Professional Advisory Committee | Join Autism Support Leadership Today — New Jersey Chapter National Council on Severe Autism

Professionals leaders in the New Jersey autism community who support our mission and help guide us in our efforts.

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For eight years Paul Aronsohn served as New Jersey’s first statewide Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families – a position to which he was appointed by Governor Phil Murphy in April 2018. As such, he served as the administration’s lead advocate and ally for New Jersey residents in need of critical services and supports ranging from early childhood through adulthood.
Paul was also appointed in 2022 by President Biden to serve on the President’s Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities, which served as a federal advisor to the President and the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Paul currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Bergen County Branch of the NAACP as well as on the Bergen County Disability Services Advisory Board. He has also recently been actively involved in a range of volunteer activities focused on food security, social justice, and disability rights.
Previously, Paul held several positions in both the public and private sectors.
With respect to the former, prior to his current position, Paul served as a member of the Human and Children Services Committee for Governor-Elect Murphy’s Transition Team, which involved working with families and advocates of individuals with disabilities to cultivate recommendations for the incoming administration.
Previously, Paul served as Mayor of Ridgewood and as a Councilmember in his northern New Jersey town. In 2002, he served as the Communications Director and Spokesperson for then-New Jersey Governor James McGreevey. He was also the 2006 Democratic candidate for Congress in New Jersey’s 5th District.
Earlier in his career, Paul spent several years working at the U.S. Department of State, where his focus was largely on international security matters, such as nonproliferation, arms control and peacekeeping. He also had the opportunity to serve three U.S. Ambassadors to the United Nations – Madeleine Albright, Bill Richardson, and Richard Holbrooke.
With respect to the private sector, Paul worked for several years in the healthcare industry, including most recently as CEO Speechwriter and Director of Executive Communications at Bristol-Myers Squibb.
In 2023, Paul received the "Distinguished Developmental Disabilities Systems Change Award" from the New Jersey Council on Developmental Disabilities. The prior year, he received awards from two other disability organizations, Plan NJ and Inroads to Opportunities. In 2019, Paul received the President’s Award from the Bergen County Council of Churches. In 2016, he received the Community Service Award from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration Committee of Ridgewood and Glen Rock. That year, he also received the "Heroes" award from the Metropolitan AME Zion Church. In 2009, he received the "Salute to Champions" award from the Bergen County Executive for his work on disability issues. While at the U.S. Department of State, Paul received a Meritorious Honor Award as well as Certificate of Appreciation from the Joint Staff (U.S. Military).
Paul was graduated from The George Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Communication and a Master of Arts in Political Science.
Paul has written many op-eds/essays on a range of topics. They can be found on his LinkedIn site.
Paul’s understanding and passion for disability issues is rooted in his family experience. Specifically, he learned so much from his siblings, including his sister, Patti, who lived her life with disabilities as well as with enormous strength, courage, grace and beauty. He also learned so much from their mother, Margot, who was his sister’s primary caregiver.
On a lighter note, Paul considers his ability to survive an appearance on “The Colbert Report” (September 21, 2006) among his greatest achievements…

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Dr. Cartwright was born in South Africa, completed his schooling and training in psychiatry at the University of Cape Town in Cape Town, South Africa. He moved to the United States in 1995 to complete the fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Bellevue.
Following this, he did a three-year research fellowship with Dr. Eric Hollander at the Autism Research Center. He then joined the psychiatry department at New Jersey Medical School. He, along with a number of other clinicians, started the Autism Center at New Jersey Medical School. He completed a few research projects and participated in genetic research.
In 2008, he was appointed the director of the Autism Center at YAI in New York City. He remained in this position until 2014.
Dr. Charles Cartwright has run a private practice that is almost solely focused on the assessment and treatment of individuals with severe to profound autism.
He is married and has two sons. And his favorite pastime is woodwork.

