Second Annual Statewide Conference Presenters

Phil Strain, Ph.D. is a Professor of Educational Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Colorado Denver.  Dr. Strain is the author of over 250 scientific papers and he serves on the editorial boards of over a dozen professional journals.  Dr. Strain has worked in the field of early intervention since 1974 and he serves as a science advisor to the Institute of Medicine, the National Institute of Mental Health and the U.S. Department of Education.  His primary research interests include: a) intervention for young children with early onset conduct disorders; b) remediation of social behavior deficits in young children with autism; c) design and delivery of community-based, comprehensive early intervention for children with autism; and d) analysis of individual and systemic variables affecting the adoption and sustained use of evidence-based practices for children with severe behavior disorders.

Stephen R. Anderson, Ph.D., BCBA is the Executive Director of Summit Educational Resources near Buffalo, New York. Dr. Anderson received his Ph.D. in Developmental and Child Psychology from the University of Kansas. He has served as Adjunct Assistant Professor at number of colleges and universities including the University of Kansas, Northeastern University, the State University of New York at Buffalo and Buffalo State College. Summit serves children birth to 21 years old with developmental disabilities including children with autism through a comprehensive system of early intervention, preschool, schools, and consulting programs. Dr. Anderson also is a reviewer for a number of professional journals and has published many journal articles and book chapters on the education and treatment of children with developmental disabilities. Dr. Anderson has been an active member of the New York State Association for Behavior serving as its president and continuously as a member of its Board of Directors. He served as a panel member appointed by the NYS Department of Health to develop clinical practice guidelines for children with autism. As a licensed psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Dr. Anderson has worked in the autism field for more than 30 years and has served as an expert witness and consultant. 

Fredda Brown, Ph.D. is Professor of Special Education at Queens College, City University of New York.  She is Editor-in-Chief of Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities (RPSD).  In addition to Dr. Brown’s work as a Professor and teacher educator, she has spent many years providing educational and behavioral consultation to individuals with severe disabilities and their families.  She is the editor of four books, and author of numerous journal articles and book chapters relating to the education of individuals with severe disabilities.  Most recently her work focuses on the relationship between problem behavior, communication, and self-determination, and professional attitudes regarding behavioral treatment acceptability. Dr. Brown is on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions (JPBI), and on the national boards of the Association for Positive Behavior Supports (APBS), and The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps (TASH).   She presents her work and ideas nationwide to professionals and families, advocating for positive, dignified and effective methods of addressing the learning and behavioral needs of individuals with disabilities.

Kristin V. Christodulu, Ph.D., Kristin V. Christodulu has extensive clinical and research experience working with children and adults with developmental disabilities. She is a licensed psychologist in two states (Maryland, New York), and is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University at Albany - State University of New York. She received her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. all in psychology from the University at Albany. Dr. Christodulu has presented papers and published manuscripts in the areas of sleep disturbances in children with disabilities, school mental health, psychiatric emergencies in children, and bullying and victimization. In the recent past, she has served as a consultant to the New York Autism Network and the Center for School Mental Health Assistance. She currently serves as a consultant to the New York State Department of Education. She has been a Consulting Editor for the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, the Journal of the Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps, the Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, and the Journal of Youth and Adolescence. Dr. Christodulu is active in the American Psychological Association (APA), the Maryland Psychological Association (MPA), and the New York State Psychological Association (NYSPA).

Shirley Cohen, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Department of Special Education at Hunter College. She is the author of the book Targeting Autism, the third edition of which was published in fall 2006. She also serves as the director of the Regional Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Hunter College. Professor Cohen has held various administrative positions at Hunter College for many years, including the position of Interim Dean of the Hunter College School of Education. She has directed city, state, and foundation grants on autism spectrum disorders; has helped develop an inclusion program model for young children within the NYC public school system and directs a training program at Hunter College for new staff of this program; and she is currently helping to develop another program model for young children with ASD entering the NYC public school system who can benefit from an extra intensive year of special education services in Kindergarten. Professor Cohen has recently received a grant from a foundation to mentor a small cadre of professionals in the autism field who have potential to assume leadership roles in the autism intervention field in NYC.

Daniel Crimmins, Ph.D. is the Director of the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at the Marcus Institute in Atlanta GA.  Dr. Crimmins has a career-long interest in developing training programs that bring research to practice for students with autism and related disabilities who have behavior problems.  He is co-author of the Motivation Assessment Scale, the Autism Program Quality Indicators, and Positive Strategies for Students with Behavior Problems.

