Leadership
The Atlanta Autism Consortium’s leadership team supports every facet of the AAC’s work to connect the Atlanta autism community. They’re committed to being of service to the Atlanta community and work hard to meet the ever evolving needs of our programs and events.
Susan Brasher, PhD, RN, CPNP-PC, FAAN
Atlanta Autism Consortium Board of Directors Chair
Dr. Susan Brasher is a researcher and clinician on the tenure track at Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. Her background includes being a Pediatric Nurse in the hospital setting and a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in the community setting. She received her PhD from the University of Florida in Nursing with an emphasis in neurodevelopmental disorders, specifically autism. She has worked closely with advocates, families, community members, clinicians, and researchers for over two decades to reduce disparities and improve health outcomes of autistic youth and young adults. Her research is largely patient-centered as she builds equitable partnerships with key stakeholders to drive research that is responsive to their needs.
Her program of research, largely influenced by community-based participatory research (CBPR) and implementation science, examines ways to develop, implement, and evaluate interventions to improve developmental and health outcomes of individuals on the autism spectrum. She has led and contributed towards a total of 29 research studies in her role as Principle Investigator (PI), amassing $1.95 million in funding to support her research and an additional $4.57 million dollars in funding as Co-Investigator.
Dr. Brasher has been involved with the AAC since 2017 as a volunteer and panel member. She is highly invested in service to the local community. Dr. Brasher has led an autistic women’s support group since 2018 to cultivate social skills and reduce isolation among autistic women. She has also served on national councils for the past 7 years as an expert, including the CDC, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, and American Academy of Nursing Expert Committee of Children, Adolescent, and Family.
Nadrat Nuhu, PhD, BCBA-D
Chair Emeritus
Dr. Nuhu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Autism and Related Disabilities, at the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA. Her research focuses on the assessment and treatment of challenging behavior exhibited by children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. As a Psychologist, she serves as a clinician in the severe behavior department at the Marcus Autism Center, in Atlanta, where she provides behavior analytic services to children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Tyler Whitney, PsyD.
Chair Emeritus
Dr. Whitney has over 20+ years’ experience working clinically with children, adolescents and young adults and their families. His formal training includes post-doctoral training in pediatric neuropsychology, developmental psychology, and two years as a LEND fellow through the URLEND program, including the autism enhancement year (AE), and is a full member of INSAR (International Society of Autism Research). His unique training and experience in clinical psychology, developmental psychology, forensic psychology, and psychometrics, as well as decades of clinical experience, allow him to clearly communicate in writing and speech the basic science that will support forensic cases in the courts, in the media, and in community settings.
Celine Saulnier, PhD.
Chair Emeritus
Dr. Celine Saulnier is a renowned clinical psychologist with over 20 years experience in diagnostic evaluations of autism spectrum and related neurodevelopmental disorders for both clinical and research purposes.
Dr. Saulnier earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Neuropsychology from the University of Connecticut under the mentorship of Dr. Deborah Fein. She then conducted her postdoctoral fellowship at the Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine under the mentorship of Drs. Ami Klin, Sara Sparrow, Fred Volkmar, and Kasia Chawarska. She later became the training director and then clinical director of the Yale Autism Program.
In 2011, she relocated to Emory University School of Medicine and the Marcus Autism Center to help develop and direct a large-scale clinical research program. In 2018, she opened her own diagnostic clinic and consulting company, Neurodevelopmental Assessment & Consulting Services (www.nacsatl.com) in Decatur, GA. Dr. Saulnier remains an Adjunct Associate Professor at Emory University where she teaches an advanced undergraduate seminar on autism, and she conducts national and international trainings to professionals on autism and related disorders. For her teaching, she was awarded the New England Educational Institute Outstanding Educator Award for Mental Health Education. Dr. Saulnier is on the editorial board for the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and the Scientific Advisory Board of the Autism Science Foundation, the field’s leading scientific nonprofit organization.
In addition to co-authoring the gold-standard Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Third Edition, Dr. Saulnier has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, and she has written two books, Essentials of Autism Spectrum Disorders Evaluation and Assessment and Essentials of Adaptive Behavior Assessment of Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
Gregory D. Abowd, Ph.D.
Founder and Chair Emeritus
Gregory D. Abowd, Ph.D., is the Dean of Engineering at Northeastern University in Boston and Founder of the Atlanta Autism Consortium.
He served previously as an associate director of the Institute for Information Security & Privacy (IISP) for the area of consumer-facing privacy research, and a Regents’ Professor and the J.Z. Liang Chair in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Tech.
Dr. Abowd has three teenagers, including two boys on the Autism Spectrum. He also serves on other boards, including the Marcus Autism Center, Emory Autism Center and State of Georgia Autism Advisory Council. Dr. Abowd received the 2017 Autism Achievement Award at the annual Autism Conference & Expo of Georgia. This award also represents recognition of the value of the AAC by the Georgia Autism Community.
Siobhan Alvarez
Previous Executive Director/Current AAC Consultant
Siobhán Alvarez is an accomplished speaker and nonprofit leader and has been with the AAC since 2018. Her expertise includes corporate partnerships, event planning, and board leadership development for organizations of varying sizes and capacities. She is a long time resident of Atlanta and lives just outside of the city with her family.