Autism through the Lifespan Conference
Friday, April 20, 2012
Speakers’ Bios
Cassie Budzilek, MA, CCC-SLP
Licensed & Certified Speech-Language Pathologist; Educational Consultant, The Watson Institute
Ms. Budzilek is a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist who currently provides consultation and training services to school district personnel. She has worked in the field of special education for nearly 20 years as a direct service provider and consultant. She obtained both her B.A. and M.A. in Communication Disorders from the University of Pittsburgh and completed her Clinical Fellowship at Kennedy Krieger Children’s Hospital in Baltimore, MD. Prior to working at the Watson Institute, Cassie worked for the PA Training and Technical Assistance Network where she served as the regional lead for the Autism and Speech-Language Initiatives. In that role, she provided technical assistance and training to school district staff across the Commonwealth of PA.
Ms. Budzilek holds the Bureau of Special Education Credential of Competency for Advanced Training in Autism Spectrum Disorders from Penn State University and is a recipient of 4 ACE Awards (Award for Continuing Education) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). She is a fellow of the Pennsylvania Education and Policy Fellowship Program. Her areas of expertise include autism, Asperger’s Syndrome, positive behavioral support, structured teaching and inclusive practices. She is a skilled presenter and has trained families, educators, and related service providers at both local and national conferences.
The Watson Institute, 200 Linden Avenue, Sharpsburg, PA 15215 412 781-1708
David Gates, Esq.
Policy Director for PA Health Law Project
Mr. Gates has been representing families and adult consumers regarding issues involving Medical Assistance and other forms of health insurance since 1976. He worked for the Bucks County Welfare Rights Organization, Bucks County Legal Aid, State Senator Roxanne Jones, and the National Health Law Program in Washington, D.C. Since 1991 he has worked for the Pennsylvania Health Law Project representing persons with developmental and behavioral disabilities and their families under a grant from the PA Developmental Disabilities Council. He is currently the Policy Director for the PA Health Law Project.
He won the Rose Rosa Advocacy Award from the Montgomery County ARC in 1996 and the Striving for Excellence Award from PA Legal Services in 1999 and 2009. Also in 1999, he received the Advocacy Award from the Philadelphia Alliance of Mental Health & Mental Retardation Providers and the Advocacy Award from the PA Initiative on Assistive Technology. He was appointed to DPW’s Home & Community Based Services Stakeholder Planning Team, the Bureau of Autism Services’ Advisory Board and the Long Term Living Housing Advisory Committee of the PA Housing Finance Agency. He is a member of the Boards of Autism Living & Working and the PA Assistive Technology Foundation.
1414 North Cameron Street, Suite B, Harrisburg, PA 17103 717 236-6310
Benjamin L. Handen, Ph.D, BCBA-D
Clinical and Research Director, Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders at University of Pittsburgh
Doctor Handen is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Clinical and Research Director of the Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC in Pittsburgh. Doctor Handen is a clinical psychologist with over 30 years experience in the field of autism and developmental disorders.
He has published widely in the areas of psychopharmacological treatment of behavioral disorders in special populations, and he is the principal investigator of the University of Pittsburgh Autism Treatment Network (ATN) site). Doctor Handen received research funding from National Institute of Mental Health, the National institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Aging. He serves on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh Applied Behavior Analysis Certification Program.
1011 Bingham St., Pittsburgh, PA 15203 412 235-5445
Cynthia R. Johnson, Ph.D, BCBA-D
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry & Education,
Director of Autism Center, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC
Doctor Johnson is Director of the Autism Center in the Division of Developmental / Behavioral Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Education at the University of Pittsburgh. Doctor Johnson received her doctoral degree from the University of South Carolina. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in child psychology and applied behavior analysis. Doctor Johnson is a licensed psychologist and a board certified behavior analyst, doctoral level.
Her clinical research focuses on young children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. She has conducted research in the assessment and both behavioral and medication treatments for children with autism and other developmental disorders. She is currently the Principal Investigator on two NIH funded grants studying the efficacy of parent training in the treatment of sleep disturbance and in the treatment of disruptive behaviors. She is the co-Principal Investigator for the Autism Treatment Network as well as a recently completed study of nutrition and eating habits in children with autism funded by HRSA. Doctor Johnson also teaches the Applied Behavior Analysis coursework at the University of Pittsburgh required for eligibility to apply for Board Certification as a Behavior Analyst. She further provides mentoring and supervision to doctoral and postdoctoral students.
3420 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 412 692-8404
Elizabeth (Lisa) Kimball
Human Services Program Specialist, Bureau of Autism Services, Department of Public Welfare,
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Ms. Kimball is the Human Services Program Specialist for the Bureau of Autism Services, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. She is the parent of a child with Asperger Syndrome and serves as a member of the Pennsylvania Autism Task Force.
Clara Lajonchere, Ph.D
Vice President of Clinical Programs, Autism Speaks
Doctor Lajonchere serves as vice president of clinical programs for Autism Speaks, overseeing a diverse portfolio of clinical programs and resources that facilitate research across the field of autism spectrum disorders. These include the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE), the Autism Clinical Trials Network (ACTN), the Autism Treatment Network (ATN), and several bioinformatic initiatives. Doctor Lajonchere has significant experience in biobanking, the development of clinical and research registries and multi-site collaborative networks geared towards the rapid discovery, dissemination and implementation of autism treatments, guidelines and clinical tools. She is committed to ensuring a continuum of quality care across the lifespan.
