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Cindy Harrison is senior faculty with Profectum and the President and CEO of ACT Learning Centre a multi-disciplinary treatment center that provides speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and mental services to children with autism, developmental disorders and delays and their families. She is a speech-language pathologist, and her area of clinical focus is the provision of assessment and treatment of children, adolescents and adults with autism, disorders of relating and communicating, global developmental delays and their families and is a well-known public speaker who trains and educates clinicians and parents in North America and abroad. She holds a Master of Science in speech-language pathology from the University of Vermont and a post graduate certificate in the DIR® model. She is very active in her community and serves on several Boards and community associations.

Sherri Cawn is Clinical Director of Cawn-Krantz and Associates Developmental Therapies of suburban Chicago, has over 40 years of clinical pediatric experience specializing in the assessment and treatment of infants, toddlers, and school-age children. She is a leading practitioner of the DIR Floortime® in speech and language development and trains other professionals throughout the United States and overseas on the concepts of this model. She is a frequent invited presenter at professional events .

Sherri is the author of the self study DVD/Manual on the Assessment and Intervention of DIR®/Floortime Model produced by the American Speech and Hearing Association (2011). She is co-author of the language disorders chapter in the Diagnostic Manual for Infancy and Early Childhood (2005). Sherri is a senior faculty member of the ICDL DIR®/FT Model Training Institute and the online Profectum Academy DIR® model training programs and she is an adjunct faculty member at the Erikson Institute in Chicago, Illinois. She received her graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Illinois.

Mady Kaplan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, with a specialization in children and families. She is a Certified Early Childhood Group Therapist, a graduate of the Profectum Advanced Clinical Training Program and a Certified Profectum Trainer. Mady conducts individual and group therapy for children and parents at Celebrate the Children school and in private practice. Throughout her career Mady has offered workshops at a variety of national conferences for educators, parents, social workers and other professionals. Mady is delighted to be presenting at the NY/NJ Profectum Conference on Relationships.

Dr. Serena Wieder is the Clinical Director and a founding member of the Profectum Foundation, dedicated to advancing the development and mental health of children, of all ages, including adolescents and adults with neurodivergent development and emotional challenges through interdisciplinary training and educational programs. She also co-founded the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders and was a Board Member of Zero to Three for 23 years. Dr. Wieder serves on various advisory boards to various programs serving infant mental health and other special needs.  Dr. Wieder also founded DIR-Israel, a training program that offers DIR Certificates, and provides consultation and training to many international and national programs.

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Wieder has pioneered important approaches to diagnosing and treating infants and toddlers with infant mental health and developmental disorders.  She co-created the DIR Model with Stanley Greenspan, edited two diagnostic manuals for infants and young children. Further, she created models for interdisciplinary post-graduate case based training and pioneered parent-mediated intervention for parents of neurodivergent children.

Dr. Wieder has co-chaired and organized national and international conferences integrating development, neuroscience and intervention approaches for over 20 years. Dr. Wieder also developed approaches to integrate visual-spatial knowledge to advance emotional and cognitive development.  Her research interests concern follow up studies of children on the autism spectrum who received DIR model interventions and the evaluation of training and educational programs. In addition, she serves as adjunct faculty at various universities including Bank Street , UCS Davis IMH Fellowship Program, and Adelphi.

Amongst her many publications Dr. Wieder co-authored Engaging Autism, The Child With Special Needs and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health with Stanley Greenspan, M.D. They also co-edited Infants in Multi-Risk Families as well as the ICDL Diagnostic Manual for Infants and Young Children (DMIC)/ She edited the original Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC 0-3) for Zero-Three. . Her chapters on the DIR Model appear in major textbooks on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Wieder also co- authored Visual Spatial Portals to Thinking, Feeling, and Movement with Harry Wachs, O.D. She has published numerous journal and book chapters and presents at multiple conferences nationally and internationally.

At this time, Dr. Serena Wieder also has a private practice in NYC for diagnosis, treatment and consultation regarding complex developmental and mental health challenges.

Sherri Cawn is Clinical Director of Cawn-Krantz and Associates Developmental Therapies of suburban Chicago, has over 40 years of clinical pediatric experience specializing in the assessment and treatment of infants, toddlers, and school-age children. She is a leading practitioner of the DIR Floortime® in speech and language development and trains other professionals throughout the United States and overseas on the concepts of this model. She is a frequent invited presenter at professional events .

Sherri is the author of the self study DVD/Manual on the Assessment and Intervention of DIR®/Floortime Model produced by the American Speech and Hearing Association (2011). She is co-author of the language disorders chapter in the Diagnostic Manual for Infancy and Early Childhood (2005). Sherri is a senior faculty member of the ICDL DIR®/FT Model Training Institute and the online Profectum Academy DIR® model training programs and she is an adjunct faculty member at the Erikson Institute in Chicago, Illinois. She received her graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Illinois.

