Meet the Team
Board of Directors
Gerin Gaskin (Co-Founder, Chairman, Research & Development) has a strong history of working with children and adults with disabilities. She is Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a Registered Psychological Assistant. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from UCSD, a M.A. from Claremont Graduate University (CGU) in Developmental Psychology, and she is a PhD candidate at CGU. She is dedicated to applying research-based principles to create positive impact for the ASD community.
Casey Hoffman (Co-Founder, Vice Chairman, Strategy, Operations & Development) is deeply passionate about educational equity and supporting the autism community. He served as Lab Coordinator of the UCSD Autism Intervention Research Program for five years and also worked directly with children and families as an Early Childhood Interventionist. He also served as Director, Growth & Strategy and Chief of Staff at Aspire Public Schools. He has a M.S. in Global Leadership from University of San Diego and B.A. in Psychology from UCSD.
Jim Turner (Co-Founder, Creative Director) is an experienced San Diego entrepreneur and an owner of an event/flower design studio. Jim has worked alongside many nonprofit organizations, through art direction and project management. He has experience creating and performing educational and entertaining materials as creative director for projects that were implemented for over 10,000 children.
Kayvon Pourmirzaie, JD (Board Member, Business & Legal Advisor) is an IP & Startup attorney and serial entrepreneur. He is currently working on two e-commerce startups in OnMyWhey (www.onmywhey.com) and Sriracha2Go (www.sriracha2go.com). He previously co-founded two venture backed startups in Nasseo, Inc. and WhatNow, Inc. He is passionate about social entrepreneurship and giving back to the community. He received an M.B.A from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a J.D. cum laude from the University of San Diego School of Law, and a B.S. in Bioengineering from the University of California San Diego.
Grace Losada (Board Member) has been a teacher, Head of School, executive level leader, and entrepreneur in various settings. Her work as an educator has focused primarily on supporting students who learn differently. She has successfully built and scaled multi-functional national teams, both face to face and virtual, through high growth and change processes. Grace has an EdD in Educational leadership with an emphasis in Educational Psychology from USC.
Grant Jones (Board Member) is currently the Vice President of Content at OneTeam Partners, a newly launched venture between the NFL, MLB, MLS and USWNT Players’ Associations. In his role, he works with athletes and oversees all production and content, as well as work with outside advertisers and platforms. Prior to OneTeam, he was the COO of Lorne Michaels’ digital company Above Average, where he also started their sports vertical The Kicker. Grant is a 19-year veteran in the content, production and marketing space, with past experience at Condé Nast Entertainment and The Onion. Grant has won a Television Academy Emmy Honor, an Asme, a Peabody, and multiple Webby awards. He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife Mary, their son, Winston and their dog, Maya.
Alen Amini (Board Member) is currently a management consultant at the Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit firm that provides advisory services to philanthropies and nonprofit organizations. He also currently serves as the executive director of Wisconsin Microfinance, an NGO based in Madison, Wisconsin that provides microloans to entrepreneurs in the Philippines and Haiti. A former Fulbright scholar, he previously served as a high school math teacher and vice-principal in Southeast Arkansas through Teach For America. Alen is a recent graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business.
Research, Development, and Marketing
Schuyler Fox (Development and Marketing Associate) received a B.A. from Pomona College, where she studied Psychology and Child Development. For the past 3 years, Schuyler has worked at a children’s anxiety clinic at Columbia University, conducting research on the use of technology for anxiety treatment. She has a passion for sharing resources with underserved communities, and is specifically interested in using technology/media to provide children and families with ASD with important tools.
Ashley Griffith (Research Associate) received a dual B.A. in Psychology and Criminology, Law & Society from the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Ashley has worked with children with developmental disabilities as a Respite Healthcare Provider and Behavioral Interventionist administering Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) techniques for the past two years. She aspires to attend a Master's Program in Behavioral Analysis to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and create her own ABA Organization that will serve families of children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities holistically.
Symphony Washington (Research Associate) received a dual B.A. in Psychology & Social Behavior and Criminology, Law Society from UCI. As a Research Assistant at UCI, Symphony collected in-home data for a project investigating an intervention for mothers of children with ASD between the ages of 3-7. In addition, she interned at Pathways, a mental health clinic for disadvantaged youths under 21 years of age and their families. At Pathways, she honed her clinical skills by reviewing clinical charts, scoring assessments, observing patient therapy, participating in clinician supervision sessions, and familiarizing patients with the language of PCIT during therapeutic crafts and activities. She is working towards becoming a clinical psychologist, researcher, and educator. In her spare time, Symphony is an avid Harry Potter enthusiast, loves hiking, exploring nature, and spending time with her puppy, Frankee.
Cassidy Weiss (Marketing Associate) graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a dual B.A. in Psychology & Social Behavior as well as Criminology, Law Sociey. She has spent her time following her passion of spreading mental health awareness through the ASUCI Mental Health Commission, volunteering with children at therapeutic horseback riding programs and summer camps, as well as conducting research on ASD and high-risk minority women. She plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology to continue researching and working with children’s mental health.
