Facilitators of Groups and Activities

Brenda D, MPH, MSW – Parents of Children & Teens Support Group Facilitator
Brenda is the Executive Director of AANE and author of Parenting Without Panic. She is the mom of three, her eldest is an Autistic woman who is currently in graduate school. Brenda has facilitated support groups for over 20 years and enjoys creating a supportive community for parents.

David D – Adults Social Group Facilitator – Pizza & Game Night
David earned his BS in Communications/Media from Fitchburg State College in 1996. He began as a participant in pizza & game nights and now runs the group. He enjoys collecting music CDs of all genres, attending concerts, and skiing during the winter months.

Allison E – Teens & Adults Workshop Facilitator
Allie is a doctoral student of Occupational Therapy at Boston University. She was drawn to OT for its holistic view of health and well-being and the therapeutic use of meaningful activities as interventions. She is originally from Cincinnati and studied public health at The Ohio State University.

Jay EE – Autistic Parents Support Group Facilitator
Jay is an Autistic self-advocate and parent. They have deep knowledge of LGBTQ+ issues in the autistic community. They have experience founding and facilitating Neurodiverse peer support groups and are an adviser with the Neurodiverse Students Association at Mount Holyoke.

Mina F – Adults Support Group Facilitator
Mina is an Administrative Coordinator and Facilitation Specialist at AANE. She facilitates support groups for women. Mina was diagnosed Autistic later in life and enjoys reading, cooking, all things pop culture, and listening to new music.

Brandy H – Adults Workshop Facilitator
Brandy is the social media and community manager at Hiki App. She attended the University of North Ga and Toccoa Falls College, majoring in Psychology. She and her husband Matt have a podcast, The Chronic Couple, where they share their perspectives on being autistic adults.  

Nick H – Adults Social Group Facilitator – Dungeons & Dragons
Nicholas is the LifeMAP Administrative Assistant at AANE and also co-facilitates the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Interest Series and was first introduced to DnD over 20 years ago, but has been campaigning for the last five years. As a player, he favors gish characters.

Becca LH – Adults Webinar Facilitator
Becca is the Director of Training at AANE and was diagnosed as an adult. She has since become a dynamic autism advocate, consultant, speaker, and author. Her international, grant-approved, virtual course Self-Defined Living: A Path to a Quality Autistic Life helps improve the lives of Autistics.

Laura GH – Adults Workshop Facilitator
Laura is a psychologist and professor at CUNY Hunter College Silberman School of Social Work. She specializes in co-designing and co-facilitating classes for Autistic adults on topics like healthy relationships, LGBTQ+ affirming therapy, and substance use.

Trish H, MSW, LICSW – Adults Social Events and Support Group Facilitator
Trish has a private practice in Western Mass. Trish began her work with AANE by facilitating support groups for adults and serving as a community liaison. She co-led the launch and administration of a local chapter and provided presentations on autism for the community and local educators.

Bonnie K – Families of Adults Support Group Facilitator
Bonnie stays at the cutting edge of valuable resources, services, and research by attending many conferences and presentations. She enjoys learning and sharing the latest information with support group members.

Jasper L – Adults Social Group Facilitator – Dungeons & Dragons
Jasper is a Neurodivergent self-advocate, a passionate nerd, and potentially three goblins in a trench coat. They are a founding member of the Mount Holyoke College Neurodiverse Students Association, where they fostered peer-to-peer networks and advocated for accessibility on campus.

Robert L – Adults Support Group Facilitator
Robert holds a BS degree from UCLA and is a computer programmer, analyst, and statistician. He is a presenter and has mentored Autistic teens and young adults. Robert is also a co-author with Wilma Wake and Eric Endlich of the book, Older Adults: The Lost Generation.

Karen L – Adults Workshop Facilitator
Karen has been contributing to the AANE community as a volunteer, artist, and speaker for many years. She currently serves on the AANE Board of Directors and helps with strategic planning. Since she was diagnosed at age 32, she has thrived in a healthcare IT job and healed emotionally.

Aaron L – Adults Social Group Facilitator- Team Trivia
Aaron is an Administrative Coordinator at AANE. He has spoken for the Understanding Our Differences program in addition to speaking to many groups of students and other audiences. In 2013, Aaron was given the Katie Lynch Memorial Award as Speaker of the Year.

Allyson L – Adults and Parents of Adults Support Group Facilitator
Allyson is a Consultation & Coaching Specialist and a LifeMAP Coach at AANE. Allyson has worked for over 30 years in the human service field and has a Master’s in Pastoral Counseling from Boston University. She enjoys helping clients achieve their goals and dreams.

Stephanie L, MEd – Parents of Teens & Young Adults Support Group Facilitator
Stephanie is a Senior Family Support Specialist and has worked at AANE since 2001. She serves parents of neurodiverse children, teens, and adults (up to age 23) by providing information, resources, and support through phone consultations, online support groups, and Parent Coaching. In every interaction, she seeks to communicate to parents her respect and appreciation, to encourage realism, and to offer hope.