Dr. Swink’s three decades of clinical work, research and teaching has been devoted to children with special needs and their families since starting her pediatric training at the University of California, San Francisco and pediatric neurology/epilepsy residency and fellowship at the Johns Hopkins Medical Center. Dr. Swink was introduced to the DIR model in 2003 and since completing her DIR FLoortime Institute Certificate in 2009, has been integrating principles of the DIR/FCD model into her work with children and families. Dr. Swink’s clinical practice focuses on young children with regulatory challenges, sensory based motor disorders, communication disorders and autism spectrum and related disorders. At the Child Development Center at Marshfield Medical Center, Dr. Swink leads a multi-disciplinary team working to identify, understand and treat complex neuro-developmental disorders. Dr. Swink’s team strives to integrate the complexities of early development, individual differences and relationships into the assessment and treatment process of every child and family and to promote lasting and positive growth and change. Dr. Swink provides supervision and training to clinicians throughout the Marshfield Medical Center and the Marshfield Clinic pediatric residency training program. Dr. Swink received her DIR Floortime certificate in 2009 and joined the senior faculty at the Profectum Academy in 2014. Over her career as a pediatrician, neurologist and developmental specialist, Dr. Swink has presented at numerous local and national pediatric, neurologic and developmental conferences and is currently teaching at the Profectum Academy.

Rosemary White has been an occupational therapist since 1972 and brings a wealth of clinical experience to every workshop she teaches throughout the United States and internationally in Canada, Europe, South Africa, Uganda and Australia. Rosemary is a true clinician’s clinician! Rosemary received her neurodevelopmental therapy training in London with the Bobaths, her sensory integrative therapy training in Los Angeles with Dr. A Jean Ayres and her training in the DIRFloortime® model with Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder, Ph.D. and the Faculty of ICDL. She currently owns and operates Pediatric Physical and Occupational Therapy Services in Seattle, Washington. Rosemary has her certificate in the DIR® model and has been senior faculty on the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disabilities (ICDL) chaired by Stanley Greenspan, M.D. and Serena Wieder, Ph.D., since 2002. Rosemary is on the clinical faculty at the University of Washington in the School of Nursing Infant Mental Health Certificate Program. Rosemary is also faculty in the ICDL Graduate School in the Ph.D. in infant and early childhood mental health and developmental disorders. This is an on-line Ph.D. program providing education to professionals throughout the world. Rosemary is also Profectum Foundation Faculty.

Ricki Robinson, MD, MPH. is co-director of Descanso Medical Center for Development and Learning in La Canada, California and a clinical professor of pediatrics at the Keck School Medicine of USC. She has been in private pediatric practice for nearly forty years, specializing in children with autism and developmental delays for over twenty-five years.

Dr. Robinson received her MD degree in 1973 from the University of Southern California. She trained in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, having served as Chief Pediatric Resident for CHLA in 1976. She is board certified in pediatrics. In 1988 she received her MPH from the University at Berkeley School of Public Health.

She has been actively involved in the field of autism since 1990, developing multidisciplinary educational and medical programs for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and devoting endless hours in education, legislation and research efforts on a national level. Dr. Robinson has been at the forefront of leading grassroots autism organizations. She was a founding board member of Cure Autism Now (now Autism Speaks) and the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL), and most recently Profectum Foundation. She was a member of the Autism Speaks Scientific Review Panel for over eight years. Dr. Robinson organized and chaired the first nationally recognized task force to define the standard of care for clinical trials in autism. The results of this outstanding effort were published in CNS Spectrums (January 2004, Vol. 9, #1). Most recently she was appointed as Medical Director of Profectum Foundation, an organization devoted to providing multi-disciplinary education and training for parents, families and professionals working with individuals with ASD across the lifespan.

A nationally sought-after expert, she has appeared on the Today Show, The Talk, Larry King Live and Good Morning America Health in support of the needs of children and families with autism spectrum disorders. She is an internationally recognized speaker addressing the needs of children with autism and other developmental delays to parent, professional and lay audiences worldwide for the past two decades. She is also the author of the acclaimed book Autism Solutions – How to Create a Healthy and Meaningful Life for Your Child. 

My name is Anie Knipping, and I'm a social autistic, a layabout with Panic/Anxiety Disorder, and a terminal optimist with clinical depression. My sensory stuff is all over the place, and I've got synesthesia, which lets me see sound and taste colour. I love to educate people on all of it, but it's not always easy to explain without pictures, so I published an illustrated book, 'Eccentricity', to do just that.

Ruby Moye Salazar is a child and family consultant and developmental therapist as well as an internationally recognized expert in early childhood development and autism.

Mrs. Salazar founded Pennsylvania Lifespan Services in 1980, a family-focused trans-displinary developmental practice providing psycho-social-developmental services for children and families.

She has worked in the office of three PA governors in child-care policy, was appointed to the Pennsylvania Governor’s Council for Children and the PA Department of Welfare Workgroup to establish Autism Assessment Policy and clinically directed both the ASD Comprehensive Assessment  Project and  the PA Department of Early Intervention Reflective Supervision Project. Proudly, Mrs. Salazar chaired then-candidate Barack Obama’s first Autism Workgroup who drafted the bill which became ASD Federal Law.

Mrs. Salazar has received many professional awards, among them the inaugural Sally Provence Award for excellence in infant and family practice from Zero to Three,  Girl Scouts of America  Professional of the Year award and National Guidance Counselors Association Professional Excellence award, all received in her hometown of Washington, D.C.

Mrs. Salazar is currently adjunct professor at Commonwealth Medical School and founding member and senior faculty at Profectum Academy, providing individual and group reflective supervision and consultation in leadership and organizational development to mental health non-profits and private practice organizations.

At home, she delights in her family, including her husband of 46 years, four children and four grandchildren. Ruby enjoys reading biographies and just about anything on the USA’s Founding Fathers.

