Christine Barry is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and a Pediatric Neuropsychologist with University Hospitals and CASE Medical School. As a neuropsychologist, she provides a wide range of services to children with neurobiological disorders and their families. She has specialized in treatment and neuropsychological evaluation of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders/Asperger's Syndrome for the past 15 years. She is interested in increasing awareness of autism and frequently conducts seminars on this topic. In addition, she consults with school systems and hospitals throughout the area. As an associate professor, Dr. Barry works with residents, medical students, graduate students and other interested professionals on identification and treatment of neurobiological disorders in childhood with an emphasis on autism. Dr. Barry has written an article on neurobehavioral symptoms in children with traumatic brain injury and has coauthored several articles and a journal chapter. Dr. Barry has served as a reviewer for several journals, has written and presented widely on childhood learning and socialization problems, and is an active member of numerous professional organizations.

Peter Bell is executive vice president for programs and services at Autism Speaks. He oversees the foundation's government relations and family services activities and also serves as an advisor to the science division. Prior to his role at Autism Speaks, Bell was president and CEO of Cure Autism Now, which merged with Autism Speaks in February 2007.

Peter joined Cure Autism Now in 2004 following a successful 12-year marketing career at McNeil Consumer & Specialty Pharmaceuticals, a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies. As president and CEO, Peter led Cure Autism Now through a tremendous growth period and brought the foundation's funding total to more than $39 million. In addition, Peter enhanced the foundation's research, education and outreach initiatives and expanded the foundation's treatment portfolio.

Prior to joining the Cure Autism Now staff, Peter was a founding member of the Philadelphia chapter and served on the board of directors. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University and holds an MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University.

Peter and his wife, Liz, reside in New Jersey with their three children. Their eldest son, Tyler, has autism.

Michele Pierce Burns is a consultant, writer, and public speaker focusing on Autism Awareness and Acceptance.  She is the Director of Development for Celebrate the Children in Stanhope, NJ, a state-approved private school for children on the autism spectrum.  Previously, she was an elementary and high school teacher and co-founded two charter schools and a summer academy.  She holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University (English/Afro-American Studies), an M.A. from Stanford University (Education), and a M.Ed. from Harvard University (Administration, Planning, and Social Policy).  She has been featured on OPRAH, The Today Show, andLarry King Live discussing autism.  In print, she has been featured in Essence, Black Enterprise, and Big Apple Parent magazines. 

She is the proud mother of Danson Mandela Wambua, age 8, and has recently co- written a book with him entitled DANSON: the Extraordinary Discovery of an Autistic Child’s Innermost Thoughts and Feelings (St. Lynn’s Press, October 2008).  Michele is currently completing a second book for Danson entitled I Love Everything about You which affirms the idea that a child with autism is a perfect blessing exactly as he or she is.  She and Danson are featured in the Documentary film Autism Every Day which premiered at The Sundance film festival in January, 2007. 

Michele volunteers as a member of the Family Services committee at Autism Speaks and as a grant writer for HALO (Helping Autism through Learning and Outreach).  She is a certified yoga and yoga for the special child teacher and a Reiki Master.  She is grateful to share her daily life with Danson and her beautiful husband Michael.

Elaine Hall, "Coach E", the founder of The Miracle Project as seen in the award winning, 5 times Emmy award nominated, HBO documentary, Autism: The Musical. shares her unique experiences using theater and the arts to bring out the best in children with autism. Elaine Hall has been called many things in her multi-faceted and accomplished life including: educator, writer, consultant, performer, and professional acting coach for television and film artists. She has written and directed over thirty children's plays. More recently, Elaine has been called “mother” to son Neal, and the media have deemed her, “The Child Whisperer”, based on the extraordinary and compelling theater arts program she innovated for children like Neal, with Autism called, “The Miracle Project”, and the awe inspiring results the work has delivered.

Nancy Roizen, M.D., has recently joined the staff of Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital as a Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Developmental/Behavioral Pediatrics and Psychology.  She most recently comes from the Cleveland Clinic, where she was the Chief of Developmental Pediatrics and Pediatric Rehabilitation and the Chief of the Medical Staff at the Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital for Rehabilitation.  Prior to coming to Cleveland in 2005, she has been faculty/staff at SUNY Upstate Medical University (3.5 years), University of Chicago (16 years), and Oakland Children’s Hospital (8 years) where she has always been the director of the residency rotation in developmental-behavioral pediatrics, directed the Down Syndrome Clinic and attended in the Child Development Clinic as well as clinics that have focused on specific populations (Zero to Three Clinic, Autism Clinic, ADHD Clinic, Congenital Toxoplasmosis Clinic, Spina Bifida Clinic, Medication Monitoring Clinic, Clinic for Children with Hearing Loss, Cerebral Palsy Clinic, Neonatal Follow-up Clinic).  She completed an internship in Pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital, a residency in Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital, a fellowship in Developmental Pediatrics at the Kennedy-Krieger Institute (Johns Hopkins), and a fellowship in Behavioral Pediatrics at University of California, San Francisco.  Academically, she has published 54 peer-reviewed articles and 40 more chapters, non-peer review articles, and books.  Her research has been mainly in the clinical aspects of Down syndrome, congenital toxoplasmosis, velocardiofacial syndrome, and ADHD.  Presently, she is a co-investigator on a study of autism in Down syndrome. She is an editor of the recently published, Children with Disabilities, 6th edition by Batshaw, Pellegrino, and Roizen (2007).  She is a member of the American Board of Pediatrics  and board certified in Pediatrics, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities.

Leslie Sinclair, a licensed speech/language pathologist and board-certified behavior analyst, is Program Director for The Cleveland Clinic's Children's Hospital Center for Autism, a multi-faceted clinical/educational program for children with autism from earliest diagnosis to age 23. She is president of the Ohio Autism Consortium on Applied Behavior Analysis and is a member of the Association for Applied Behavior Analysis, the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association, and the Autism Society of America. Ms. Sinclair served as an advisory member for Governor Taft's Task Force on Autism and is a lead author on the Medicaid Services Waiver for Young children with Autism. Her research interests include outcomes measurement in children receiving intensive, evidenced-based early intervention, and collaboration with physicians on investigating secondary medical conditions as causes of specific behaviors in children with autism. She was named National Special Educator of The Year in 2004 by the National Association of Private Schools for Exceptional Students. Ms. Sinclair is a published author and frequent lecturer on autism-related topics and a reviewer for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.