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In more recent years, Dr. Freeman has combined her expertise in health care, autism, applied behavior analysis, and special education with her personal experience as a parent of an adult child with autism to focus on improving the quality of life and care of intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD).
Always an educator, she uses her skills to present at conferences, advocate for legislation and special education parents at IEP meetings. She serves as a subcommittee member in the area of health, wellness, and safety for the NJ Council of Developmental Disabilities (NJCDD) and a NJ Department of Developmental Disabilities (DDD). Dr. Freeman spent over 25+ years in undergraduate nursing education and has also taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Rutgers University, and The College of New Jersey. Within undergraduate, graduate, and RN-BSN education curricula, she has taught human development, maternal-child health, community health, nursing foundations and theories, and autism. She is certified in Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing and holds a Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). Dr. Freeman and colleagues wrote one of the first articles ever published appearing in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing (2002) on compliance with health procedures for children and adolescents with ASD which was used by the CDC for research protocols. She is also a contributor to the text Integrated Health Care for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder (2016), a reviewer as an autism expert for Journal of Pediatric Nursing, and member of the leadership team for the National Council on Severe Autism. Her unique combination of knowledge stemming from healthcare, research, applied behavior analysis, special education, personal experience as a parent and roles in her community including as a board of education member, provides a wealth of knowledge to share, advise, mentor, and advocate.
Dr. Freeman received her BSN from the University of Pennsylvania, MS in maternal-child health nursing from the University of Delaware, a PhD from the University of Maryland, and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Applied Behavior Analysis from Rowan University.

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Dr. Gerhardt has over 40 years of experience utilizing the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis in support of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders in educational, employment, residential, and community-based settings.
Dr. Gerhardt has authored or edited several publications, including: “Make it Meaningful: Creating Programs that Matter into Adulthood for Learners with Autism Spectrum and Related Disorders“ (Make it Meaningful Press, 2024) with Dr. Shanna Bahry, “Clinician’s Guide to Sexuality and Autism” (Academic Press, 2024) with Drs. Jessica Cauchi, Mary Jane Weiss, and Justin Leaf and “The Handbook of Quality of Life for Individuals with ASD” (Springer, 2022), on which he is a co-editor.
He has presented nationally and internationally on these and related topics.
Dr. Gerhardt serves as Co-Chairman of the Scientific Council for the Organization for Autism Research and is on numerous professional advisory boards, including the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies. He serves as Affiliate Faculty in the Institute for Applied Behavioral Science at Endicott College. Dr. Gerhardt received his doctorate from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey’s Graduate School of Education.

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Cara Graham received her Master of Arts degree in Special Education from Kean University and completed her coursework in Applied Behavior Analysis at Caldwell University. Her work focuses on providing home and community based services for children and adults with developmental disabilities. She currently serves as the Chair for the NJABA Business Practices Workgroup.

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Julia Iannaccone, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LABA, is a licensed psychologist who has worked in the field of autism and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for over 15 years, providing evidence-based services in inpatient, outpatient, school, consultative, and adult service settings. She received her Master’s in ABA from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and completed her practicum on the Inpatient Neurobehavioral Unit at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. She earned her Ph.D. in the Behavior Analysis Training Area of the Psychology program at The Graduate Center & Queens College, City University of New York. Dr. Iannaccone completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center (DDDC) at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the May Institute for Adult Services, where she continued to work as the Director of Clinical Services and Training. Her research interests include the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior in individuals with autism and related disorders, especially in the adult service setting, and identifying effective and efficient methods to train staff. Dr. Iannaccone has authored several articles in peer-reviewed journals and presented her research at national and international conferences.

