Presenters

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Gabbie Puma is a PhD student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the department of Rehabilitation Pyschology and Special Education. Prior to starting her PhD program, Gabbie worked for seven years in transition settings, supporting neurodivergent young adults in navigating early adulthood, post-secondary education, and employment. Her research interests are in improving transition and employment experiences of neurodivergent young adults, as well as improving teacher education programs to support pre-service teachers in engaging with and learning from disabled activists and disability community, specifically through using social media. Having received an ADHD diagnosis during her young adulthood, Gabbie's identify as a neurodivergent scholar and teacher educator inform her desire to see disabled voices better represented as leaders in research, policy and disability services.

Robin comes from a background of theatre, food, and education, and incorporates knowledge from all of these disciplines into her role as Aspiritech's* Director of Inclusion & Outreach. Day to day, you might find her meeting with team members, employing accommodation suggestions, or consulting with Aspiritech's operations and leadership teams. She works closely with a largely neurodivergent staff to address concerns and assist in communicating across departments when necessary. In an increasingly virtual world, she strives to foster connection and community and as a 10+ year employee at Aspiritech she is committed, first and foremost, to ensuring a safe, equitable, and empowering space that celebrates our employees' many successes and contributions.

*"Aspiritech is a world-class QA testing company that empowers individuals on the autism spectrum to fulfill their potential through meaningful employment combined with social opportunity." - from the Aspiritech website

An #ActuallyAutistic Minimal-Needs Millennial with a nous for all things art, history, & nature! Born in the wilds of southwest Wisconsin, but made the local libraries & Barnes & Noble her natural habitat instead. Eventually migrated southeast to Chicago on the promise of tasty cuisines & living wages. (Julie is a QA Analyst on the Creative Services Team at Aspiritech.*)

*"Aspiritech is a world-class QA testing company that empowers individuals on the autism spectrum to fulfill their potential through meaningful employment combined with social opportunity." - from the Aspiritech website

Helen Rottier is the Program Coordinator for the Disability Cultural Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a PhD candidate in Disability Studies at the University of Illinois Chicago. Informed by her lived experience as an autistic and disabled person, her work explores disabled knowledge production and community building as counter-cultural practices in a world that demands disabled people, and especially autistic people, be unknowing and isolated. She lives in Madison with her husband.

Professor Dr. Hilde Geurts is a professor of clinical neuropsychology at the Department of Psychology of the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands). She is head of the Department of Brain & Cognition and of the Dutch Autism and ADHD research group (d’Arc,  www.dutcharc.nl) She is also affiliated with a mental health care institute that specializes in supporting autistic people across their lifespan, the “Dr. Leo Kannerhuis.” Her research focus has been on both autism and ADHD for over 25 years and she collaborated with autistic adults and clinicians for manu quantitative and qualitative research projects to ensure that her scientific work can have a positive impact on people’s lives. First, she focused mainly on children, but currently, her focus is adulthood and older age. The topics she has studied range from quality of life to cognitive functioning.

Dr Gavin R. Stewart is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at King's College London, UK. He co-leads the ReSpect Lab with Prof Francesca Happé, and his research explores the broad topic of autism in midlife and older age. Gavin collaborates globally with other researchers, clinicians, and autistic people and their supporters to conduct a broad range of qualitative and quantitative research, ranging from quality of life to cognitive functioning. He is particularly interested in identifying areas of strength and areas where support is needed, so autistic people can age well and live long and happy lives.