Deborah is originally from Kingston, Jamaica and the founder of Caribbean Autism Support for Education (CASE), a non-profit organization with a mission to support teachers, students and families with autism strategies in education.
Deborah worked for the Broward County School District for 35 years. Since 2013, she focused on the study of autism and worked as an autism coach. She successfully spearheaded the start-up and growth of the autism program in a local public school to one of the largest programs within the county.
In addition to supporting teachers and students in the self-contained special education classes, Deborah assisted students with autism in the inclusive setting of the schools she worked at, in all grade levels. She also worked closely with the families of her students, while partnering with community support groups to educate teachers, assistants and families on strategies and best practices for students with autism.
Prior to focusing on Autism Spectrum Disorder, Deborah worked as an Exceptional Student Education Specialist, responsible for the complete process of implementation of individual education plans for students with disabilities.
She has worked as an elementary and special education teacher in Jamaica, Dade and Broward schools for over 40 years and was voted as Teacher of the Year by her peers in 2007 as a second-grade inclusive class teacher, and again in 2015 as an autism coach. She was also the recipient of the Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) award for outstanding school partner in 2020.
She has her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from University of South Florida and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Nova Southeastern University.
Shannon Worton, PsyD, is a licensed psychologist and Assistant Director of the School-related Psychological Assessments and Clinical Interventions (SPACI) clinic housed within Nova Southeastern University’s Psychology Services Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL. SPACI offers comprehensive psychological evaluations for school-related academic, behavioural, developmental, and learning problems for youth aged 3+. Dr. Worton has a particular interest in and focus on neuro developmental evaluations (i.e., for youth suspected of being on the autism spectrum) and has been formally trained in the administration of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2), one of the gold-standard measures when assessing ASD. Dr. Worton’s professional interest include training and education, promoting self-care, suicide prevention, social justice, and psychological assessment.
Alana S. Meyer is Youth Defense Counsel at The Gault Center: Defenders of Youth Rights (formerly National Juvenile Defender Center), where she ensures youth defenders have the tools and resources they need to provide zealous advocacy for all children nationwide.
Prior to joining The Gault Center, Alana was the George Barrett Social Justice Fellow Attorney at The Children’s Law Center. In this position, she created and implemented a strategic plan to identify and provide education advocacy to children with disabilities in Kentucky’s detention centers and alternative schools. Following her fellowship, Alana was a public defender specializing in youth defense at the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy. She occupied several positions including front-line defender for kids in juvenile and adult court, appellate attorney for juvenile appeals, and civil litigator on conditions of confinement for youth in long-term facilities and detention centers. Alana was also a part of the youth defense training team where she developed and presented training for all new and existing public defenders throughout Kentucky.
Alana graduated from Vanderbilt Law School, where she was the Garrison Social Justice Scholar for her class and was awarded the Damali K. Booker Award for her keen dedication to legal activism. She graduated from Cornell University with a B.A. in Sociology.
Alana grew up in South Florida and now lives in Lexington, KY with her husband, daughter, and bulldog.
Bridgitte has her Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Barry University and her Master’s degrees in Business Administration from Nova Southeastern University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
She is an accounting professional with over 30 years of experience in financial reporting, general ledger accounting, complex reconciliation, treasury management, budgets, commissions and audit management.
She currently specializes in process improvement and software implementation. She has a background is in property and casualty insurance, healthcare management, Professional Employers Organization (payroll and benefits) and software subscription (SaaS).
Donya Bernard have worked as a Teacher’s assistant in Broward County for over 4 years, focusing on ESE children with Autism. I have spent 15 years working in Grants Management within Tertiary education. Donya Bernard have worked for Florida International University, Miami Dade College, and University of Miami.