Dr. Greer is a tenured associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and a core member of the Brain Health Institute at Rutgers University. He received a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Florida, a Master of Arts in applied behavioral science and a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology, both from the University of Kansas. He later completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Greer is a former associate editor of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Behavioral Development, and he has served as a guest editor or guest associate editor for the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, Perspectives on Behavior Science, Learning and Motivation, and Behavior Analysis in Practice. He is the 2013 recipient of the Baer, Wolf, and Risley Outstanding Graduate Student Award; the 2019 recipient of the Award of Excellence from the Heartland Association for Behavior Analysis; the 2019 recipient of the B. F. Skinner Foundation New Researcher Award; and in 2020, he was awarded Contribution of the Year from the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. Dr. Greer is a former Executive Director of the Society for the Quantitative Analyses of Behavior and a three-time recipient of the Loan Repayment Program Award from the National Institutes of Health. He and his colleagues have received continuous federal funding for their work since 2014.

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Previously, Dr. Kahng was an associate professor at the University of Missouri (MU), where he also served as Chair of the Department of Health Psychology, Founding Director of the MU Graduate Programs in Applied Behavior Analysis, and Director of the Applied Behavioral Intervention Service at the MU Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
Dr. Kahng has held faculty positions in the Department of Behavioral Psychology and worked as a senior behavior analyst on the Neurobehavioral Unit at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Additionally, he was an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Kahng earned his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Kalamazoo College and his Ph.D. in behavior analysis from the University of Florida. He has served as an Associate Editor and on the Board of Editors for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and is currently on the Board of Editors for Behavioral Intervention and the Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
A New Jersey Licensed Behavior Analyst and Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Dr. Kahng is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, a member of the Scientific Council of the Organization for Autism Research, a Trustee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, and on the Board of Trustees for AutismMVP Foundation. He has been the President of the Board of Directors of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, the Applied Representative to the Executive Council of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, and a Past President of the New Jersey Association for Behavior Analysis.
Dr. Kahng received the 2003 B.F. Skinner New Researcher Award from Division 25 of the American Psychological Association. His research and clinical work focus on assessing and treating complex problem behaviors in individuals with developmental disabilities. His broader research interests include employment and college supports for adults with autism spectrum disorder, as well as obesity and aging. Dr. Kahng has mentored numerous undergraduate, master’s, and predoctoral students, as well as postdoctoral fellows, and has co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters.

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Lisa McCauley Parles, Esq., is a partner in the Clark, New Jersey law firm Parles Rekem, LLP and the parent of a 33 year old son with autism. Her practice focuses on representing individuals with disabilities and their families in the areas of early intervention, special education, transition and adult services, residential placements, reasonable accommodations, insurance coverage and guardianships.

In addition to representing individuals with disabilities and their families, she has also represented numerous non-profit organizations in the disabilities community. She serves on the Board of Trustees of Circle Haven, Inc., a non-profit organization that addresses the needs of adults with developmental disabilities and is currently in the process of developing an innovative, intentional community in south Jersey. She is a frequent lecturer and has appeared in numerous television and radio broadcasts, including Nightline and ABC World News Tonight. She has participated as a panelist and moderator for numerous continuing legal education seminars and has published a number of articles in peer reviewed journals and bar association publications.

Lisa Parles is also a founding member of The National Council on Severe Autism. She has played a central role in national advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C., particularly in the area of housing. In addition, she was the founder of the Quest Autism Foundation and the Special Quest Recreation Program.

Lisa was a speaker at the United Nations for World Autism Awareness Day in 2017 and was an invited expert on the United States General Accountability Office’s panel in Washington, D.C. entitled “Youth With Autism – Transitioning to Adulthood” in 2016. She has also been an invited speaker before the New Jersey State Senate Legislative Oversight Committee as well as the New Jersey State Assembly Human Services Committee. She tirelessly advocated for changes to New Jersey’s Statewide Transition Plan and federal regulations in order to ensure that a full array of services and choices are available to the developmentally disabled.

Lisa served as the Director of Leadership Studies Program at Seton Hall University Stillman School of Business and an adjunct Professor in both the undergraduate and MBA programs where she received the Adjunct Professor Excellence Award. She has also been the recipient of the New Jersey Community Health Law Project’s “Ann Klein Advocate Award,” the MarbleJam Kids “Community Impact Award,” Alpine Learning Group’s “Meeting the Challenge Award” and RNN-Cablevision New Jersey’s “Everyday Hero Award.” She has also been recognized by 201 Magazine as one of its “Parent and Professional Leaders in Autism.”