Doctor Lajonchere is also clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine and research assistant professor at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering, through which she serves as principal investigator and director of the NIH-funded Center for Genomic and Phenomic Studies in Autism. The center’s goals include the advancement of genetic and environmental studies that accelerate understanding of causes and pathology and facilitate discovery of new therapeutics. Doctor Lajonchere has also received funding to develop a model for the authentic inclusion of minorities in biomedical research and has established partnerships with leading autism researchers to increase the depth and breadth of resources across a diversity of disciplines including human genetics, molecular biology, neuroimaging, neuroscience, and psychology.
Doctor Lajonchere received her training in experimental psychology and neuroscience at Washington University in St. Louis and has been working in the field of psychiatric genetics for the last 20 years. She provides guidance on protocol design, data management, and data collection for basic and clinical research studies in addition to conducting her own research in a variety of clinical research settings. She was a co-author on the recent population-based California Autism Twins Study, which was transformative for the field.
5455 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 2250, Los Angeles, CA 90036 323 297-4712
Martin J. Lubetsky, M.D.
Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Chief of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Center for Autism & Developmental Disorders,
Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinic of UPMC
Doctor Lubetsky is Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and the Chief of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Services and Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC. He has worked in the clinical, training, administrative, and research areas of autism, developmental disabilities and child and adolescent psychiatry for twenty-five years. Doctor Lubetsky provides diagnostic and clinical services to children, adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder, and intellectual disabilities with mental health issues.
Doctor Lubetsky provides training locally and nationally in the areas of autism and developmental disabilities. He has been active in developing awareness and support for the growth of community-based services for individuals with autism and developmental disabilities. He collaborates with many regional and state agencies. Doctor Lubetsky is a past recipient of the Grandin Award from the Advisory Board On Autism and Related Disorders (ABOARD). He is co-editor of a book in press, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Oxford University Press. He is a child and adolescent psychiatrist specializing in autism spectrum disorders.
811 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 412 246-6646
Carla A. Mazefsky, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Doctor Carla Mazefsky Dr. Mazefsky is a licensed clinical psychologist and Research Assistant Professor specialized in autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
She began her focus on autism as an undergraduate at The College of William and Mary where she earned a B.S. in psychology with high honors and gained experience as an ABA therapist for young children with autism. As a doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), she continued her focus on autism as clinic coordinator of a multidisciplinary diagnostic clinic for autism spectrum disorders and with research on autism that was recognized with the VCU Outstanding Clinical Psychology Student Award, the VCU School of Graduate Studies Merit-based Dissertation Fellowship, and the Deborah Braffman-Shroeder Award for Excellence in Research. Before completing her PhD in clinical psychology, she completed a pre-doctoral internship at Brown University School of Medicine where she was the first intern to pass the Developmental Disabilities rotation with distinction. She also completed an NIH T-32 postdoctoral research fellowship in psychiatric genetics at the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics before coming to Pittsburgh.
Doctor Mazefsky has 12 years of experience in the diagnosis and treatment of autism and related disorders. She conducts her own grant-funded research on autism spectrum disorders as part of the Center for Excellence in Autism Research (www.pittautismresearch.org). She is also involved in community outreach and service, including being a member of the Board of Directors for Autism Speaks Pittsburgh Chapter.
Doctor Mazefsky has received funding for her research on emotion in autism from the Organization for Autism Research and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The primary focus of her current research is to improve understanding of the diagnostic boundaries and mechanisms related to problematic emotional and behavioral responses in adolescents with high-functioning ASD. Thus, her research considers multiple potential contributors to the complexity of emotional functioning in ASD, including behavioral and cognitive characteristics, co‑occurring psychiatric disorders, family history factors and underlying brain differences.
Webster Hall – Suite 300, 811 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 412 246-5459
John J. McGonigle, Ph.D
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Rehabilitation Science and Technology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Director, Western Pennsylvania Regional (ASERT) in the Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders at
Western Psychiatric Institute & Clinical of UPMC
Doctor McGonigle is the Director of the Western Pennsylvania Regional (ASERT) in the Center for Autism and Developmental Disorders at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in Pittsburgh. He is a Member of the Board for the National Association for Dual Diagnosis (the NADD) and an advisory board member for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Autism Services. He is a consultant to hospitals, schools, and community programs for persons with learning and behavior differences and a national presenter on Autism Spectrum Disorders and persons with Dual Diagnosis (Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and co-occurring condition).
Doctor McGonigle has over 35 years of clinical experience in working with children, adolescence and adults with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities. His background, education, and training are in Child Development, Education and Behavioral Psychology. He has published journal articles and book chapters on issues related to staff training, positive behavioral supports, creating restraint free environments, and developing systems of mental health care for Special Needs Populations. He is co-editor of a book in press, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Oxford University Press.
811 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 412 235-5484