Board of Directors
JJ Johnston, Ed D, BCBA
Board of Directors
President
Parent and Vice President, Experience & Service Delivery Easter Seals of Southern CA, Easter Seals of Southern California. For over 20 years, J.J. Johnston has partnered with community leaders to create quality ABA programs for schools, provide consultation on behavioral services, and shape client-centered public policy regarding services for individuals with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities.
Michelle Goodrow
Board of Directors
Vice-President
Michelle is a passionate Special Educator with more than 20 years experience in moderate to severe classrooms. When not in her classroom, you can find her volunteering her time with Special Needs Football and Cheerleaders, or helping with the Autism Society Outreach and Sky High Nights.
Rick Gutierrez, Ph D, BCBA
Board of Directors
Treasurer
Rick is currently the Regional Vice President Autism Administration and Network Provider Services, Easter Seals Southern California. He started off his career as an in-home tutor and still has a desire to improve the lives of families affected by autism.
Kelly Londenberg
Board of Directors
Panel of Advisor
Nicole Aptekar
Board of Directors
Nicole Aptekar has over 20 years of marketing, public relations and advertising experience in business-to-business, consumer segments and non-profit organizations. She has worked for several Fortune 100 companies as Group Marketing Manager in technology and retail. She is a principal owner of a marketing firm specializing in working with small-to-medium sized businesses and non-profit organizations. Nicole is the proud mother of triplets, one of whom is on the spectrum. Nicole also facilitates the monthly Advocacy for Autism support group in Pomona.
Stephani Congdon
Board of Directors
Board Member. Community member and Non-profit consultant. Stephani has been recognized for her years she has dedicated to helping the Inland Empire non-profit community for many years and serves on countless boards and committees related to issues regarding children, poverty, and autism.
Leonard Cravens
Board of Directors
Leonard is a practicing attorney who is certified specialist in criminal and bankruptcy law. He was officially diagnosed with autism at age 61 after noticing himself in one of his clients. He has a B.S. and M.S in computer related subjects and spent 18 years in the software industry before becoming an attorney. When in court he educates fellow attorneys and judges about autism.
Melaura Erickson-Tomaino, Ph.D.
Board of Directors
Dr. Tomaino has been an Assistant Professor in the School of Counseling/Psychology at Azusa Pacific University and has taught numerous graduate courses at Claremont University. She has published multiple articles.
Vanessa Gill
Board of Directors
Panel of Advisor
Learning from her own experiences as an individual with Asperger syndrome, Vanessa founded Social Cipher, an empowering video game for children with Autism. Her remarkable interdisciplinary team works to develop the game’s design based on scientific research and the needs of real children and families affected by Autism.
Dr. Adwoa Osei, MD
Board of Directors
Dr. Osei specializes in pediatrics. She received her education from The University of Ghana Medical School and her board certification from The American Board of Pediatrics. Dr. Osei is an active member of the American Board of Pediatrics. She received the Berton Mathias Award in 2008 for clinical excellence and compassion in patient care, Academy Award for Excellence in Compassion in 2017, and Teaching Excellence Award in 2020 from UCR SOM Alumni.
Erin Pino
Board of Directors
Erin Pino is a proud Autism mom to her son who was diagnosed at age two with Autism.
She is a Controller for a local builder and is excited to bring her skills and experience to the Autism Society Inland Empire.
Lillian Vasquez
Board of Directors
Parent of a young man with Autism and founder of the KVCR Autism Initiative. Lillian has developed and produced five documentaries on autism. She is currently the host of Lifestyles with Lillian Vasquez on 91.9 KVCR.
Panel of Advisors
Vanessa Gill
Panel of Advisor
Board of Directors
Learning from her own experiences as an individual with Asperger syndrome, Vanessa founded Social Cipher, an empowering video game for children with Autism. Her remarkable interdisciplinary team works to develop the game’s design based on scientific research and the needs of real children and families affected by Autism.
Blake Baxter
Panel of Advisor
Sydney Edmond
Panel of Advisor
Sydney Edmond is an artist and poet from Temecula, CA who has autism and apraxia which makes it difficult for her to control her movement. She learned to communicate by typing on a keyboard at the age of 10 and has given many presentations at conferences, workshops, and classrooms about autism, emphasizing the importance of giving nonverbal people a means to fully communicate.
Kelly Londenberg
Panel of Advisor
Kelly Londenberg, BS, COTA/L is an autistic adult and licensed pediatric occupational therapy assistant working in a school-based setting, primarily serving children on the spectrum. She has served on the boards of several autism organizations, including Autism Society Inland Empire, where she ran the teen/adult group, AAC group, family events and organized numerous trainings. Kelly speaks at local and national events educating others on topics related to sensory processing and living on the spectrum.