Visit Ruby’s Website for More Information

https://www.rubymoyesalazar.com/

Dr. Joshua Feder is a child and family psychiatrist with a clinical practice in Solana Beach, California. Associate Clinical Professor at University of California at San Diego School of Medicine, and Senior Expert with the Early Years. Dr. Feder conducts research and trains clinicians to promote regulation, social communication, and learning and he is engaged in peace building through support of early childhood development in conflict regions. Dr. Feder advocates nationally and internationally on issues related to peace building, informed consent, and evidence based practices, and he serves as Medical Director at SymPlay, developing interactive technology and distance learning systems to support relationship-based interventions. Dr. Feder is known as an engaging speaker and many of his lectures can be found online through joshuafedermd.com and circlestretch.com.

Rosemary White has been an occupational therapist since 1972 and brings a wealth of clinical experience to every workshop she teaches throughout the United States and internationally in Canada, Europe, South Africa, Uganda and Australia. Rosemary is a true clinician’s clinician! Rosemary received her neurodevelopmental therapy training in London with the Bobaths, her sensory integrative therapy training in Los Angeles with Dr. A Jean Ayres and her training in the DIRFloortime® model with Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder, Ph.D. and the Faculty of ICDL. She currently owns and operates Pediatric Physical and Occupational Therapy Services in Seattle, Washington. Rosemary has her certificate in the DIR® model and has been senior faculty on the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disabilities (ICDL) chaired by Stanley Greenspan, M.D. and Serena Wieder, Ph.D., since 2002. Rosemary is on the clinical faculty at the University of Washington in the School of Nursing Infant Mental Health Certificate Program. Rosemary is also faculty in the ICDL Graduate School in the Ph.D. in infant and early childhood mental health and developmental disorders. This is an on-line Ph.D. program providing education to professionals throughout the world. Rosemary is also Profectum Foundation Faculty.

Profectum Senior Faculty Sima Gerber is a professor of speech-language pathology in the Department of Linguistics and Communication Disorders of Queens College, City University of New York. Dr. Gerber has over 40 years of clinical experience, specializing in the treatment of children with autistic spectrum disorders. Dr. Gerber is on the faculty of Profectum and the Advisory Board of the New York Zero-to-Three Network. Dr. Gerber has presented nationally and abroad on the topics of language acquisition and developmental approaches to intervention for children with challenges in language development. Dr. Gerber is the recipient of the award for Outstanding Service to the field of speech-language pathology given by the New York City Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the Louis DiCarlo Clinical Achievement Award from the New York State Association. Dr. Gerber has received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the New York State Speech-Language-Hearing Association and is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Dr. Serena Wieder is the Clinical Director and a founding member of the Profectum Foundation, dedicated to advancing the development and mental health of children, of all ages, including adolescents and adults with neurodivergent development and emotional challenges through interdisciplinary training and educational programs. She also co-founded the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders and was a Board Member of Zero to Three for 23 years. Dr. Wieder serves on various advisory boards to various programs serving infant mental health and other special needs.  Dr. Wieder also founded DIR-Israel, a training program that offers DIR Certificates, and provides consultation and training to many international and national programs.

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Wieder has pioneered important approaches to diagnosing and treating infants and toddlers with infant mental health and developmental disorders.  She co-created the DIR Model with Stanley Greenspan, edited two diagnostic manuals for infants and young children. Further, she created models for interdisciplinary post-graduate case based training and pioneered parent-mediated intervention for parents of neurodivergent children.

Dr. Wieder has co-chaired and organized national and international conferences integrating development, neuroscience and intervention approaches for over 20 years. Dr. Wieder also developed approaches to integrate visual-spatial knowledge to advance emotional and cognitive development.  Her research interests concern follow up studies of children on the autism spectrum who received DIR model interventions and the evaluation of training and educational programs. In addition, she serves as adjunct faculty at various universities including Bank Street , UCS Davis IMH Fellowship Program, and Adelphi.

Amongst her many publications Dr. Wieder co-authored Engaging Autism, The Child With Special Needs and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health with Stanley Greenspan, M.D. They also co-edited Infants in Multi-Risk Families as well as the ICDL Diagnostic Manual for Infants and Young Children (DMIC)/ She edited the original Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC 0-3) for Zero-Three. . Her chapters on the DIR Model appear in major textbooks on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Wieder also co- authored Visual Spatial Portals to Thinking, Feeling, and Movement with Harry Wachs, O.D. She has published numerous journal and book chapters and presents at multiple conferences nationally and internationally.

At this time, Dr. Serena Wieder also has a private practice in NYC for diagnosis, treatment and consultation regarding complex developmental and mental health challenges.

Lauren Blaszak is one of the Co-Founders and Executive Directors of Celebrate the Children school. Lauren has extensive experience working with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disorders for over 14 years. Prior to starting the school in 2004 in collaboration with Monica Osgood, Lauren worked as a behavioral consultant to public school districts in New Jersey and New York. In addition, her experience includes parent support and training, social skills training, supervision of home programs, supervisor of instructional teams and supporting public schools in learning about and integrating DIR® into the mainstream. She also works collaboratively with other organizations and professionals in terms of education and research of Autism and related disorders. Her accomplishments include speaking engagements at national and local conferences, as well as participation in television, radio, and newspaper interviews and publications.Lauren Blaszak is one of the Co-Founders and Executive Directors of Celebrate the Children school. Lauren has extensive experience working with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disorders for over 18 20 years. Lauren worked as a behavioral consultant to public school districts in New Jersey and New York. In addition, her experience includes parent support and training, social skills training, supervision of home programs, supervisor of instructional teams and supporting public schools in learning about and integrating DIR® into the mainstream. She also works collaboratively with other organizations and professionals in terms of education and research of Autism and related disorders. Her accomplishments include speaking engagements at national and local conferences, as well as participation in television, radio, and newspaper interviews and publications.

