Board of Directors

Robert R. Campbell:

My personal involvement with Autism began with the birth of our son, Andrew on April 12, 1985. It has been exponentially deepened with the birth of two grandchildren, Matthew on August 24, 2002 and Cecilia on 10-1-2004.Matthew has Tuberous Sclerosis and Autism. Cecilia has Autism. My wife Ann and our entire family have lived with Autism for the past 24 years. I know first hand what a six year old child with Autism faces when gets on that bus for school. I know first hand what a young 24 year old with Autism faces when he tries to find a job, or spends all his free time totally alone because he has no friends. We have spent many hours wondering where the money was going to come from for that new therapy. We have fought the battles, felt the grief, celebrated the joy and have always…always sustained hope among ourselves and in those we have met throughout this journey of Grace. My experience with Autism drives my desire to serve as a member of this Board of Directors.

My professional qualifications to hold this honor include a Master of Science degree in Psychology from Purdue, and over 25 years experience in Fortune 200 companies providing direct consultation and expertise to employees throughout the company, from the factory floor to the Board room. My competencies include Psychological Evaluation, Team Development, Individual Coaching, Career Development and Strategic Planning.

Joan Callahan:

I have served on a couple of boards for preschools and, of course, am very interested in promoting support, awareness and education for families affected by Autism. My son, Jonathan, has Asperger's Syndrome and was diagnosed in 1994. He will graduate this weekend from CarmelHigh School, having been mainstreamed since preschool. I have tried to educate myself and others about Autism Spectrum Disorders, especially Asperger's Syndrome and get services and support programs in the public school systems. I am a tireless advocate and will work hard to help the organization grow, get more funding, and find new ways to help our families.

Cecelia Dickinson-Loney:

I was born Nov. 24 1959 in Bridgetown, Barbados in the Caribbean. I lived with my mother, Anita, and grandmother, Evelyn, about a mile from the Atlantic Ocean. My life was centered around school, church and the many friends and relatives who came often to visit us.

After graduating from high school I attended Barbados Community College for two years majoring in business administration. Meanwhile, my mother had immigrated to the United States and I decided to join her. We lived in the New York City area where I was employed as a foreign-exchange agent for a bank on Wall Street.
Five years later my mother and I decided to begin a new life with some friends who were living in Indianapolis. In 1985 I joined GTE in Westfield and worked in the human resources department until 1994 when the offices there relocated to Texas. Since then I have run my own cleaning business and participated in different entrepreneurial ventures. I am currently a program assistant for AYS before and after school program for Noblesville Schools.

My son Damon was born in 1993 during my first marriage. He was diagnosed with autism when he was three. I immediately applied for the autism waiver and it was eventually granted in 1998. Damon is currently designated as high risk because of his occasional aggressiveness and destructive temper tantrums. But we love him and he never fails to make us laugh at least several times a day. He was mainstreamed into the public school system through the fourth grade when his behaviors forced us to look for an alternative. After a short stint at Damar, Damon was enrolled at the Indiana Developmental Training Center in Carmel where he has been ever since. He is currently in the process of being transitioned into Hamilton Southeastern High School.
Step dad Roger Loney, whom I met in 1998, helps care for Damon. We were married in 2007.

Lisa Ann Feeley:

Summary of experience

Lisa possesses 22 years of consulting, sales, marketing, supply chain, human resources, strategic account management, instruction/training, and entrepreneurial experience in progressive management roles working for the following companies:

Macy’s New York
Deloitte & Touche
Resort Condominiums International
Bose McKinney & Evans
Adam’s MarkHotels
Roche Diagnostics
Got2Know, LLC

Value as a Leader

Lisa is a passionate, ethical leader. She is a strategic thinker. A solutions incubator. She is an out of box thinker who is innovative, analytical, and has been successful at influencing others through her written, verbal communication & presentation skills. As an entrepreneur, she has founded, managed, and sold several companies. Being a certified retirement counselor and registered investment advisor, she has acquired solid financial & statistics acumen. Lisa is results oriented, customer focused and knows how to find & synthesize the right kind of data to deliver actionable insights that lead to win/win solutions. Turning data into value propositions is a must in today’s competitive environment.

