Email: PattyG@autismsocietyofwa.org

Patty Gee, M.Ed., SLP, has been on the Autism Board since January 2004, and was president until May 2009. Patty is currently Executive Director of ASW. Besides her involvement with the state organization, she founded and continues to be on the board of the Thurston/Mason Co. ASW local chapter in Olympia. Patty facilitates the monthly parent support group meetings.

Besides her professional background of more than 32 years working with autistic children as a speech pathologist within the public schools, she and her husband provide autism social skill group intervention through their Olympia clinic. Patty is also caregiver of a clinically affected 56 year old brother with autism, mother of a son who is successfully living with Asperger, and a granddaughter recently diagnosed. Patty has five children and nine grandchildren.

Email: KristyW@autismsocietyofwa.org

Kristy Wessels is a mother of a son affected by Autism. Until 2004, she was employed by Group Health Northwest as a certified physician assistant in family practice and urgent care for 11 years. Kristy focuses her time now around her daughter aged 11 and son affected by autism, who is 9. Kristy has been active within the Spokane Chapter of the Autism Society of Washington for 5 years, where she started a focus group and continues to provide leadership for parents with children 6 years and under.

Her own autism related interests are educationally based research intervention for young children with autism, specifically ABA. Kristy used ABA when her son was nonverbal, and now he is currently able to participate in regular education with supports. Kristy has been involved with the Defeat Autism Now organization since 2003 and has attended regular DAN provider trainings for medical doctors and other medical professionals with prescriptive authority.

Kristy assisted with the coordination of the Eastern Washington & N. Idaho NIH Autism Treatment Network research study called 'Urinary Porphyrins and Autism.' This study is to be released later in 2009 or 2010 via Dept of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences through the University of Washington. Kristy is well versed in all medical treatments for autism and Asperger's Disorder. In addition to biomedical/ environmental approaches which are often "off label" with less peer reviews; she is interested in Autism Treatment Network's latest clinical implications for ASD. Kristy is also aware of current FDA and American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for ASD. She hopes over time there will be bridging of these two different medical approaches in Autism spectrum disorders. Kristy was elected to the ASW board during the 2008 election.

Email: ValerieB@autismsocietyofwa.org

While Valerie’s son was in K-12 public schools, there was little time to participate in various support groups and committees. That changed as she realized her son’s transition from high school to real life was jeopardized by a lackadaisical attitude exhibited by his school district towards an Asperger student. This unleashed a fierce advocacy that continues to promote the awareness that after the school entitlement ends, the outlook for adults is grim. This motivated her to co-find the Autism Lifespan Project (Autism LP) in 2008. Realizing that a lack of residential and higher educational supports are practically nil in Washington, she has devoted the past several months to compiling a roster of colleges that have programs or supports for students on the spectrum.

Recently elected to the Board of Directors, she represents ASW on various committees, fundraising events and public outreach. Her educational background in management/economics has been important in helping her husband operate as a small business owner. She hopes to bring that knowledge to ASW and help chart a relevant course for the future. In addition, she is impelled to link the autism community as a whole to work towards solutions, advocate within the political system and ease the rifts between various factors. At the center should be and always remain the happiness and wellness of our kids.

Email: MitchF@autismsocietyofwa.org

Mitch Freedman is a Certified Public Accountant/Financial Advisor working in the Bellevue area of Washington State. Mr. Freedman is the current Treasurer of the Autism Society of Washington. Mr. Freedman is also a member of the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club and has a 20 year old son with Autism.

There are no better points of reference than experience. That being said, through my personal and family struggles, I hope to keep an open mind to listen to my peers for guidance. Also, I’d like to be there for our community to lend a helping hand when needed.

Email: ManyaV@autismsocietyofwa.org
Phone: (206) 336-5618

Manya Vaupel, M.Ed., BCBA is a board member for the Autism Society of Washington. She is also currently the Curriculum Director at Jigsaw Learning, a company specializing in developing services and curriculum for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Manya is an internationally recognized Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Manya earned her B.S. in Speech Pathology and Audiology from Western Washington University in 1996. While completing her undergraduate education, she minored in Special Education and Psychology, creating an emphasis in Behavioral Sciences. Additionally, Manya completed a M.Ed. with a specialization in Literacy; Reading, Writing and Language from Lesley University in 2001.

Manya’s areas of interest and particular study throughout her education and training has been behavioral sciences, early intervention, and autism spectrum disorders. She was trained in the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis through a variety of behavior analysts from UCLA, Project P.A.C.E., and PCDI. Manya has been working with children with autism and other related disorders, ages 8 mos-21 yrs, since 1994. She has worked in homes, schools, clinical settings, and special camps for children on the spectrum of autism as well as in the Project DATA classroom at the University of Washington’s Experimental Education Unit and the research and clinical departments at the UW Autism Center in Seattle and Tacoma.