Imari Nicoloff
Panel of Advisor
Educational Consultant working in the Coachella Valley for over 22 years with M.A. in Special Education and Doctorate in Counseling/Psychology
Aaron Saenz
Panel of Advisor
My name is Aaron Gray Saenz. I’m an male, autistic adult. I’m a writer, director, actor, high-school graduate, college student and autistic self-advocate. In addition to being in showbusiness, my aspirations are advocating for the autistic community. I’ve written many pieces, including one full-length play about a story I came up with on my own. I’ve spoken on many panels put on by the Autism Society of the Inland Empire about my experience as a person on the autism spectrum. As one person with autism, I can only truly advocate for myself, but I try my best to represent the rest of the community in terms of asserting our unchanging presence in society and demanding respect for our culture. I’m proud to be part of this group and continue to advocate for the betterment of the autistic community.
Our Staff
Beth Burt
Executive Director
Board of Directors
Leadership
Staff
Beth is a parent of an adult with Autism and co-author of two books on inclusion. She has been working to improve the lives of all affected by Autism for the last 26 years. She is currently the Executive Director of the Autism Society Inland Empire and past President of the Autism Society of California. She has served on several Task Forces, Collaborations on Housing, Employment, and Public Policy issues related to Autism. She is currently the co-chair of the Autism Society of California Public Policy Committee.
Clara Garcia
Director of Programs
Leadership
Staff
Clara has been active in the field of social services for the past 21 years in the areas of mental health and drug treatment counseling, gang prevention/intervention programs and has spent the last 9 years serving those in the disability community by promoting inclusion, advocating and educating. Clara has created and implemented inclusive programs for special needs children and their typical peers which include a Summer camp, play dates, outings in the community. What stands out most about Clara is the special relationships she builds with families. Because of her genuine care for families, they turn to her for assistance with advocacy, share important family issues and best of all invite her to gatherings where there is always great food!
Anel Ibarra
Program Coordinator
Staff
Anel is the mother of three beautiful children, one of them who has autism. Previously to joining ASIE, Anel volunteered to help the Spanish speaking community. Anel is responsible for keeping the Autism Society Inland Empire going! Among her many responsibilities, Anel coordinates all of our events and programs – which averages over 20 a month. This includes finding locations, speakers, supplies, creating the electronic registrations, and notices, answering the emails about the events as well as creating our newsletter.
Deysi Chavez-Belloso
Resource Specialist
Staff
Deysi is passionate about helping and guiding children and families to navigate resources and encourage support systems within the community.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in human services from California Baptist University. During her journey with RUHS-BH Preschool 0-5 Programs, she had the incredible opportunity to work with parents. She co-facilitated and facilitated pro-social and emotional parent groups in English and Spanish. She also obtained a PC (Parent and Child) Care Certification through UC Davis, equipping her to support parents in building strong parent-and-child relationships.
As a mother of 20- and 15-year-olds, she values self-care and engages in practices such as visualization, meditation, and mindfulness in her spare time.
Fanny Cisneros
Resource Specialist
Staff
Flora Martinez
Education Specialist II
Staff
Jennifer Elliott
Bookkeeper
Staff
Juanita Hernandez
Program Specialist
Staff
Juanita has been supporting families living with autism in the Coachella Valley and Inland Empire with vital resources and services since 2015. She is a proud parent and a long-time advocate for the community.
Julie Price
Social Media
Staff
Liliana Alvarado
Resource Specialist
Staff
Liliana is the mother of twins on different levels of the Autism Spectrum Disorder and two typical children. Liliana is the Adult Resource Specialist and is bilingual. She has coordinated our food program and provides support, information, and resources for all ages of individuals and families with a loved one with autism.
Melissa Cardona
Senior Resource Specialist
Staff
Melissa graduated from Florida Atlantic University and has a Bachelor of Health Services. She is a mother of 4 boys, 2 who are on the spectrum. Melissa is joining the ASIE Team to fill a new position as a resource specialist, she will be helping parents with questions, resources, find events and lend a listening ear. She will also continue to improve our website resource pages. Melissa is a great addition to ASIE and is also bilingual, please say hello to her when you are calling in or emailing us!
Priyanka Malvey
Data Specialist
Staff
Priyanka is a loving mother of 2 children and has work experience in the field of Information Technology. One of her children has been diagnosed with Autism, which has altered her life goals and connected her to a meaningful purpose. She and her family are very active and love going to theme parks, hiking in the mountains, and strolling on beaches
Virginia Sosa
Program Specialist
Staff
Virginia is the mother of 2 boys, one of whom has autism. She is a member of her local school district’s Community Advisory Committee (CAC) for Special Education where she provides input, recommendations, and enjoys coordinating donations to give to special needs students and their families at the district’s celebrations. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and an Associate’s degree in Social and Behavioral Sciences and is passionate about helping and improving the lives of vulnerable individuals and their loved ones.