Mady Kaplan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, with a specialization in children and families. She is a Certified Early Childhood Group Therapist, a graduate of the Profectum Advanced Clinical Training Program and a Certified Profectum Trainer. Mady conducts individual and group therapy for children and parents at Celebrate the Children school and in private practice. Throughout her career Mady has offered workshops at a variety of national conferences for educators, parents, social workers and other professionals. Mady is delighted to be presenting at the NY/NJ Profectum Conference on Relationships.

Gilbert M. Foley, Ed.D., IMH-E serves as Consulting Clinical Psychologist at the New York Center for Child Development (NYCCD) in New York City and Clinical Co- Director of the New York City Early Childhood Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC). He is Endorsed as an Infant Mental Health/ Clinical Mentor, Level IV and is a founding board member of the New York and Pennsylvania State Associations of Infant Mental Health. He is a senior faculty member of the DIR® Profectum Academy and core faculty member of the Psychodynamic Institute for Clinical Social work (Chicago). Dr Foley is a retired Associate Professor (tenured) of the School-Clinical Child Psychology Doctoral Program at Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and Director Emeritus of the Graduate Program in Infant Mental Health and Developmental Practice at Adelphi University. He served as Visiting Fellow at the Yale Child Study Center and was Director of Psychology in the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. Dr. Foley is the co-author of four books and has written over 50 scholarly articles and chapters. Linking Sensory Integration and Mental Health: Nurturing Self-Regulation in Infants and Young Children has just been published by National Zero to Three. Dr. Foley lectures widely nationally and internationally.

Ruby Moye Salazar is a child and family consultant and developmental therapist as well as an internationally recognized expert in early childhood development and autism.

Mrs. Salazar founded Pennsylvania Lifespan Services in 1980, a family-focused trans-displinary developmental practice providing psycho-social-developmental services for children and families.

She has worked in the office of three PA governors in child-care policy, was appointed to the Pennsylvania Governor’s Council for Children and the PA Department of Welfare Workgroup to establish Autism Assessment Policy and clinically directed both the ASD Comprehensive Assessment  Project and  the PA Department of Early Intervention Reflective Supervision Project. Proudly, Mrs. Salazar chaired then-candidate Barack Obama’s first Autism Workgroup who drafted the bill which became ASD Federal Law.

Mrs. Salazar has received many professional awards, among them the inaugural Sally Provence Award for excellence in infant and family practice from Zero to Three,  Girl Scouts of America  Professional of the Year award and National Guidance Counselors Association Professional Excellence award, all received in her hometown of Washington, D.C.

Mrs. Salazar is currently adjunct professor at Commonwealth Medical School and founding member and senior faculty at Profectum Academy, providing individual and group reflective supervision and consultation in leadership and organizational development to mental health non-profits and private practice organizations.

At home, she delights in her family, including her husband of 46 years, four children and four grandchildren. Ruby enjoys reading biographies and just about anything on the USA’s Founding Fathers.

Visit Ruby’s Website for More Information

https://www.rubymoyesalazar.com/

Rosemary White has been an occupational therapist since 1972 and brings a wealth of clinical experience to every workshop she teaches throughout the United States and internationally in Canada, Europe, South Africa, Uganda and Australia. Rosemary is a true clinician’s clinician! Rosemary received her neurodevelopmental therapy training in London with the Bobaths, her sensory integrative therapy training in Los Angeles with Dr. A Jean Ayres and her training in the DIRFloortime® model with Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder, Ph.D. and the Faculty of ICDL. She currently owns and operates Pediatric Physical and Occupational Therapy Services in Seattle, Washington. Rosemary has her certificate in the DIR® model and has been senior faculty on the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disabilities (ICDL) chaired by Stanley Greenspan, M.D. and Serena Wieder, Ph.D., since 2002. Rosemary is on the clinical faculty at the University of Washington in the School of Nursing Infant Mental Health Certificate Program. Rosemary is also faculty in the ICDL Graduate School in the Ph.D. in infant and early childhood mental health and developmental disorders. This is an on-line Ph.D. program providing education to professionals throughout the world. Rosemary is also Profectum Foundation Faculty.

Kristin graduated from the Medical University of South Carolina with a Masters in Occupational Therapy in 2000.  She practices in Seattle Washington at Cooper House, a clinic that specializes in supporting the development of infants, young children, and their families.  Here she joins forces with Licensed Mental Health clinicians through a comprehensive team approach.  She is endorsed by the Washington Association for Infant Mental Health as a level 3 Infant Mental Health Specialist.  She works with a variety of children and families blending the DIR® model with a trauma informed practice, and principles of Infant Mental Health into her work. Kristin joined the Profectum Faculty in 2016 and provides teaching and tutoring of the DIR® Model for the Profectum Foundation.  Kristin is passionate about supporting children and families and understanding the impact of trauma on early relationships.

Rebecca Berg, Profectum Academy Fellow, has been a pediatric occupational therapist for nine years, specializing in the treatment of children with sensory processing and neurodevelopmental disorders. A longtime scholar of relationships, play, and human nature, Rebecca has pursued formal training and self-study in the area of social/emotional and cognitive development since her fourth grade science project, Nibbles. Prior to becoming an occupational therapist, Rebecca spent time teaching preschool and early elementary special education and teaching creative performance process to undergrads at New York University. These pursuits led Rebecca to Seattle, where she enjoys ongoing training in the DIR/Floortime model through mentoring and collaboration with colleagues and taking data points on her favorite subjects of study, her two wild boys.