Lisa earned her B.A. with honors from Hamilton College in 1984 and her J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law Newark in 1987. She was a General Editor of the Rutgers Law Review and the Notes and Comments Editor of the Women’s Rights Law Reporter. She began her career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Sex Crimes/Special Victims Bureau of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office and has been in private practice for over thirty five years. She is admitted to practice in New Jersey and New York.

Dr. Perrin holds a B.A. in Biology and an M.S.Ed. in Applied Behavior Analysis from Temple University, and earned his Ph.D. in Special Education and Applied Behavior Analysis from The Ohio State University.
At Rutgers, Dr. Perrin serves as the Program Director and Practicum Coordinator for the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) track within GSAPP’s Master of Applied Psychology program at Rutgers-Camden. Prior to joining the Rutgers faculty, he was an associate professor in the Psychology Department at Georgian Court University and held several clinical leadership roles in programs serving children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Dr. Perrin’s research focuses on the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior, as well as the application of behavioral principles to enhance academic performance and professional skill development in college students. He has published in peer-reviewed journals, co-authored several book chapters, and presented his work at both regional and international conferences.

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Kim Mack Rosenberg is the managing partner of Mack Rosenberg Law LLC (formerly Bouer Law LLC), located in Princeton, New Jersey with a practice active nationwide. Kim was a litigator focusing on insurance coverage, products liability, and other complex matters with a large national law firm based in New York City for approximately 20 years. She joined Bouer Law LLC in 2016 and became a partner in 2019.
When Bouer Law LLC began, the firm primarily represented individuals and families in disputes with healthcare payers for coverage related to Applied Behavior Analysis (“ABA”) therapy, other ASD-related therapies, and other medical/mental health services. However, the firm quickly branched into prosecuting individual and class-wide impact litigation for families of children with ASD arising out of state and federal mental health parity law violations, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), and other healthcare and discrimination laws.
Although her work representing individuals with medical and mental health disabilities is ongoing, Kim primarily works with ABA therapy providers in all practice related matters, including but not limited to matters involving healthcare compliance advice, payer disputes, and licensing issues. She regularly defends providers against audits, recoupment, and fraud allegations and also advises them on day-to-day ABA operations issues. On behalf of her ABA provider clients, Kim conducts internal audits, and prepares and trains clients on documentation/coding compliance and appeals and audit processes. She further assists her provider clients in creating individualized performance improvement plans and regularly interacts with payer quality control and billing departments.
Kim regularly lectures and provides workshops and trainings of interest for ABA provider associations and organizations, and presents at conferences nationwide and internationally to both parents and healthcare providers. She is also a long-time advocate for the autism spectrum disorder and disability communities and regularly interacts with a number of non-profits dedicated to these communities. Kim has worked closely with and served in leadership positions for a variety of ASD-related organizations, including the Elizabeth Birt Center for Autism Law and Advocacy and the New York Metro Chapter of the National Autism Association, among other organizations. She is an author/editor of three books, lectures has appeared in the media. Kim maintains active licenses to practice law in New York and New Jersey as well as before a number of federal courts. She serves clients around the United States to assist them in resolving disputers with insurance payers and funders.

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Dr. Bridget Taylor is the co-founder and CEO of Alpine Learning Group and serves as the Senior Clinical Advisor for Rethink Behavioral Health. She also co-hosts Our Next Guest, a popular interview-style webinar series featuring live discussions with renowned behavior analysts on topics relevant to both clinicians and families.
A Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Licensed Psychologist, Dr. Taylor has played a pivotal role in the field of applied behavior analysis and autism intervention for over 35 years. She is a past president of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board and a former Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. Currently, she serves on the board of the Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (SEAB).
Dr. Taylor is widely recognized for her contributions to autism research and treatment. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on innovative practices aimed at improving the lives of individuals with autism. Her most recent work explores compassionate relationship-building with families when providing clinical services to individuals with autism. In recognition of her outstanding contributions, she has been honored by the Association for Applied Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) and awarded the prestigious ABAI Fellow designation.

