December 12, 2009–The Gottschall Autism Center welcomes Cheryl Gaudino of North Attleboro as its new Executive Director.
Ms. Gaudino brings to the Center an extensive knowledge of autism along with strong executive experience. A Founding Board Member of the Center, Cheryl served as Treasurer until her appointment.
Active in the autism and disability advocacy field, Cheryl has served on several Boards including Advocates For Autism of Massachusetts and Massachusetts Families Organizing For Change. As the parent of a child with autism, she has also co-chaired a parent support group for the last six years.
Previously, Cheryl spent 25 years in business management and accounting. She holds a degree in Accounting from Bryant University in Smithfield, RI.
“I am excited to help the Gottschall Autism Center expand its reach into the autism community,” said Gaudino. “With 1 in every 91 U.S. children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, we simply don’t have the luxury of waiting until we have a brick and mortar center before providing services and support. In October, we held a biomedical conference featuring Dr. Martha Herbert, Pediatric Neurologist at Mass. General Hospital, and Pam Ferro, RN ASN, co-founder of Hopewell Associates, Inc. This spring, we are kicking off our Adult Program where we will provide job training and the necessary supports for adults with autism to work on organic farms within their communities.”
The Gottschall Autism Center is committed to becoming a national model of how to treat, nurture, and enrich the lives of individuals with autism by providing an individualized biomedical, nutritional, and parent educational program. In addition, the Center is dedicated to providing tailored supports to adults with autism by offering employment training, job opportunities and campus living in an organic farm setting.
The Center is currently seeking a land donation in southeastern Massachusetts as well as corporate sponsors. For more information, please contact Cheryl at 774-282-0293 or Gaudino@GottschallCenter.com.
