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ASCEND’s Board of Directors
Jennifer Downs, Ed.D. (Montgomery County) Jerry Kelly (Delaware County) Bradley C. Norford, Ph.D. (Chester County) Scott Robertson (Centre County) Cindy Schneider (Chester County) Carol Weinman, Esq. (Montgomery County) Jennifer Whip (Chester County) (Treasurer) Deirdre C. Wright (Delaware County) (Founder & Executive Board Member) ASCEND's board is comprised of family members, individuals with ASD, and professionals who work in the field of autism. See bios below. Bill Carroll currently serves as ASCEND's vice president and the coordinator for ASCEND's King of Prussia Support Chapter. He has been involved with social service for over 20 years working with the Montgomery County Office of Children and Youth, where he recruits foster parents and adoptive parents for children. An active community volunteer, Bill instructs special needs programs for Upper Merion Township's Park and Recreation Department and is a board member of the Upper Merion Township Media Communications Advisory Board. A graduate of Montgomery County Community College (MCCC), Bill is a member of the MCCC Alumni Hall of Fame. Additionally, he also holds a bachelor's degree in communications from Temple University and is a two-time American Federation of Television and Radio Artists Emmy Award winner. Bill lives in King of Prussia, PA, with his wife and two children. Jennifer Downs, Ed.D., CCC-SLP, works as a speech and language specialist for the Abington School District, specializing in autistic support. In her many years of working with children with autism, Jennifer has played many roles, including as a one-on-one aide and providing applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy as a therapeutic staff support (TSS) worker. In her private practice, Jennifer works with a variety of children, from infancy through teen years. Jennifer received her master’s degree from West Chester University and her doctorate in special education from Arcadia University. She just completed her certification for supervisor of special education. Jennifer grew up in Glenside, PA, and lives in Abington with her husband, daughter and infant son. Jerry Kelly, M.Ed., is the director of Adapting Aspergers, a counseling/coaching private practice in Delaware County. He specializes in working with teens and adults with Asperger Syndrome and other social learning conditions. Jerry has over 20 years experience serving in the social services field working with and counseling families across the lifespan, from incarcerated teens to the geriatric population.He became involved in the autism community when a family member was discovered to have Asperger Syndrome at the age of 36. Jerry earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in counseling psychology from Temple University. A Philadelphia native, Jerry is married and has three grown sons. He now lives in the Belmont Hills section of Philadelphia. Brad Norford, Ph.D., is the director of Norford Psychological Associates in Bryn Mawr, PA, a private practice specializing in therapy and consultation for children, adolescents and parents. Brad earned his degree in clinical psychology at the University of South Carolina. He has a considerable background in treating children on the autism spectrum as well as those with the full-range of other psychological issues. Brad previously worked as a psychologist in community mental health settings, in residential treatment with the Devereux Foundation, and in large outpatient practices. For the past decade, he has been active in advocating with state legislators for healthcare reform and other mental health causes. Brad grew up in Bucks County and now resides in Chester County with his wife and three children. Maureen ("Mo") Reilly* is the mother of a ten-year old boy with high functioning autism, and an eight-year old daughter who does not have autism. In the eight years since her son was first diagnosed, Mo has been an active member of a variety of organizations that serve the autism community both locally and nationally. Currently, she serves on the parent advisory board for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare’s Bureau of Autism Services. Mo is employed as senior employment counsel for SunGard Data Systems. She earned her law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and also has a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology from George Mason University. Mo lives in Media, PA, with her husband and two children. Scott Michael Robertson is the vice president of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and an adult on the autism spectrum. He is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in information sciences and technology at Penn State. Scott has a bachelor's degree in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master's degree in human-computer interaction from Carnegie Mellon University. His research pursuits focus on understanding and improving the lives of people with neurological and developmental disabilities. Scott has actively served the cross-disability and autism communities in many roles and has delivered more than 85 presentations