ABOUT JENNIFER
Educator and school principal for twenty years. Founder of First Response Autism Solutions. Author of Grandparenting on the Spectrum. Grandmother of a child on the spectrum.
“For over twenty years I've lived where many people have never been: inside the daily reality of neurodivergence and autism. I've run a school, I've written a book about it, and I've sat across the table from leadership teams only now realizing that fifteen to twenty percent of their workforce thinks and works differently than everyone else in the room.”
I spent decades as an educator, most of them as a school principal, and I hold graduate degrees in Educational Leadership and Educational Technology along with certifications as a New Jersey Principal and Superintendent. That work taught me how to read a room, how to have the conversation nobody wants to have, and how to lead people who learn, communicate and behave in ways that don't fit one mold.
I came to this work as family, too. I'm the grandmother of a child with autism. That's where my book began. I wrote it from both sides of the desk I've sat at: the educator's chair and the grandparent's kitchen table.
Today I bring both sides into one room. My keynotes and consulting engagements give leadership teams the tools, language and strategies they're missing, and my training reaches the first responders and public-facing professionals who need it most. People keep inviting me back, I think, because I keep it warm and practical rather than preachy.
20+
Years in education and autism support
15 to 20%
Of the workforce is neurodivergent
2
Graduate degrees in education
NJ
Certified Principal & Superintendent
I give leadership teams the tools, language and strategies to turn neurodiversity from a challenge into a competitive advantage. Awareness is easy. I help organizations move past it into understanding they can actually use on Monday morning.
Keynote topicsI founded this work for the people who arrive first and are least prepared for what they find: autism-informed training for law enforcement agencies, first responders, campus security teams and public-facing professionals.
First responder trainingI'm also a model, actor and TV spokesperson, with campaigns for the NHL, IBM and more. People tell me I feel like your favorite aunt who dropped by to share some wisdom, and I take that as the best compliment in the business.
Headshots & media kitTHE BOOK
A Journey from Both Sides of the Desk
I wrote this one for the families I kept meeting after my talks: the grandparents who love a child on the spectrum and don't yet have the language for it. It's part memoir, part field guide, and it comes from someone who has sat on both sides of the desk.
Explore the book