Cassidy Weiss (Marketing Associate) graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a dual B.A. in Psychology & Social Behavior as well as Criminology, Law Sociey. She has spent her time following her passion of spreading mental health awareness through the ASUCI Mental Health Commission, volunteering with children at therapeutic horseback riding programs and summer camps, as well as conducting research on ASD and high-risk minority women. She plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology to continue researching and working with children’s mental health.
Family Ambassadors
Renee Anderson, MA, BCBA, works in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis as a clinical supervisor. She has a Master’s degree in Teaching with a specialty in ABA and has a B.A. in Sociology from UCSD. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and is passionate about the ethical dissemination of Applied Behavior Analysis therapy. She was inspired to enter the field when her daughter was diagnosed with autism. She works toward a future where all children have access to therapies which give them the skills to reach their full potential.
Rowa Barashi, M.Sc. IT, is a PhD candidate in the new area of Marketing ‘Customer experience management’ and she is a strong believer in the power of people and technology in the workplace and its impact on performance. She is a Marketing and IT specialist with experience in different fields, and she has a humbling experience as an academic lecturer and a junior researcher. Rowa is a single mother of a bright girl, who diagnosed with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia and Epilepsy. During her journey, she found it fascinating to learn more about her daughter and explore more about her special sensory needs. Her mission is to help all mums to be more connected to their kids, to help kids to reach their full potential and learn to love themselves the way they are.
Advisory Board
Aubyn Stahmer, Ph.D., is an expert in autism treatments. Dr. Stahmer is an Associate Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the UC Davis MIND Institute. She serves as a researcher at the Autism Discovery Institute, which has been in operation for over 10 years. She is well published in several domains related to autism including parent coaching, inclusion, and early intervention services. Dr. Stahmer is heavily involved in the autism community is currently investigating the ESDM (Early Start Denver Model) and how best to support families in rural and underserved communities.
Sarah Dufek, M.S., BCBA, is a post-doctoral scholar at Weill Cornell Medical College and works in the Center for Autism and the Developing Brain. Sarah was awarded her Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of California, San Diego. She has been working with children with ASD and related developmental disabilities in clinical and research contexts since 2000.
Dani Bowman is a young woman with autism who aspires to follow in the footsteps of other cartooning greats with her own animation company, Powerlight Studios. Dani illustrates, writes and voice acts nine different cartoon series, each with about 30 unique characters. Her stories have captured the interest of several production companies with the goal of taking Powerlight Studios to network and cable TV.
Jayarami Reddy, MBA, has been in the software industry over 25 years in senior management, consulting and staff positions at startups and Fortune 500 companies (Cisco, Avaya, HP, Sun, etc.); he is currently at Cisco Systems, Inc. Jayaram has an MBA from the Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley and an M.Tech in computer science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.
App Development Team
Agicent Technologies (Primary App Developer)
Connor Beckett-Lemus (Programmer) is a California State University, Long Beach graduate with a B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics. He has been programming for several years and always finds new little projects to work on. With a builder's mind, he loves to see new ideas through from conception to creation.
Philippe Sekine (Prototype App Developer)
Connor Beckett-Lemus (Programmer) is a California State University, Long Beach graduate with a B.S. in Computer Science and Mathematics. He has been programming for several years and always finds new little projects to work on. With a builder's mind, he loves to see new ideas through from conception to creation.
Philippe Sekine (Prototype App Developer)
Pre-Production Team
Maria Demoret (Voice Actor) is an elementary school music teacher and church choir director who believes in the importance of exposing young children to the arts. She earned her bachelor of science degree in child and family development from San Diego State University and loves working with children of all ages. She is an avid performer with recent credits including Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz, Jesus Christ Superstar, and several Black Kat Theatre productions.
Tisha Tumangan (Voice Actor)
Dave Gross (Audio Recorder)
Tisha Tumangan (Voice Actor)
Dave Gross (Audio Recorder)
Karl Benitez (Sound Engineer and Musician) received his A.A.A. for Audio Production from the Art Institute of Seattle and is currently attending the University of Washington to obtain his B.A. He has a strong professional background in sound engineering, including working for a television station. Music has always been passion of Karl's and he has expanded his area of work to musical composition for various local bands, sonic art, and video production.
Production Team
Rob Graham (Animation Consultant) is a graduate of Kendall School of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan receiving a B.F.A. Rob majored in Digital Media with an emphasis on 2D Animation. Prior to Kendall, Rob attended Grand Valley State University majoring in Film and Video. His passion is to create cartoons for kids that address difficult issues and provide them with encouragement.
Dean Julien (Animator)
Ami Hsu (Graphic Artist)
Dean Julien (Animator)
Ami Hsu (Graphic Artist)
Post-Production Team
David Stringham (Compositor)
Ami Hsu (Compositor)
Ami Hsu (Compositor)