Entrepreneurship

As a 5 time business entrepreneur, Lisa started her first company, Consulting Resources, Inc. at age 27. After 8 years and 220 clients, she sold her company to Daniel James Financial. By age 37, she and her husband had also founded and sold a national wholesale pinball machine company and started a book publishing company in order to author and self-publish two personal finance books. Having a strong interest in teaching personal finance, Lisa started her fourth company: CMK Financial Education Services, LLC. in order to teach young adults personal finance & entrepreneurship. She secured a Series 65 Registered Investment Advisor certification and a Chartered Financial Planning Designation. In October 2006, Lisa and 10 partners started Got2Know, a unique digital media marketing company based in Carmel, IN.

Education & Certifications

Southern MethodistUniversity, BBA, May 1986

Major: Sales/Marketing

Emphasis: Accounting

Certified, Six Sigma Greenbelt, May 2002

Financial Chartered Retirement Planning Designation, July 2006

Series 65, October 2006

5 years Adjunct professor: Have taught entrepreneurship, finance, and HR courses/seminars at the university and high school level.

Programming and Language Competencies

Full proficiency in all Microsoft Applications including Project Office, Powerpoint, Word, Excel, and Access Database; proficient in Visio as well.

Proficient in Spanish; basic level of verbal proficiency in Italian and German

Nicole Holzbach

My name is Nicole Holzbach, a Fishers resident, and I would like to serve on The Board of Directors of the Hamilton County Autism Support Group. I am confident that I can make a positive impact on the community through creating awareness and tolerance of those with autism. Due to my dedication to this cause, I will consistently be a hardworking and invested board member. I was a committee leader for the Voices of the Spectrum Program and am currently working closely with the Race for Autism this June. I enjoy collaborating with others to derive the best concepts to complete a given mission.

My journey with autism has certainly been enlightening. My eight year old son, Owen, has an Autism Spectrum Disorder. From day one, my husband and I knew that something was just not right. He cried inconsolably for hours on end. Later, he began having severe seizures lasting up to thirty minutes resulting in ICU stays. Finally, at age three he was diagnosed with PDD.NOS. Although this was a shock because he was verbal, a diagnosis to this craziness gave us some ironic comfort. We have had our ups and downs, but we are fortunate because he is extremely intelligent and wants to congregate with others, although they are difficult encounters. In short, Owen gives us enormous perspective in life. Although we want to help him be the best he can be, we would never want to change him.

My educational and career background also bring competent insight to the role. I have a B.A. in developmental psychology and a B.S. in secondary education. I am also completing my M.S. in education focusing on special needs. I have written several research papers regarding autism and have put most of my energy into finding methods to increase the quality of life for these special people, including enlightening the community to the needs of people with ASD. Lastly, before becoming a stay-at- home mom, I taught at Westfield Middle School where I had many experiences with students with ASD. This experience helped greatly in understanding my own child.

In conclusion, I would be honored to serve on the Board of Directors of such a group that has obvious impact to the lives of those with ASD and to the lives of those in the community. Autism does not have to be a limiting disorder, but rather an enlightening experience that gives perspective regarding differences in all people.

Gordon F. Homes Jr., CLU, ChFC, CFP^®

MetDESK^® Specialist

MetLife’s Division of Estate Planning for Special Kids

Senior Financial Services Executive

Senior Financial Planner

A Certified Financial Planner^TM practitioner, Gordon specializes in Financial

and Estate Planning for families who have children or dependents with Special Needs. He brings a unique perspective through his experience both as an advisor and parent. His son Matthew has Special Needs. He assists families with a myriad of issues including understanding and accessing public benefits, preserving benefit eligibility through Special Needs Trusts, and Guardianship concerns. Gordon and wife Alice are long time HamiltonCounty residents.

