Unita Cheeseman is an autistic adult diagnosed in her early 40’s. She has two children who are also autistic. Her desire to advocate began with her own children, and then herself. For the past decade, she has done volunteer work with families who have received new autism diagnosis.
Unita is a naturopath, nutritional therapist, aromatherapist, herbalist, public speaker, educator, and holistic cancer practitioner with over a decade of holistic health experience. She holds a B.A. in Health and Wellness from Ashford University, is a Certified Nutritional Counselor through the Natural Healing Institute of Naturopathy, a Certified Vegan Mastery plant based foods educator through the Vegetarian Health Institute, and a Certified Holistic Cancer Educator through The Centers for the Advancement in Cancer Education. Unita is currently completing her PhD in Traditional Naturopathic Medicine through Avicenna Institute.
Joel Godi is a Social Psychologist with over 25 years of experience in Social Behavior, and Learning & Development. Ever since he discovered his Autism and ADHD in his mid-forties, his interests shifted to social and cultural experiences of neurodiversity. Being in the field of social psychology has better helped him understand and embrace his traits.
In the last 6 years, Joel has focused on promoting a greater understanding of neurodiversity and appreciation of neurodivergences in the Indian subcontinent. He is also the Founder & President of the Association for Neurodiversity in India. He is currently focusing on developing and driving strategies for Awareness Building, Advocacy, and Professional Development in the field of Neurodiversity.
Bernard Grant is an Autistic writer and editor who works as a life coach with Autism Personal Coach and edits short fiction at Tahoma Literary Review, while also writing content on neurodiversity, education, and DEI-related topics for various organizations. In addition to serving on the board of Neuroguides, Bernard serves as a neurodiversity advocate with Diversity with Dignity and Specialisterne, among other organizations.
Jackie Pilgrim is an autistic adult and founder of Autism's Love: The Pilgrimage. Her son is a young adult also diagnosed with autism. She bares a unique approach to advocacy, addressing a global array of supports needed for individuals on the autism spectrum, family members, and service providers.
Jackie is a public speaker, mental health ambassador, and artist. She believes coping skills should be taught as early as possible. Empowerment comes from the ownership of one's self, space, and responsibilities. Life is multi-dimensional and should always be presented that way. Lived experience is the best form of education.
"No one can tell our stories better than we can. No one can understand our plight more than we do. No one is better equipped to meet the need than we are."
Jon Reily is a 25-year Commerce veteran who founded and sold two successful companies in the first dotcom boom of the 1990s. He then continued a successful career advising and guiding companies from start-ups to global brand powerhouses to design their digital futures over the last two decades
Reily is a strong advocate of the importance of the experience in any digital strategy and that companies who embody this will thrive, and those who do not will not. As a result, he has been a driving force in the global commerce space for nearly a decade. A successful strategist, futurist, and forecaster of future trends, Reily is a major factor in dentsu commerce’s toolkit to help its clients on their digital journeys.
Sharena Rice, PhD, is a systems neuroscientist, cybernetician, and storyteller. Dr. Rice wrote a 45-page documentary on human behavior in middle school. As an undergraduate, Dr. Rice studied biochemistry, philosophy, and psychology. She then moved to the University of Michigan, where she researched synaptic plasticity in cell cultures as a post-baccalaureate (NIH R25) and brain rhythms and neural circuits as a graduate student (Rackham Merit Fellow, NIH T32 recipient in Hearing Balance, and Chemical Senses, and Alternates List, NDSEG Fellowship). Dr. Rice trained as a resident Dharma Worker at the Zen Buddhist Temple Ann Arbor. She has guided teams in tech start-ups to make systems for situational understanding, leveraging principles of the natural world. Dr. Rice served as Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Intvo for over two years. This company uses computer vision for pedestrian behavior prediction as an automotive software solution. She is also an advisor to Valence Vibrations, which transmits emotions from tone of voice as visuals or haptics.
Debbie Bruce-Juhlke enjoyed a impressive career in working with others in nursing, as a business owner and a HR Director, before becoming the President of Civitan International, an international organization dedicated to volunteer service in communities worldwide. Debbie has a love of helping others, and has a strong interest in serving people with special needs and their families. She and her husband, Tim recently adopted four beautiful children and live in Round Rock, Texas
Robert is an Autistic Co-founder of a stealth Autistic Start-up. His career experience has been as a Strategist & Organizational Transformation Catalyst focused on growth and expansion. He’s been a leader, executive, creative problem solver, & technologist with significant international experience in strategic planning, customer development, organizational strategy & modeling, and transformation. Also in financial modeling, operational management, marketing, competitive intelligence, partner program creation & management, and sales in commercial, government, education, non-profit, and start-up organizations.
Project leadership roles in the US, China, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Scotland.
Hunter Hansen is an autistic content creator on YouTube and Instagram and a blogger on thelifeautistic.com. After discovering his autism in his late teens, Hunter tried to outgrow and suppress his autistic traits for years, until coming to terms and embracing his identity as an autistic adult. He has since turned that suppression into passion, advocating for greater understanding and appreciation of autism and autistic people. Hunter works for a major tech company as a business analyst and lives in the Denver area with his wife and three daughters.
Wendy Katz (aka AspieGurl) is a 40-something autistic blogger and self-advocate. She received her BA in Sociology from Hanover College and her MSW from George Mason University. She "brain trains" autistic, ADHD, and learning disabled children and adults at LearningRX Reston and is becoming a certified Relationship Coach through the Relationship Coaching Institute. She dreams of starting her own relationship coaching business for autistic clients and their partners and a family with her partner Shawn. Her loves are Shawn, her family, her rabbit BlueBelle, relationship coaching, making music, and well-written sci-fi.
Nolan Perry is a young autistic web and software developer from Beaufort, SC. In addition to serving on the board of directors for Neuroguides, he is on the board for NeuroClastic as well as being their Chief Technology Officer. He also volunteers regularly around the community at local assisted living facilities since he was 11. Other times you can find him in the virtual world of Second Life and OpenSimulator or off playing CS:GO.
Wesley Jackson Wade is a licensed clinical mental health counselor, a licensed clinical addictions specialist, a certified clinical mental health counselor, and a nationally certified counselor. He is the owner and operator of Forward Counseling & Consulting, a small consulting and private counseling practice in NC. Wesley holds a bachelor’s degree from NC State University, two master’s degrees from North Carolina Central University–one in clinical mental health counseling and another in career counseling– and he is currently working on a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Policy, & Human Development with a concentration in Counseling and Counselor. Wesley has 9+ years of industry experience, 7+ years of higher education experience, and enjoys teaching, writing, navigating difficult conversations, and leading large-scale complex projects. Wesley is an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion with a passion for matters of race, gender, neurodiversity, and disability.