Michael L. Cuccaro, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Medicine and a clinical child psychologist who specializes in autism and related developmental disorders. Dr. Cuccaro is the Director of the Patient and Family Ascertainment Section in the Miami Institute for Human Genomics. In addition, he is director of the Phenomics Laboratory. His primary research interest is the development of behavioral methods to construct and extend clinical phenotypes of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. His research has focused on children with autism and related disorders as well as disorders with overlapping clinical features such as language disorders, mental retardation, ADHD, trichotillomania, Tourette's disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Dr. Cuccaro received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of South Carolina in 1988 and has been involved in both clinical and research studies of young children and developmental disorders since that time. Dr. Cuccaro was at the University of South Carolina School Of Medicine and the Duke University Center for Human Genetics prior to assuming his current position at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

Joanne Gerenser, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Joanne Gerenser is the Executive Director of the Eden II Programs. She received her  Ph.D. in Speech and Hearing Science at the City University of New York Graduate Center. Joanne is a past-president of the New York State Association for Behavior Analysis and a member of the Scientific Advisory Council for the Organization for Autism Research. She is the Vice President of the Board of the Interagency Council for Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. She is an adjunct Associate Professor at Brooklyn College as well as Penn State University. She has authored several book chapters and articles on speech language disorders in autism and developmental disabilities. Joanne serves as an associate editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis-Speech Language Pathology. Joanne sits on the advisory boards of several schools and programs for individuals with autism throughout the United States and abroad. In addition, she has presented nationally and internationally on autism and related topics. 

Christopher M. Oliva, Ph.D. is on the faculty of Queens College – CUNY and is a consultant who works people with disabilities including individuals with autism.  He advises state governments, public and private schools, agencies, educational teams, families, and individuals, on the use of positive behavioral strategies for reducing problem behavior and increasing each student’s ability to benefit from their educational program throughout the Northeast.

Caroline I. Magyar, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Strong Center for Developmental Disabilities, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Principal Investigator of the Assessment and Records Core in the Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment (STAART) Center, and Director of the Rochester Regional Center for Autism. Dr. Magyar’s work focuses on the assessment and treatment of individuals with autism spectrum disorders, and the development and evaluation of educational service models for public and private schools. She is the recipient of numerous grants in the areas of personnel preparation, community education, and treatment; and has written several chapters and papers on the assessment and treatment of individuals with autism and development disabilities.

Raymond G. Romanczyk, Ph.D. is Professor of Clinical Psychology at SUNY Binghamton. He is a licensed clinical psychologist and a Board Certified behavior analyst specializing in the problems of children, and received his undergraduate degree from SUNY at Stony Brook and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Dr. Romanczyk is the founder and director of the Institute for Child Development which provides clinical and educational services to children and families through the Children’s Unit for Treatment and Evaluation and the Children’s Unit for Learning Disabilities. The Units are part of the continuum of services in the Southern Tier of New York and have served families for over 30 years. Dr. Romanczyk has been involved in advocacy, program development, the judicial and legislative process as expert witness, and direct services to children and families. He is also former Director of Clinical Training and served two terms as Chairperson of the Department of Psychology at SUNY Binghamton. In addition, Dr. Romanczyk is an Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry of the SUNY Health Sciences Center of Syracuse. He is director of CBTA, a private practice group. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and his extensive professional activities include member and officer in numerous professional organizations, serving on the board of directors and board of advisors of several nationally recognized institutes and treatment facilities, consulting for numerous education and treatment programs, state government, grant reviewer for federal agencies, and serving on ethics and quality assurance boards for several organizations. He is currently a member of the scientific advisory board of the National Autism Center and a board member of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board. He is a consultant to the NYS Department of Health Early Intervention Program and was a panel member on the NYSDOH clinical guidelines for autism, one of the first empirically based reviews of autism assessment and treatment practices. He also serves as a member of the editorial board and reviewer for numerous professional journals. His work has been published in many professional journals and books, and he has written extensively in the fields of developmental, emotional, and learning disabilities. Recent published works include, “Autism & the Physiology of Stress and Anxiety’, and “Social Skills vs Skilled Social Behavior: A Problematic Distinction in Autism Spectrum Disorders.” Dr. Romanczyk has presented several hundred addresses at regional, national, and international professional conferences regarding his applied and research work at the Institute, and has received numerous awards for his clinical and research accomplishments. His recent publication, “Defying Autism”, is a co-authored book written for parents and professionals.

Patricia Towle, Ph.D. has been practicing, teaching, and conducting research in the area of early intervention and developmental disabilities for the last 20 years. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University Affiliated Program at the University of North Carolina Medical School while supported by a NIMH Research Training fellowship. At the Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD) she has been the recipient of several grants for training and research in the area of early intervention, and for the past 10 years has been focused on post-graduate training in developmental disabilities. Dr. Towle has a wide-ranging clinical experience with diagnostic evaluation of young children, having specialized in those with autism spectrum disorders over the last decade. She has co-authored a handbook, funded by the New York State Department of Health, on best practices in assessment in early childhood, and has taught graduate-level classes on this topic as well as on disabilities in early childhood. Dr. Towle has conducted many training sessions on these topics across numerous venues, as well as on applied research and research ethics. She is also the on faculty for a federal MCH-supported LEND graduate training program carried out at WIHD.