Meet the Team
Board of Directors
Gerin Gaskin
(Co-Founder, Research & Development) worked for three years at the UCSD Autism Intervention Research Program as an Early Childhood Interventionist, helping children at-risk for autism under the age of three in a home treatment program. Gerin received a B.A. in Psychology from UCSD and a M.A. from Claremont Graduate University (CGU). She is enrolled in a Ph.D. program at CGU. She also has an older brother with ASD. |
Casey Hoffman, MSGL
(Co-Founder, Business Ops & Development) was the Lab Coordinator of the UCSD Autism Intervention Research Program for five years and also worked as an Early Childhood Interventionist during that time. He has a M.S. in Global Leadership from the University of San Diego (USD) and received a B.A. in Psychology from UCSD. He is now a leader at a charter school organization. |
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 a lot of experience creating and performing educational and entertaining materials, as he was the creative director for projects that were implemented for over 10,000 children. |
Kayvon Pourmirzaie, JD
(Board Member, Business & Legal Advisor) is an IP attorney and co-founder of Nasseo, Inc. He is passionate about social entrepreneurship and giving back to the community. He received his J.D. Cum Laude from the University of San Diego School of Law and has a B.S. in bioengineering from UCSD. He currently lives in San Jose where he is very involved in social entrepreneurship and new technology development. |
Renee Anderson, MA, BCBA
(Board Member, Family & Community Outreach) 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. |
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 Jayaram 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
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)