Katy MR, LICSW – Adults Support Group Facilitator
Katy is a Neurodivergent therapist who specializes in using creative arts therapies for clients. She also works for Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital, where she has developed ways of adapting CBT and DBT therapies to Neurodivergent populations.

Linda M, MBA – Adults and Parent of Adults Social Events and Support Group Facilitator
Linda has a background as a special education consultant and also works at a non-profit organization serving seniors and individuals with disabilities. She is the parent of four young men, two who are neurodiverse and two who are neurotypical.

Katie ML, LICSW – Adults Social Events Facilitator – Outdoor Enthusiasts Club
Katie is originally from New York and moved to Boston 7 years ago to pursue her Master’s Degree in Social Work. She is currently a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and works full-time as a Geriatric Social Worker.

Nisha N, MA, PhD Candidate – Adults Support Group Facilitator
Nisha is a LifeMAP coach, and she enjoys a rich experience from working with a diverse set of clients. While in India, Nisha worked with underprivileged children at a high risk of HIV, using dance therapy for group counseling and creating HIV awareness.

Anastasia O – Adults Support Group Facilitator
Anastasia is an artist and leads the AANE Artists Collaborative. She facilitates the Support Group for Adults Over 50.

Judith O – Families of Adults Support Group Facilitator
Judy founded the Westchester County Autism Advisory Committee in 2009 to inform elected officials, policymakers, government agency management, and law enforcement of the needs of Autistic adults. The committee meets regularly with the Department of Community Mental Health leadership.

Nancy P, MSW, LICSW – Parent of Children & Teens Support Group Facilitator
Nancy is a Senior Manager of Individual and Family Services at AANE. She has worked as a counselor in hospitals, colleges, and prisons, and created mental health training programs for children with mental health issues. Nancy first connected with AANE when her daughter was diagnosed in 2006.

Emmett P – Adults Support Group Facilitator
Emmett is a proud Autistic individual. Using his own lived experience, he co-facilitates two of AANE’s open support groups for adults. He loves dogs and helping others.

Branden P – Teens & Adults Support Group Facilitator
Branden is an experienced facilitator who has been leading support groups for over a decade. Branden is Autistic, and his warm and welcoming nature has made him a trusted friend and mentor to many of his group members.

Erica R – Adults Support Group Facilitator
Erica is the Director of Development at AANE. She has gained extensive knowledge about autism through working with neurodiverse colleagues, building relationships with AANE community members, and parenting an Autistic child.

Elena R, MEd – Teens Social/Support Group Facilitator
Elena is a facilitator of teen and young adult groups and a LifeMAP Coach at AANE. Elena has a deep passion for creating spaces that celebrate neurodiversity and empowering individuals to access the tools and skills they need to reach their full potential.

Emily R, ScD – Adults Workshop Facilitator
Emily is a Professor at Boston University School of Public Health. She co-authored a curriculum for teenagers and has experience teaching healthy relationships classes to Autistic students with mental health challenges. Dr. Rothman has appeared on The Today Show, NPR, CNN, and Teen Vogue.

Bruce S, LMHC – Fathers Support Group Facilitator
Bruce is the owner and director of Academy MetroWest, a children’s group therapy program. Bruce runs weekly social skills groups and provides individual counseling and executive function coaching services and also works as a consultant and trainer with schools and organizations.

Nancy S, MSW – Adults Workshop Facilitator
Nancy is a Senior Manager of Individual and Family Services and the MRC/Employment Project Coordinator at AANE. Nancy has developed programs, supervised facilitators, and provided direct support for clients for over 20 years.

Rachel S – Teens & Adults Workshop Facilitator
Rachel is an occupational therapist who has been developing and facilitating AANE workshops since 2022, with a primary focus on Daily Living Skills and Sensory Processing. In addition to her work with AANE, she supports individuals with mental health diagnoses at an outpatient clinic. Rachel earned her Doctorate in Occupational Therapy from Boston University and holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with minors in Biology and Child Development from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Maxfield S- Adults Support Group Facilitator
Max is a middle-aged Autistic writer, self-advocate, and Direct Support Professional (DSP). Most recently, Max edited the poetry and essay anthology Spectrums: Autistic Transgender People in Their Own Words.

Kelly U, LMHC – Adults Support Group Facilitator
Kelly is a Senior Manager of Individual & Family Services at AANE who provides information and resource calls for adults, professionals, and parents of adults 23 years of age or older. She is also a parent coach for parents of adults > 23 years. Kelly is also a therapist in private practice and an AANE LifeMAP coach. She previously worked at McLean Hospital, using DBT to teach young women emotion regulation tools and other life skills to move forward in their lives.

Ilia W, MSEd, MBA – Adults Support Group Facilitator
Ilia is the Director of Individual and Family Services at AANE and the creator of the Autism In Real Life Podcast. She has over 25 years of experience through training, education, and support, and is also a registered yoga teacher. Ilia is a mom of two young adults, one of whom is Autistic.