2026 Speakers

Tom Holub, PhD
Professor, Edgewood College

Dr. Tom Holub has authored articles on varying aspects of special education. He created a National Award winning curriculum relating to promoting self-determination. He has been a professor in the field and a consultant across the country. He designed and implemented a transition curriculum for three states and is actively expanding his breadth of study to work as a visiting scholar at the US Holocaust Museum and Memorial. There he plans to study disability and the Holocaust.

Meral Koldas, PhD, BCBA-D, LBA
Assistant Professor, University of Missouri St. Louis

Dr. Meral Koldas is a tenure-track Assistant Professor, Board Certified Behavior Analyst–Doctoral (BCBA-D) and Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA) in Missouri, researcher, and educator with international experience in autism intervention, verbal behavior, and technology-supported training. She earned her Ph.D. in Applied Behavior Analysis from Queen’s University Belfast, an M.Sc. in Applied Behavior Analysis from Bangor University. Prior to joining the University of Missouri–St. Louis, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Munroe-Meyer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr.Koldas is an active member of the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI), serving on the Practice Board and as Dissemination Coordinator for the Verbal Behavior Special Interest Group. She also contributes to the field through editorial service for Behavior Analysis in Practice, The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, and the British Educational Research Journal. Her clinical and research work spans educational, clinical, and community settings across multiple countries, supporting autistic individuals and their families through both in-person and remote service delivery models. Dr. Koldas’s research focuses on verbal behavior, language development, autism intervention, communication-based skill acquisition, and technology-assisted training. Her broader scholarly interests include expanding access to evidence-based interventions for underserved populations, developing scalable training systems, and advancing the global dissemination of applied behavior analysis through international collaboration, education ,and research.

Jonathan T. Megerian, MD, PhD, FAAP
Clinical Director at Thompson Autism & Neurodevelopmental Center; Neurodevelopmental Medicine Division Chief at CHOC/Rady Children’s Health

Dr. J. Thomas Megerian is a board-certified pediatrician and child neurologist specializing in Autism Spectrum and other neurodevelopmental disorders. He has extensive clinical experience in the diagnosis and management of Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, tic disorders and Tourette’s Syndrome, and co-occurring medical and behavioral conditions associated with neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Megerian has a strong track record in clinical research, including the design and execution of clinical trials for neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders. He has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed journal publications on topics including autism, neurodevelopmental comorbidities, and related therapeutics, and serves as a peer reviewer for several leading journals in the field. He is currently an attending neurologist and Associate Clinical Professor (volunteer faculty) at CHOC Children’s and the University of California, Irvine, respectively. As Chief of the Neurodevelopmental Division and Clinical Director of the Thompson Autism & Neurodevelopmental Center, Dr. Megerian leads multidisciplinary care and an active clinical research program focused on improving outcomes for children and young adults with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Kaelynn Partlow
Autistic Therapist, Public Speaker, Author

Kaelynn Partlow is an autistic therapist, public speaker, content creator, and author of Life on the Bridge. She shares autism insight through national speaking events, social media, and her work at Project Hope Foundation to promote real-world autism support and inclusion. Kaelynn also appeared in Season 1 of the Netflix series, Love on the Spectrum.

Alison Singer, MBA
President, Autism Science Foundation

Alison Singer is Co-Founder and President of the Autism Science Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to funding innovative autism research and supporting the needs of people with autism. As the mother of a 28-year-old daughter with profound autism and legal guardian of her older brother with profound autism, she is a natural advocate. Singer served on the United States Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) for 12 years, where she chaired the Safety and Housing Workgroups, and served on the committee responsible for writing an annual strategic plan to guide federal spending for autism research. She currently serves as chair of the executive board of the Seaver Autism Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, as well as on the boards of the Yale Child Study Center, the Marcus Autism Center at Emory University, and the University of North Carolina Autism Research Center. She also serves on the external advisory board of the CDC’s Center for Developmental Disabilities and on the New York State Immunization Advisory Committee. In addition, Singer serves on the board of directors of the International Society for Autism Research(INSAR) and chairs the INSAR Communications Committee. In 2012, the American Academy of Pediatrics named her an “autism champion.” In 2017 she received the INSAR “Outstanding Research Advocate” award and in 2018 she received the New York Families for Autistic Children Research Advocacy Award. Prior to founding the Autism Science Foundation in 2009, she served as executive vice president of Autism Speaks and as a vice president at NBC. She graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a B.A. in Economics and has an MBA from Harvard Business School. In 2020, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Emory University. From 2018-2021 Alison served on the Board of Education of the Scarsdale Union Free Public School district, including 3 semesters as Vice President of the BOE. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the JCC of Mid Westchester and as President of its Towards Tomorrow Special Education Pre-School.

Emily Sullivan, PhD, BCBA-D, LBA
Faculty Behavior Analyst, University of Rochester Medical Center

Dr. Emily Sullivan is a behavior analysis faculty in the Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center and an adjunct Assistant Professor in the Integrated Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe Meyer Institute. She earned her Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis from Western New England University. Dr. Sullivan has clinical expertise in assessing and treating complex, dangerous behavior and has supervised clinical services across various settings, including day programs, residential schools, and inpatient and outpatient hospitals. Her research interests mirror her clinical expertise and include assessing and treating challenging behavior and identifying sustainable strategies to mitigate its risks across settings and among people who experience it. Dr. Sullivan serves on the editorial board and as a guest associate editor for Behavior Analysis in Practice and has disseminated her research via peer-reviewed journal publications and local and national conference presentations.