Rosemary White has been an occupational therapist since 1972 and brings a wealth of clinical experience to every workshop she teaches throughout the United States and internationally in Canada, Europe, South Africa, Uganda and Australia. Rosemary is a true clinician’s clinician! Rosemary received her neurodevelopmental therapy training in London with the Bobaths, her sensory integrative therapy training in Los Angeles with Dr. A Jean Ayres and her training in the DIRFloortime® model with Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder, Ph.D. and the Faculty of ICDL. She currently owns and operates Pediatric Physical and Occupational Therapy Services in Seattle, Washington. Rosemary has her certificate in the DIR® model and has been senior faculty on the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disabilities (ICDL) chaired by Stanley Greenspan, M.D. and Serena Wieder, Ph.D., since 2002. Rosemary is on the clinical faculty at the University of Washington in the School of Nursing Infant Mental Health Certificate Program. Rosemary is also faculty in the ICDL Graduate School in the Ph.D. in infant and early childhood mental health and developmental disorders. This is an on-line Ph.D. program providing education to professionals throughout the world. Rosemary is also Profectum Foundation Faculty.

Jennifer Mandato, L.A.C., M.A. is a Licensed Associate Counselor who received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Montclair State University. She went on to pursue her Masters Degree in School Counseling from Centenary University. She is working towards her requirements to become a Licensed Professional Counselor. Jennifer has been a School Counselor for the past ten years in a private school for students with special needs. She provides individual and group counseling, as well as family support, future planning and executive functioning coaching. She works with children, adolescents and young adults with Autism, Anxiety, Down Syndrome, and other Developmental Disabilities. Jennifer uses the Cognitive Behavioral Therapeutic (CBT) model to guide her treatment. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading and spending time with her family.

Ricki Robinson, MD, MPH. is co-director of Descanso Medical Center for Development and Learning in La Canada, California and a clinical professor of pediatrics at the Keck School Medicine of USC. She has been in private pediatric practice for nearly forty years, specializing in children with autism and developmental delays for over twenty-five years.

Dr. Robinson received her MD degree in 1973 from the University of Southern California. She trained in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, having served as Chief Pediatric Resident for CHLA in 1976. She is board certified in pediatrics. In 1988 she received her MPH from the University at Berkeley School of Public Health.

She has been actively involved in the field of autism since 1990, developing multidisciplinary educational and medical programs for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and devoting endless hours in education, legislation and research efforts on a national level. Dr. Robinson has been at the forefront of leading grassroots autism organizations. She was a founding board member of Cure Autism Now (now Autism Speaks) and the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL), and most recently Profectum Foundation. She was a member of the Autism Speaks Scientific Review Panel for over eight years. Dr. Robinson organized and chaired the first nationally recognized task force to define the standard of care for clinical trials in autism. The results of this outstanding effort were published in CNS Spectrums (January 2004, Vol. 9, #1). Most recently she was appointed as Medical Director of Profectum Foundation, an organization devoted to providing multi-disciplinary education and training for parents, families and professionals working with individuals with ASD across the lifespan.

A nationally sought-after expert, she has appeared on the Today Show, The Talk, Larry King Live and Good Morning America Health in support of the needs of children and families with autism spectrum disorders. She is an internationally recognized speaker addressing the needs of children with autism and other developmental delays to parent, professional and lay audiences worldwide for the past two decades. She is also the author of the acclaimed book Autism Solutions – How to Create a Healthy and Meaningful Life for Your Child. 

Dr. Serena Wieder is the Clinical Director and a founding member of the Profectum Foundation, dedicated to advancing the development and mental health of children, of all ages, including adolescents and adults with neurodivergent development and emotional challenges through interdisciplinary training and educational programs. She also co-founded the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders and was a Board Member of Zero to Three for 23 years. Dr. Wieder serves on various advisory boards to various programs serving infant mental health and other special needs.  Dr. Wieder also founded DIR-Israel, a training program that offers DIR Certificates, and provides consultation and training to many international and national programs.

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Wieder has pioneered important approaches to diagnosing and treating infants and toddlers with infant mental health and developmental disorders.  She co-created the DIR Model with Stanley Greenspan, edited two diagnostic manuals for infants and young children. Further, she created models for interdisciplinary post-graduate case based training and pioneered parent-mediated intervention for parents of neurodivergent children.

Dr. Wieder has co-chaired and organized national and international conferences integrating development, neuroscience and intervention approaches for over 20 years. Dr. Wieder also developed approaches to integrate visual-spatial knowledge to advance emotional and cognitive development.  Her research interests concern follow up studies of children on the autism spectrum who received DIR model interventions and the evaluation of training and educational programs. In addition, she serves as adjunct faculty at various universities including Bank Street , UCS Davis IMH Fellowship Program, and Adelphi.

Amongst her many publications Dr. Wieder co-authored Engaging Autism, The Child With Special Needs and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health with Stanley Greenspan, M.D. They also co-edited Infants in Multi-Risk Families as well as the ICDL Diagnostic Manual for Infants and Young Children (DMIC)/ She edited the original Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC 0-3) for Zero-Three. . Her chapters on the DIR Model appear in major textbooks on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Wieder also co- authored Visual Spatial Portals to Thinking, Feeling, and Movement with Harry Wachs, O.D. She has published numerous journal and book chapters and presents at multiple conferences nationally and internationally.

