OFFICERS:
Krystal Higgins
Executive Director
Krystal taught for a behavioral hospital before leaving the classroom to care for her child, who sustained a severe traumatic brain injury and was later diagnosed with a neuroimmune disorder. While advocating for appropriate medical and therapeutic interventions for her own family, she returned to work for the National Autism Association. She currently serves on the autism panel for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program via the Department of Defense and is a certified S2C (Spelling 2 Communicate) practitioner. She is committed to helping families advocate for educational and medical equality for their children, and to shedding light on the most urgent issues facing the autism community.
Christine Sigel
President
Christine Sigel brings 15+ years of experience in marketing, website development, and event coordination across both national and local nonprofits. She currently serves as the Program Manager for the Big Red Safety Box® program, as well as in other key capacities.
Christine has mentored families navigating the autism journey. She has helped with the coordination of several parent support groups, and organizing both local and national conferences and workshops focused on the special needs community . She also led educational programming as Co-President of her state’s local Special Education Task Force. In addition, she has completed formal training in special education advocacy.
Wendy Fournier
Board Chair
Wendy is a founding Board Member and President Emeritus of the National Autism Association (NAA). Her youngest daughter was diagnosed with autism in 2002, inspiring her commitment to changing the perception of autism—from what was once viewed as a mysterious mental health condition to one that includes identifiable and treatable medical components. After a brief attempt at retirement, Wendy felt compelled to return to advocacy with renewed passion, dedicated to providing education, trusted information, and meaningful resources that uplift and support families throughout the autism community.
Sue Halliwell
Treasurer
Sue holds a BA in Sociology, a BS in Accounting, and worked in the sailing industry for many years before teaching at an international School in Egypt. Upon returning, she worked as a CNA, Sue decided that to finish out her professional career, she needed to find a way to utilize her skillset to give back in a meaningful way, and used her accounting skills to serve NAA for eight years. Upon retiring, Sue became our treasurer. She has always let her strong moral compass guide her, and looks forward to helping fulfil the mission on our board.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Leslie Phillips
Board Member
Leslie Phillips has two adult sons on the autism spectrum. Her youngest son is medically complex with a mitochondrial disorder and neuroimmune syndrome.
She has been involved in disability and autism advocacy for more than twenty years. Her particular focus is on the overlap between individuals diagnosed with autism and those with neuroimmune disorders, and as such she also serves on the board of the Neuroimmune Foundation. Her hope is to help accelerate research leading to more treatment options and to support efforts to ensure the safety and enrich the lives of all affected by autism.
Kerry Magro, EdD
Board Member
Dr. Kerry Magro Ed.D. was nonspeaking until the age of 2.5, diagnosed with autism at 4 and didn’t speak in complete sentences until 7 years old. Today as an adult he is an award-winning autistic professional speaker, best-selling author of five books on autism, and serves as an autism consultant for award-winning series on HBO and Netflix. He has spoken at over 1300 events, is CEO & President of KFM Making A Difference, a nonprofit organization that hosts inclusion events and has provided 150+ scholarships for autistic students for college, and several small business grants for businesses that hire people with disabilities.
He’s been featured on the Today Show, CBS and FOX news, and frequently speaks in-person and virtually to companies on neurodiversity in the workplace.