA in learners with autism; building social skills; increasing the success of inclusive experiences; evaluating the efficacy of ancillary treatments; and maximizing family members’ expertise and adaptation. She has written numerous articles and four books on autism, Right from the start: Behavioral Intervention for young children with autism (co-authored with Sandra Harris, 1998; 2nd edition, 2007), Reaching out, joining in: Teaching social skills to young children with autism (co-authored with Sandra Harris, 2001), Sibling stories: Reflections on life with a brother or sister on the autism spectrum (co-authored with Lynne Stern Feiges, 2004) and Practical solutions for educating young children with high-functioning autism and Asperger syndrome (2008). She is also a regular presenter at regional, national, and international conferences on topics relevant to ABA and autism. She is Past President of the Autism Special Interest Group of the Association for Behavior Analysis, and serves on the Board of Trustees for Autism New Jersey, on the board of the Association for Professional Behavior Analysts and on the Scientific Council of the Organization for Autism Research.
 Christina Whalen, Ph.D., BCBA-D is a licensed psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst specializing in autism and related disorders. She received her PhD at U.C. San Diego and did her post-doctoral fellowship at U.C.L.A. She has consulted for many school districts and has run early intervention programs for autism at Autism Spectrum Therapies and University of Washington. She is Founder, President, and Chief Science Officer of TeachTown, a company creating innovative technology-based intervention solutions for special needs students. Dr. Whalen has more than 15 years of experience in research and clinical practice.
She has presented at many professional conferences and has authored several peer-reviewed publications. She is the Editor of the book, Real Life, Real Progress for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Strategies for Successful Generalization in Natural Environments.
Dr. Whalen has been a Principal Investigator on 4 federal grants and has won 2 awards for research including the National Tibbett's Award from Small Business Innovative Research and runner-up in the 2008 Technology in the Works competition from the National Center for Technology Innovation.
 Patricia Wright, Ph.D., MPH has a passion for education and advocacy and has dedicated her career to ensuring that individuals with autism are fully-included in society. Her personal mission is to offer the support that makes it possible for people with autism lead meaningful, happy and productive lives. As Easter Seals National Director of Autism Services, Wright leads ASD programs for Easter Seals, one of the nation’s largest provider of services for individuals with autism across the life span.
Wright is well known as a presenter at national and international conferences, and is been invited to deliver workshops and presentations nationally and internationally. She is a member of the Organization for Autism Research’s Scientific Council and is currently a serving on the Executive Committee for the External Partners Group for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities.
Patricia Wright earned her PhD, in education from the University of Hawaii in 2006. She also has a master's of public health from the University of Hawaii, and a master’s degree in special education from San Francisco State University.
Zosia Zaks, M.S., M.Ed., CRC, was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome as an adult at age 31. In an effort to help other adults on the spectrum, Zaks compiled numerous creative strategies for addressing autism-related challenges into a book, Life and Love: Positive Strategies for Autistic Adults (AAPC 2006), and now works primarily as a disability adjustment counselor with autistic teens and adults. Zaks infuses presentations on autism-related subjects with multiple perspectives as an autistic adult, as a professional, as a family member, and as a parent. In addition to public speaking, writing, and counseling, Zaks teaches a course on adults and autism at Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland; serves on the boards of several local and national autism organizations; was appointed to the Maryland Commission on Autism; and spends the best moments of all parenting two daughters on the autism spectrum.
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