Autism Speaks Greater Pittsburgh Chapter Board of Directors
July 2009
Catherine Blandireceived her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Colorado and has worked with Howard Hanna Real Estate Services for the past 12 years. She currently resides in the North Hills of Pittsburgh with her daughter, Callise and cares for her brother Matthew with Down syndrome. She has worked over the years with various philanthropic organizations including, Children’s Hospital Free Care Fund, Children’s Charities of Western Pennsylvania, Civic Light Opera Young Ambassadors, Junior League of Pittsburgh, Light of Life Mission, Special Olympics, The Caring Place and The Woodlands Foundation.
Ellen Cicconiis the mother of two boys diagnosed with autism. Henry, born April 7, 2002, has Goldenhar Syndrome and conductive hearing loss, received his autism and apraxia diagnoses in 2004. Gus (Augustus) was born Feb. 16, 2004. He received his pdd,nos and obsessive compulsive disorder diagnoses in 2007.Ellen is married to Chad A. Cicconi and lives in Canonsburg, PA. She received her Bachelors Degree in International Studies from XavierUniversity and continued her studies receiving a PhD in Russian History from the University of Pittsburgh in1996.She and her husband participated in the first Walk F.A.R. for NAAR event in Wheeling in June of 2005. Ellen became a member of the Wheeling Walk Planning Committee in 2006 and Chaired the event from 2007 through 2009. She has become actively involved with the Government Relations Department of Autism Speaks by co-chairing the Chapter Advocacy Committee with Patti McCloud. She hopes someday her little boys will appreciate how loved they are and how many people are in their corner, working hard to ensure that they have the brightest future possible.
Dave Fitzsimmons is the founder of Structured Equity Alternatives LLC, which customizes investment strategies for high net worth investors and institutions. Prior to founding SEA, Dave was Senior Vice President and Director of Equity Derivatives Strategies at National City Bank. Before joining National City, Dave was Director of the Equity Derivatives Trading Group at PNC Capital Markets. He received a B.A. from the University of North Carolina and an M.B.A. from VanderbiltUniversity and holds several securities licenses. Dave has been a featured speaker, discussing the application of equity and interest rate hedging strategies and the use of structured products for affluent clients. Dave lives with his wife and two sons in Upper St. Clair, outside Pittsburgh. He is involved in several charitable organizations and for the past six years has worked to raise funds for Autism Speaks and its predecessor organization.
Diane Lewisis a 29-year resident of Upper St. Clair and has been married to her husband, Allan for almost 30 years. She is the mother of three children:Lauren Alexis Lewis, DDS (currently specializing in Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Pittsburgh; D. Grant Lewis - Professional hockey player - drafted 2nd round in 2004 by NHLteam Atlanta Thrashers while @ Dartmouth College, (currently w/ AHL team, Chicago Wolves, who won the Caulder cup in 2008.); and Lindsay Alana Lewis - recent graduate of Florida State Univ. (Dec. 13, 2008) economics major, business minor-accepted position w/ Wachovia Bank in Washington, DC as a Financial Specialist.Diane is currently working part-time as a dental hygienist.
Mark Strauss, Ph.D.received his doctoral degree from the University of Illinois. He served three years as a Lieutenant in the Navy’s Medical Service Corp during the Vietnam era and has been a professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh since 1978. While at Pitt, he has been both the Department’s Chairperson and head of its Developmental Psychology Program. In 1986 he co-founded the University’s Office of Child Development, a center concerned with policy, intervention, and evaluation issues related to programs that serve children, youth and families. His research focuses on the early development of mental abilities in infants and children. Currently, he is the Principle Investigator of a research grant from the National Institutes of Health that is studying differences in the cognitive abilities of individuals with autism. This research studies both infants at risk for autism as well as older children and adults who have been diagnosed with the disorder. As a teaching faculty member, in 2005 Dr. Strauss received the Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the University’s highest honor for teaching and in 2007 he was elected by students as an Honorary Faculty Member of the Golden Key International Honour Society. Finally, being concerned about the communication of research to the public, he has made numerous appearances on radio and television including several appearances on the NBC Today Show.He has also served as a consultant forKDKA-TV’s “For Kids Sake” campaign.