At this time, Dr. Serena Wieder also has a private practice in NYC for diagnosis, treatment and consultation regarding complex developmental and mental health challenges.

Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences; David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Director, UCLA Pediatric Pain and Palliative Care Program; Faculty: Autism Think Tank of New Jersey / Lonnie Zeltzer, M.D., is a Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, Anesthesiology, Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Director of the UCLA Pediatric Pain and Palliative Care Program, and member of the Autism Think Tank of New Jersey. She is a co-author on the Institute of Medicine report on Transforming Pain in America and is a member of the national steering committee assigned to provide directions for pain research at NIH. She has received, among other awards, a Mayday Pain and Policy Fellowship and the 2005 Jeffrey Lawson Award for Advocacy in Children’s Pain Relief from the American Pain Society (APS). Her UCLA integrative pediatric pain program received a 2009 Clinical Centers of Excellence in Pain Management Award from APS and a 2012 award from the Southern California Cancer Pain Initiative. Her research includes yoga and other self-help interventions for children with visceral pain, studies of the brain/pain/gut microbiome relationships in children with IBS and controls, and other studies of mechanisms of pain and central pain control across puberty and by child sex. She has over 350 publications on childhood pain and complementary therapies, and her newest books for parents are: Pain in children and young adults: Part 1, what you need to know, and Pain in children and young adults: Part 2, the journey back to normal.

Amy Keveanos has worked in and out of district high school special ed for 16 years. She received her bachelor’s degree in English and Education from Monmouth University in 2002, then received her Teacher of Students with Disabilities (TOSD) from the College of St. Elizabeth graduate school. She is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in educational leadership at Montclair State University. She has worked at Celebrate the Children for 6 years and loves working with the DIR model and seeing how much progress students make with a relationship based approach.

Randy Rossilli, Jr., MA is the principal of Celebrate the Children. Randy has been a school administrator for more than 20 years. He has developed elite magnet school programs for Medical Science and Research, Engineering, Fine and Performing Arts, International Studies, and Communication Technology. He has also led other unique special education programs as a principal and supervisor of instruction. Recognized by Apple as one of the top technology educators in North America, Randy has applied his knowledge of content and technology to the development of educational media, where he is a four-time Emmy Nominee and Emmy Award Winner, as well as the winner of the New York International Film Festival for documentary short. He has published several several children's books on character education and applied learning. Randy is currently pursuing his doctorate where his dissertation will be about Child Development, DIR®, and the Power of Play.

Mary Alice Landis serves as an Instructional Supervisor and curriculum specialist in Reading at Celebrate the Children. Mary Alice runs a pull-out resource room program in Reading for students who need more intensive work in Reading and Reading comprehension. Her responsibilities include coordinating NJ statewide assessments, assessing students through standardized reading assessments, writing formal evaluation reports and recommendations, informal assessments, developing remediation plans, providing direct instruction, developing IEP goals, evaluating progress, and implementing programs. In addition to this, Mary Alice provides training and support to teachers in providing instruction in Reading and Reading Comprehension. She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from Seton Hall University and is in the process of completing an additional Master’s degree at New Jersey City University. She holds a NJ Supervisory certificate, is K-8 certified in Elementary Education and K-12 certified in both Reading and Teacher of Students with Disabilities.

Ricki Robinson, MD, MPH. is co-director of Descanso Medical Center for Development and Learning in La Canada, California and a clinical professor of pediatrics at the Keck School Medicine of USC. She has been in private pediatric practice for nearly forty years, specializing in children with autism and developmental delays for over twenty-five years.

Dr. Robinson received her MD degree in 1973 from the University of Southern California. She trained in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, having served as Chief Pediatric Resident for CHLA in 1976. She is board certified in pediatrics. In 1988 she received her MPH from the University at Berkeley School of Public Health.

She has been actively involved in the field of autism since 1990, developing multidisciplinary educational and medical programs for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and devoting endless hours in education, legislation and research efforts on a national level. Dr. Robinson has been at the forefront of leading grassroots autism organizations. She was a founding board member of Cure Autism Now (now Autism Speaks) and the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL), and most recently Profectum Foundation. She was a member of the Autism Speaks Scientific Review Panel for over eight years. Dr. Robinson organized and chaired the first nationally recognized task force to define the standard of care for clinical trials in autism. The results of this outstanding effort were published in CNS Spectrums (January 2004, Vol. 9, #1). Most recently she was appointed as Medical Director of Profectum Foundation, an organization devoted to providing multi-disciplinary education and training for parents, families and professionals working with individuals with ASD across the lifespan.

A nationally sought-after expert, she has appeared on the Today Show, The Talk, Larry King Live and Good Morning America Health in support of the needs of children and families with autism spectrum disorders. She is an internationally recognized speaker addressing the needs of children with autism and other developmental delays to parent, professional and lay audiences worldwide for the past two decades. She is also the author of the acclaimed book Autism Solutions – How to Create a Healthy and Meaningful Life for Your Child. 