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Dr. David Wilson is a board-certified behavior analyst-doctoral (BCBA-D) and a Licensed Behavior Analysts (NJ) with over 30 years of experience serving children, adolescents, and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities across a variety of settings. He currently serves as the Chief Clinical Officer for REED Autism Services where he provides clinical leadership across the organization. His work history includes clinical leadership positions within non-profit and for-profit behavior health organizations. Prior to joining REED David directed the graduate program in applied behavior analysis at Georgian Court University where he was a tenured associate professor of psychology. In 2020, Governor Murphy appointed David to the inaugural New Jersey State Board of Behavior Analyst Examiners.

David’s areas of expertise include the assessment and treatment of severe challenging behavior, skill acquisition, stimulus control, mentoring clinical staff, program development, strategic planning, and quality improvement. He received clinical training at the Kennedy Krieger Institute Neurobehavioral Unit (NBU) and completed his Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis, with a minor in Special Education, at the University of Florida under the mentorship of Dr. Brian A. Iwata.

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Nadine Wright-Arbubakrr is a native of Newark, New Jersey, and currently resides in East
Orange. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management and Marketing from
Felician College. Nadine has worked in both the East Orange and Newark public school
systems and currently serves as a board member for the East Orange Public School District.
She also worked in the banking industry for over twenty years until her son, Nassan, was
diagnosed with autism. Once Nadine learned the dearth of support for children affected by
autism in her community, she embarked on a mission to fill the gap.
In 2012, Nadine founded Nassan’s Place, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that offers access to
affordable, educational, and recreational programs, support services, emergency assistance
and other resources for families impacted by autism in and around under-served inner-city
communities. Nadine’s dedication has garnered her support from the local, state, and
federal level from people such as the late Lt Governor, Shelia Y. Oliver, late Congressman
Donald Payne Jr., and East Orange Mayor Ted R. Green. Due to Nadine’s impact in her
community, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, and the City of Newark gifted Nassan’s Place a
site to build a state-of-the-art autism center that will include affordable housing. Nadine is
on a journey to raise funding to create the place she wishes existed when Nassan was
diagnosed.
Nadine’s advocacy inspired one of her three daughters to write a television episode
introducing a nonverbal character with autism, Nassan, and his mom Auntie Nadine to the
Emmy Award Winning Netflix show, Ada Twist, Scientist, co-produced by President Barack
Obama and Michelle Obama's production company (Higher Ground) and Chris Nee (Doc
McStuffins).
Nadine’s belief in the potential of children with autism underscores her work. She
envisions a world where zip codes don’t dictate access to essential resources. Her mantra,
“Nassan’s Place can’t stop the diagnosis, but we can help the families affected by it,”
encapsulates her unwavering commitment to empowering families living with an autism
diagnosis. Nadine’s story exemplifies resilience, compassion, and the transformative power
of community-driven initiatives.

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Jonah graduated from the New York University School of Law practiced law for over a dozen years and then served as National Director of Planned Giving and Endowments for the Jewish Federations of North America.
When Daniel was diagnosed with autism, Jonah left his career and spent seven years as a stay-at-home father. Jonah went back to school at age 50 and received an MBA from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business.
Upon graduation from business school, Jonah, together with his wife, Ellen, founded [words], a nationally-recognized independent bookstore and social enterprise in Maplewood, New Jersey, created to provide employment and vocational training for individuals with autism.
Jonah has occupied leadership positions and served on several non-profit boards, and currently serves the Chair of the Autism Science Foundation, the Vice President of Spectrum360, an Executive Committee Board Member of LifeTown, and the Treasurer of The True Professional.