Manya specializes in providing consultation and supervision in intensive behavioral home programs, parent training, school collaboration, vocational training and supervision, and literacy and social skills groups for children with ASD.

Email: CaroleK@autismsocietyofwa.org
Phone: (360) 904-6626

Carole Kaulitz, M.Ed., CCC-SLP, has been in the field of education for over 36 years and is currently self-employed as a Speech-Language Pathologist/Autism Consultant, and Deaf/Hard of Hearing Consultant in Vancouver, WA. Her program emphasis is on developing a collaborative/consultative communication model for educators/parents with students on the autism spectrum, focusing on visual language strategies, social communication, and co-occurring disabilities.

Carole has been a member of the ESD 112 Autism Cadre for the past 9 years and is currently a member of the Washington State Autism Society Board of Directors. Carole has co-authored two publications through AAPC; Learning With a Visual Brain in an Auditory World, March 2007 and Visual Thinking Strategies for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Language of Pictures, July, 2009 and presents nationally on the topics of Autism Spectrum Disorders and Deafness.

Publications:
Learning With a Visual Brain in an Auditory World: Visual Language Strategies for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders
 
Visual Thinking Strategies for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders - The Language of Pictures

Email: AgnesR@autismsocietyofwa.org
Phone: (206) 542-1645

Agnieszka Rynkiewicz, MAT, MD is a physician, special education teacher, author, and researcher in education.

Dr. Rynkiewicz graduated from the Medical Academy in Gdańsk, Poland in 1997. She worked at the Department of Pediatrics and also as a medical consultant to a pharmacological company Knoll BASF Pharma in Poland. She moved to the US with her family in 2002, and was certified by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates after satisfying the requirements of ECFMG and passing the United States Medical Licensing Examinations (USMLE) – Medical Boards.

Inspired by her own child, she pursued teaching credentials in special education and graduated from Seattle Pacific University with a Master’s degree in special education. She continues her professional development in a doctoral program at SPU in special education with the focus on autism and Asperger syndrome.

For several years she worked for the Edmonds School District in various capacities: teaching in a classroom, assisting students with special needs, and conducting testing for gifted students. Dr. Rynkiewicz worked at Seattle Children’s Hospital where she assessed, designed, evaluated and implemented instructional programs taught at the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit, and facilitated school placement for hospitalized children and youths. She also worked as a research assistant in the Brain Center for Applied Learning and Research with Dr. John Medina and the faculty of the School of Education at SPU. Currently, she is a member of the Washington State Autism Society Board of Directors, and also contributes to TeachTown, a research-based computer-assisted therapy program for children with ASD.

Dr. Rynkiewicz writes and publishes articles about AS/HFA. She also has published a book: ZESPÓŁ ASPERGERA. Inny mózg. Inny umysł (2009) Poland: Wydawnictwo Harmonia.

http://www.harmonia.edu.pl/index.php?products=product&prod_id=367

The book’s English translation: Asperger Syndrome. Different Brain. Different Mind is in progress.

Dr. Rynkiewicz is an international speaker on improving and creating programs for AS/HFA students, teaching strategies, strengthening advocacy skills and fostering talents of AS/HFA individuals. She and her husband have two daughters.

Email: SharonZ@autismsocietyofwa.org

Forthcoming

Email: DanaT@autismsocietyofwa.org

Dana Tolick and her husband just celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary in November. They have 3 children; Nathan 8, Matthew 6, & Samantha 3. Their boys have Autism. She was introduced to the Autism Society in 2002 upon getting a diagnosis for her son Nathan when they lived in Puyallup. Diana Stadden was the first person she spoke to on the phone and then met at a parent dinner night out in Tacoma that same year. Dana and her family moved back to the Tri-Cities area in 2004 where she became Vice-President of the local chapter until 2006, then became President from 2006-2008. She enjoyed conversing with new parents over the years in office, making new friends and connecting them to different resources in the community.

She loves to be a part of the state chapter because she wants to be able to be connected throughout our state and have more input on what goes on behind the scenes of this awesome organization. She thinks she brings a lot of good influence from being a mother as well as first hand experience with insurance and roadblocks on a parents journey that has been affected with Autism.

Email: KarylE@autismsocietyofwa.org

Karyl Elinski has been on the ASW Board since January 2007. Karyl has two children, her daughter, 14 years has Asperger and was diagnosed at the UW while a preschooler by Geraldine Dawson. She has a son, in middle school, who also demonstrates sensory and auditory processing difficulties.

Karyl's current occupation is a mediator/administrative law judge. She writes, "I have been a lawyer and advocate for those with special needs for a number of years. My children have received special education since they were very young. I have a fairly good working knowledge of special education law, and have advocated for your children and many others. Several years ago, I took a job with the State of Washington as a labor mediator. Throughout my professional career, I have been involved in planning trainings and conferences, and have provided public presentations. I have experience building teams, and helping people with diverse interests to reach consensus through collaboration."