Lauren Blaszak is one of the Co-Founders and Executive Directors of Celebrate the Children school. Lauren has extensive experience working with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disorders for over 14 years. Prior to starting the school in 2004 in collaboration with Monica Osgood, Lauren worked as a behavioral consultant to public school districts in New Jersey and New York. In addition, her experience includes parent support and training, social skills training, supervision of home programs, supervisor of instructional teams and supporting public schools in learning about and integrating DIR® into the mainstream. She also works collaboratively with other organizations and professionals in terms of education and research of Autism and related disorders. Her accomplishments include speaking engagements at national and local conferences, as well as participation in television, radio, and newspaper interviews and publications.Lauren Blaszak is one of the Co-Founders and Executive Directors of Celebrate the Children school. Lauren has extensive experience working with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disorders for over 18 20 years. Lauren worked as a behavioral consultant to public school districts in New Jersey and New York. In addition, her experience includes parent support and training, social skills training, supervision of home programs, supervisor of instructional teams and supporting public schools in learning about and integrating DIR® into the mainstream. She also works collaboratively with other organizations and professionals in terms of education and research of Autism and related disorders. Her accomplishments include speaking engagements at national and local conferences, as well as participation in television, radio, and newspaper interviews and publications.

Lisa deFaria, MSW, LICSW, BCD is a Certified Senior Clinician and Profectum Founding Faculty member, with over 20 years of advanced training and clinical experience in the DIR® model and the DIRFloortime® developmental play therapy approach.

Lisa trained under Serena Wieder, PhD, and the late Stanley Greenspan, MD. She was previously on faculty with the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL) and was an Associate Professor with the ICDL Graduate PhD program in Early Childhood Development. Lisa has presented at national Profectum and ICDL training symposiums, in addition to regional agency, school and university speaking engagements related to child and parent development. She provides developmental programming consultation and in-service training focusing on pro-active and positive approaches for Early Start/Infant Intervention preschools, elementary/high school and inclusion programs. Lisa has and continues to provide reflective mentorship to advanced clinicians working in the model.

Formerly the founder and director of the Family Center for Developmental Therapies in Monterey, CA, Lisa has since relocated to Washington State. She currently has a private practice on Bainbridge Island, providing child and family-centered consultation and direct services utilizing DIR® and DIRFloortime® approach. While offering general psychotherapeutic services for children and teens, Lisa remains dedicated to focusing on supporting the growth and development of young children with neurodevelopmental challenges, including autism spectrum disorders, difficulties with self-regulation, attending and focusing and those with emerging emotional, behavioral and learning challenges.

Lisa has a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Southern California and holds dual licensure in California and Washington State as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW/LICSW) and is a Board-Certified Diplomat (BCD) in Clinical Social Work. Lisa is an accredited member of the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work, the National Association for Social Work, the Washington Society for Clinical Social Workers, and the Bainbridge Island Psychotherapy Guild.

www.lisadefaria.com

Griffin Doyle is a clinical psychologist in private practice treating children of all ages, adolescents, adults and couples. His work has focused for over twenty five years on the DIR® model and practice with developmentally delayed, regulatory and autism spectrum disordered children. He also consulted to the Milton and Ethel Harris Research Initiative at York University studying the effectiveness of the DIR® model intervention. As an expert witness on attachment/separation, early development and autism spectrum disorders he has served for over ten years in several jurisdictions throughout Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Dr. Doyle has been a faculty member of the DIR® model Training Institute Program since 2001, a member of the ICDL Advisory Board and a past faculty member (2007 – 2011) of the ICDL Doctoral Program in Infant Mental Health and Developmental Disorders. In addition, he has been a core faculty member for fifteen years and past Co-Chair of the Infant Mental Health Postgraduate Seminar Program at the Washington School of Psychiatry (Washington, DC). His published articles include the subjects of forgiveness, the internal world of the infant and in-depth book reviews on child development and neuro-relational treatment approaches to infants and children. In 2009, Dr. Doyle was cited through a randomized, peer survey conducted throughout the Washington, DC metro area by WASHINGTONIAN magazine as a regional expert clinician in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders.

Profectum Senior Faculty Sima Gerber is a professor of speech-language pathology in the Department of Linguistics and Communication Disorders of Queens College, City University of New York. Dr. Gerber has over 40 years of clinical experience, specializing in the treatment of children with autistic spectrum disorders. Dr. Gerber is on the faculty of Profectum and the Advisory Board of the New York Zero-to-Three Network. Dr. Gerber has presented nationally and abroad on the topics of language acquisition and developmental approaches to intervention for children with challenges in language development. Dr. Gerber is the recipient of the award for Outstanding Service to the field of speech-language pathology given by the New York City Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the Louis DiCarlo Clinical Achievement Award from the New York State Association. Dr. Gerber has received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the New York State Speech-Language-Hearing Association and is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Dr. Serena Wieder is the Clinical Director and a founding member of the Profectum Foundation, dedicated to advancing the development and mental health of children, of all ages, including adolescents and adults with neurodivergent development and emotional challenges through interdisciplinary training and educational programs. She also co-founded the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders and was a Board Member of Zero to Three for 23 years. Dr. Wieder serves on various advisory boards to various programs serving infant mental health and other special needs.  Dr. Wieder also founded DIR-Israel, a training program that offers DIR Certificates, and provides consultation and training to many international and national programs.

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Wieder has pioneered important approaches to diagnosing and treating infants and toddlers with infant mental health and developmental disorders.  She co-created the DIR Model with Stanley Greenspan, edited two diagnostic manuals for infants and young children. Further, she created models for interdisciplinary post-graduate case based training and pioneered parent-mediated intervention for parents of neurodivergent children.

