Biography

Rob Santos, Executive Director, Independent Practice (Retired Assistant Deputy Minister, Government of Manitoba) Dr. Rob Santos retired in 2019 as Assistant Deputy Minister of the Healthy Child Manitoba Office, and Assistant Deputy Minister of K-12 Education, after over two decades of service as a nonpartisan public servant for the Government of Manitoba, providing scientific [...]

Purnima Sundar (PhD) is the Executive Director at the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health (the Centre). With has almost 25 years of experience doing community-based, participatory action research, evaluation, implementation and knowledge mobilization in the areas of child and youth mental health and race/equity, Purnima sets the vision and strategy for the Centre.

Melissa Legree, Clinical Manager, Lake Ridge Community Support Services Melissa has a Masters of Applied Disability Studies and is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst. She has been a SAS Champion for almost ten years as a SAS Facilitator for Secret Agent Society programs working with children and families with the majority of these [...]

Maya Pajevic, Mount Royal University Maya Pajevic is a 3rd year student, completing an undergrad in Information Design (communication degree) with a minor in Social Innovation at Mount Royal University in Calgary, AB. Maya has served as a patient advisor for nearly 7 years, serving on both a local, provincial and national level. [...]

Kim Ward, Executive Director/Registered Psychologist, STA, CASDAKim completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology in 1995 at the University of Calgary. During her years in graduate school, her research focused specifically on the social-cognitive differences associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Kimberley became a Registered Psychologist in 1996 and joined the clinical team at Society [...]

Ka-Man (Carman) Chu, Behaviour Therapist, Kerry’s Place Autism Services Carman Chu is a full-time Behaviour Therapist at Kerry's Place Autism Services. She earned her Masters in Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism from Russell Sage College and obtained her Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) credential in 2019. Since 2014, Carman has supported adults, children and [...]

Jill Farber, Executive Director, Autism Speaks Canada Jill was appointed Executive Director in 2013, following her active involvement as a member of the Board of Directors. With over 25 years of experience working with the autism community, her dedication has made a profound impact. Spurred by her initial interest in autism during time spent [...]

Emma Steven, Occupational Therapist, Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay Rehabilitation Center Emma Steven is an occupational therapist with over 10 years of experience in Pediatrics. She graduated from McGill University in 2010. Emma works at Lethbridge-Layton-Mackay Rehabilitation Center (CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-l’île-de-Montreal), where she works in The rehabilitation program in specialized schools and provides rehabilitation services to students [...]

Christa Janes, Manager, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Christa Janes has worked in the field of Developmental Disabilities for over 20 years, and feels passionate about bettering the client and family journey. For much of her career Christa worked as a clinician and found joy and fulfillment in direct client care. However, over [...]