A frequent speaker at parent support group meetings and state conferences, he is nationally recognized in the area of Special Needs planning issues, contributing to articles in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. He serves on MetLife’s Division of Estate Planning for Special Kids National Advisory Council, and is active in numerous organizations that serve the Special Needs Community, including HCASG, ASI,

IndianaResourceCenter for Autism, and HBM Transition Council.

Gordon is knowledgeable regarding the Legal Issues affecting those with special needs, and enjoys strategic alliances with Special Needs Attorneys that can assist with Wills, Special Needs Trusts, and Guardianship. He is also a resource with Financial Issues, such as Special Needs Trust Funding, Medicaid, SSI, and Social Security Disability; Family Issues, such as Letter of Intent, Gifting and Inheritances. He is a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA), Financial Planning Association (FPA), and the Indianapolis Estate Planning Council.

Naomi Swiezey:

Naomi B. Swiezy, Ph.D., HSPP
Alan H. Cohen Family Scholar of Psychiatry
Clinical Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry
Clinical Director, Christian Sarkine Autism Treatment Center

Dr. Swiezy joined the faculty at Indiana University School of Medicine in 1998 and specializes in Applied Behavior Analysis, caregiver training, and the behavioral assessment and treatment of autism spectrum disorders. She was named the Alan H. Cohen Family Scholar of Psychiatry in July, 2007 and is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry. Dr. Swiezy functions as the Clinical Director of the ChristianSarkineAutismTreatmentCenter, directing the programming and coordination of clinical services of the Center. She provides consultation in clinic as well as in the community through home intervention and school training contracts and is the behavioral team leader on a multisite NIMH-funded study. In 2004, Dr. Swiezy developed the HANDS in Autism (Helping Answer Needs by Developing Specialists in Autism) training model and currently serves as Program Director. This program was designed to provide intensive training of professional staff working in educational environments with individuals across the spectrum and has been funded by the Centers for Disease Control, the Nina Mason Pulliam Trust as well as the Indiana State Department of Education. Dr. Swiezy was a Co-chair of the Task Force on Autism Spectrum Disorders through the Indiana State Department of Education, Division of Exceptional Learners and is an editorial board member of the peer-reviewed journal, Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Swiezy is also a board member of the IIACC-Indiana Interagency Autism Coordinating Council.

Brooke Taflinger, CTRS:

1. Indiana University degree in Therapeutic Recreation Fall 2004

2. Internship City and County of Denver Special Needs Program Fall 2004

3. After school Point Person Winter 2005-Fall 2005

4. Recreation Instructor for Special Needs Program Winter 2005-Fall 2005

5. Recreation Coordinator for Special Needs Program Fall 2005-Fall 2008

6. Respite Care Fall 2004-Fall 2008 (part-time)

7. InclusionSupervisorCity of Carmel at The Monon Center Fall 2008-Current Experience/Job duties:

Adaptive swim lessons for over 10 years

Practicum hours at therapeutic riding center in Bloomington, IN (PALS)

After school programs (arts, crafts, games, teambuilding, socialization activities)

Plan, develop, implement, and lead recreation programs that are targeted for all ages and ability levels. Ran 13 Special Olympic Sports for Denver plus program under: art & crafts, special events, fitness, outdoor education, and sports.

Respite Care for various individuals

Inclusion based programs in community setting.

Oversee both interns and part-time staff on an ongoing basis.

I knew what I wanted to do when I was 16 years old. I love my job and sometime cannot believe that I get paid to do what I do. I enjoy more of the hands on things, and I think my passion comes through the strongest in those moments. My vision is to help educate people in our community about the issues and need for more programs, funding, and resources for individuals with disabilities. I believe that everyone deserves a chance to thrive in any given activity based on his/her goals and dreams.

I am busy with my work and work odd hours, but any extra time I would love to help in any way I can.