Dr. Wieder has co-chaired and organized national and international conferences integrating development, neuroscience and intervention approaches for over 20 years. Dr. Wieder also developed approaches to integrate visual-spatial knowledge to advance emotional and cognitive development.  Her research interests concern follow up studies of children on the autism spectrum who received DIR model interventions and the evaluation of training and educational programs. In addition, she serves as adjunct faculty at various universities including Bank Street , UCS Davis IMH Fellowship Program, and Adelphi.

Amongst her many publications Dr. Wieder co-authored Engaging Autism, The Child With Special Needs and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health with Stanley Greenspan, M.D. They also co-edited Infants in Multi-Risk Families as well as the ICDL Diagnostic Manual for Infants and Young Children (DMIC)/ She edited the original Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC 0-3) for Zero-Three. . Her chapters on the DIR Model appear in major textbooks on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Wieder also co- authored Visual Spatial Portals to Thinking, Feeling, and Movement with Harry Wachs, O.D. She has published numerous journal and book chapters and presents at multiple conferences nationally and internationally.

At this time, Dr. Serena Wieder also has a private practice in NYC for diagnosis, treatment and consultation regarding complex developmental and mental health challenges.

Ruby Moye Salazar is a child and family consultant and developmental therapist as well as an internationally recognized expert in early childhood development and autism.

Mrs. Salazar founded Pennsylvania Lifespan Services in 1980, a family-focused trans-displinary developmental practice providing psycho-social-developmental services for children and families.

She has worked in the office of three PA governors in child-care policy, was appointed to the Pennsylvania Governor’s Council for Children and the PA Department of Welfare Workgroup to establish Autism Assessment Policy and clinically directed both the ASD Comprehensive Assessment  Project and  the PA Department of Early Intervention Reflective Supervision Project. Proudly, Mrs. Salazar chaired then-candidate Barack Obama’s first Autism Workgroup who drafted the bill which became ASD Federal Law.

Mrs. Salazar has received many professional awards, among them the inaugural Sally Provence Award for excellence in infant and family practice from Zero to Three,  Girl Scouts of America  Professional of the Year award and National Guidance Counselors Association Professional Excellence award, all received in her hometown of Washington, D.C.

Mrs. Salazar is currently adjunct professor at Commonwealth Medical School and founding member and senior faculty at Profectum Academy, providing individual and group reflective supervision and consultation in leadership and organizational development to mental health non-profits and private practice organizations.

At home, she delights in her family, including her husband of 46 years, four children and four grandchildren. Ruby enjoys reading biographies and just about anything on the USA’s Founding Fathers.

Visit Ruby’s Website for More Information

https://www.rubymoyesalazar.com/

Rosemary White has been an occupational therapist since 1972 and brings a wealth of clinical experience to every workshop she teaches throughout the United States and internationally in Canada, Europe, South Africa, Uganda and Australia. Rosemary is a true clinician’s clinician! Rosemary received her neurodevelopmental therapy training in London with the Bobaths, her sensory integrative therapy training in Los Angeles with Dr. A Jean Ayres and her training in the DIRFloortime® model with Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder, Ph.D. and the Faculty of ICDL. She currently owns and operates Pediatric Physical and Occupational Therapy Services in Seattle, Washington. Rosemary has her certificate in the DIR® model and has been senior faculty on the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disabilities (ICDL) chaired by Stanley Greenspan, M.D. and Serena Wieder, Ph.D., since 2002. Rosemary is on the clinical faculty at the University of Washington in the School of Nursing Infant Mental Health Certificate Program. Rosemary is also faculty in the ICDL Graduate School in the Ph.D. in infant and early childhood mental health and developmental disorders. This is an on-line Ph.D. program providing education to professionals throughout the world. Rosemary is also Profectum Foundation Faculty.

Ricki Robinson, MD, MPH. is co-director of Descanso Medical Center for Development and Learning in La Canada, California and a clinical professor of pediatrics at the Keck School Medicine of USC. She has been in private pediatric practice for nearly forty years, specializing in children with autism and developmental delays for over twenty-five years.

Dr. Robinson received her MD degree in 1973 from the University of Southern California. She trained in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, having served as Chief Pediatric Resident for CHLA in 1976. She is board certified in pediatrics. In 1988 she received her MPH from the University at Berkeley School of Public Health.

She has been actively involved in the field of autism since 1990, developing multidisciplinary educational and medical programs for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and devoting endless hours in education, legislation and research efforts on a national level. Dr. Robinson has been at the forefront of leading grassroots autism organizations. She was a founding board member of Cure Autism Now (now Autism Speaks) and the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL), and most recently Profectum Foundation. She was a member of the Autism Speaks Scientific Review Panel for over eight years. Dr. Robinson organized and chaired the first nationally recognized task force to define the standard of care for clinical trials in autism. The results of this outstanding effort were published in CNS Spectrums (January 2004, Vol. 9, #1). Most recently she was appointed as Medical Director of Profectum Foundation, an organization devoted to providing multi-disciplinary education and training for parents, families and professionals working with individuals with ASD across the lifespan.

A nationally sought-after expert, she has appeared on the Today Show, The Talk, Larry King Live and Good Morning America Health in support of the needs of children and families with autism spectrum disorders. She is an internationally recognized speaker addressing the needs of children with autism and other developmental delays to parent, professional and lay audiences worldwide for the past two decades. She is also the author of the acclaimed book Autism Solutions – How to Create a Healthy and Meaningful Life for Your Child.