Christopher Flint

President

Christopher has over 10 years of experience working with children with autism. Christopher has a Bachelor’s degree in Communicative Disorder’s from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Northeastern Illinois University.

Christopher currently works at HAVE Dreams - running the teen program and supporting children with autism in school placements as well as in their homes. Christopher is also a TEAACH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication Handicapped Children) trainer in Illinois and North Carolina. In addition, Christopher is the developer of the materials for Ready 2 Learn, a not-for-profit organization supplying educational materials for children with autism.

Lydia Wissing

Treasurer

Lydia was born in The Netherlands and educated in South Africa. She received a diploma in Public Relations and Marketing from the Witwatersrand Technical College in Johannesburg, Lydia was transferred by the Westin Hotel Group to Chicago in 1980 as International Sales Manger, which involved extensive traveling throughout the world. After this career and while raising a family, Lydia started volunteering in the Chicago Public Schools in special education classes. This soon turned into a full-time position. Now she has 10 years experience working with children with autism in the classroom setting as well as one-on-one tutoring in the public and private sector. Lydia has also completed The Fundamentals of Structured Teaching and Level 1 - Classroom Set-up training in the TEACCH method of educating children with special needs. Lydia is also the Training Coordinator for Structured Teaching Workshops in Illinois.

Andrea Johnsen

Secretary

Andrea Johnsen is currently a DePaul University student working towards a degree in Political Science. She has volunteered at a non-profit organization working with children with autism for over ten years.

Dr. Tom Owley

Chief Medical Director

Dr. Owley is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at The University of Illinois at Chicago. He is creator and head of the Department’s Neurodevelopmental Psychopharmacology Clinic. This clinic specializes in the pharmacological treatment of children with autistic spectrum disorders. Dr. Owley reviews for a number of neuropsychiatric journals. He was awarded the Robinson-Cunningham Award from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in 2000 for his work on the pharmacology of autism. He has also won awards from the National Institutes of Health and the Illinois Psychiatric Society for theoretical work on frontal lobe functioning. He lives in Chicago with his wife, Soyna. He has a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Cedric, and a mutt named Fragile.

Kristina Johnsen

Training Director

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Dr. Soyna Owley

Cultural Ambassador

Dr. Soyna Owley is a child and adolescent psychiatrist in private practice in Northbrook, IL. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago’s psychiatry residency program and did her fellowship at the Institute for Juvenile Research, Chicago, IL. Her clinical experiences include

- Comprehensive psychopharmacological and psychotherapeutic outpatient and treatment of children, adolescents, adults, and families

- Forensic child psychiatry: court-appointed psychiatric evaluations and consultations; juvenile fitness to stand trial/Miranda Rights evaluations and treatment recommendation/placement evaluations for the Juvenile Court of Cook County for juveniles in and out of custody

- Child psychiatrist at Columbus Maryville Home for Boys and Girls and Teen parenting center

- Interests: Neurobiology and genetics of anxiety disorders, ethics, addictions, school consultations, childhood schizophrenia, psychopharmacology of mood disorders, Pediatric obsessive compulsive disorder, trichotillomania, Tourette’s disorder, school consultations, working with minority children n inner city settings.

Laird Crawford

Board Member

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Lally Daley

Board Member

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