at conferences, schools, and associations throughout the U.S. He serves on the advisory boards of the PA Department of Public Welfare's Bureau of Autism Services and the Autism Higher Education Foundation. In addition, he is the graduate student representative to the Society for Disability Studies and serves as a co-investigator and a community representative of the Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership In Research and Education (AASPIRE). Scott lives in State College, PA. Cindy Schneider founded Acting Antics Art Center, based in Chester County, in 2007 to provide music and theater programming for youngsters of all ages and ability levels. Cindy’s book, Acting Antics: A Theatrical Approach to Teaching Social Understanding to Kids and Teens with Asperger Syndrome, is published by Jessica Kingsley. Cindy has trained professionals throughout North America in the Acting Antics techniques and serves on the board of the International Association of Theatre and Autism. Cindy was a special educator and consultant for Chester County IU for 27 years, specializing in autism spectrum disorders. As a thespian and children’s community theater director, she began to develop acting workshops for students diagnosed with social deficits in 2002. Cindy earned her bachelor of science degree from West Chester University and her master’s degree from Immaculata University. In addition, she was awarded autism certification by Penn State and communication specialist certification by Temple University. Michele Stein has an adult son with Asperger Syndrome. She is the chief executive officer of CMK Development, Inc. CMK creates products that support individuals with special needs and their families. Michele has 20 years of management experience in the health insurance industry and currently works for a local health insurer. She will be accepting her bachelor of science degree in business management in May 2010. Michele lives with her son in Montgomery County. Carol S. Weinman, Esq., has spent 20 years as a domestic relations lawyer and trial attorney. She has advocated for clients in juvenile, adult, family and dependency courts. Recently, Carol shifted her focus to being a life coach and mediator for parents of children with Asperger Syndrome (AS) and women going through divorce. Carol has authored and edited educational reference books on special education law, employment law, and higher education law, and is well versed on the law in the area of special needs and available accommodations. She has instructed classes at Temple University and served as a Philadelphia prosecutor. Carol earned her law degree and a bachelor’s degree in communications from Temple University. She became an authority on Asperger Syndrome after conducting extensive research in her effort to successfully diagnose a family member and from months of teaching applied behavioral analysis techniques to a child with Aspergers. She grew up in Philadelphia and lives in Fort Washington, PA, with her twin boys. Jennifer Whip is the mother of a 16-year-old son with Asperger Syndrome and a "neurotypical" 14-year old son and lives in Wayne, PA. Jennifer is vice president of customer management at Fannie Mae in Philadelphia. In this role, she is responsible for managing business relationships with over 500 lending institutions in the Eastern Region. Jennifer brings expertise in grant making, contract negotiation, product development and finance to the board and currently holds the position of treasurer on the executive board for ASCEND. Jennifer is also on the board of directors for the mortgage company affiliate of Neighborhood Housing Services of New York. She has an MBA from Villanova University and has a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Colorado. Jennifer lives in Wayne, PA, with her husband and two children. Deirdre Cummins Wright* co-founded ASCEND in 2001 after a family member was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. Deirdre is the special projects manager for the Penn Autism Network (PAN) at the University of Pennsylvania where she coordinates an annual conference focused on issues related to adults with autism. She is also a consultant, working for more than 12 years as an event planner, writer and publicist. Deirdre's clients include: the PA Department of Public Welfare's Bureau of Autism Services (BAS), Elwyn, and the Arc of Delaware County. Recent projects include: coordinating a statewide autism training conference; project management for an online autism training for direct support staff workers; and facilitating a series of workshops related to Social Security benefits and employment. Deirdre attended Tompkins-Cortland Community College (Dryden, NY) and Ealing College (London, England) and received an associate’s degree in marketing and communications. * Mo and Deirdre serve as members of the Advisory Board to the Pennsylvania Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology (CADDRE), at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Nursing. PA CADDRE is one of six Centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to study the prevalence and etiology of ASD.
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