Patti McCloud has been involved with the Pittsburgh Walk program continually in many different roles since 2000 when it was known as Walk F.A.R. for NAAR.Patti served as Chair of the Family Teams Committee in 2002 and 2003, Co-Chair of the Pittsburgh Walk 2004 and 2005. Under her two-year leadership, the Pittsburgh Walk raised over $1 million. In 2006 and 2007, she served as the Corporate Fundraising Chair. Both Patti and her husband actively participated in recruiting corporate sponsors for the Pittsburgh Walk Program. In 2008, Patti was asked to participate on a Corporate Fundraising Panel at the Autism Speaks National Leadership Retreat. She is currently the Community Advocacy Chair for the Pittsburgh Region and participated in many aspects in the passage of the PA Insurance bill HB1150 (Act 62) and the passage of and funding for the federally funded DOD Bill.She served on the on the nominating committee for the Pittsburgh Chapter of Autism Speaks and has accepted the position of founding board member of Autism Speaks – Greater Pittsburgh Chapter.Patti lives north of Pittsburgh, PA with her husband, Mark, and their 2 children; Jordan, age 11, who is diagnosed with PDD-NOS, and Nicole, age 8. Her family team, Team Jordan, has been among the top of the fund-raising teams in Pittsburgh for the last several years.
Rick J. Murray, LSW, BCBA is the Chief Operating Officer at Family Behavioral Resources, leadingseveral teams at FBR - the Autism Team, Clinical Team, Administrative Team, and Outpatient Team. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh's School of Social Work, Rick holds a Professional Development Certificate in Autism, has a Certificate of Completion of the Applied Behavioral Analysis for Special Education Program through PennStateUniversity, and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. A proud uncle to a nephew on the spectrum, he leadsFBR's teams of professionalswith extensive experience in a variety of modalities to offer programs of the highest clinical integrity to families and children affected byAutismas well as otherbehavioral health diagnoses.He has volunteered for several years for the Walk Now for Autism, serving as the co-chair for Greater Pittsburgh in 2007 and 2008, and now serving once again as the Service Provider Chair.Rick is the enthusiasticteam captain of the FBR H.O.P.E. for Tomorrow Team, which has raised over $191,000in support ofthe cause. In January 2008, Rick was recognized by ABOARD asthe Outstanding Professional of the Year. Rick also serves ABOARD by supporting the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community, and facilitating the FBR North Huntingdon Family Support and Social Skill/Play Group since2003.Rick is a member of ABOARD's Professional Advisory Council.In addition to his role with FBR, he is the Vice-President of the FBR Foundation. Rick resides with his family in WestmorelandCounty.
Sandra R. Tomlinsonhas over 30 years of healthcare experience and currently serves as Senior Vice President of Provider Services at Highmark Inc., Keystone Health Plan West, Inc. and HHIC. She is currently responsible for providing executive direction for the corporate functions that collectively influence and produce the contractual and service relationships with providers of health care services throughout Highmark’s Pennsylvania service area. Ms. Tomlinson began her career at Highmark (formerly, Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania) while working on her degree in Accounting at RobertMorrisUniversity. Along the way to her current position, she has held several professional and management positions within Highmark’s commercial product division and its government business division. Previous positions have also included responsibility for pharmacy product administration and PBM relationship management, and development and management of medical management and disease management programs.She has been an active member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association for 25 years and previous Board member. She currently serves as a Member of the Board of Directors of Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield, Member of the Board of Directors of Adagio Health (currently serving as Chair), Member of the Board of Directors of Family Hospice, an Advisory Council Member of the Health Policy Institute, a member of the United Way of Allegheny County Women’s Leadership Initiative, Committee Member of the Leadership Obligation Group – Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative, a member of the Advisory Board for the School of Business at Robert Morris University, past Board member of POWER and past Board Chair and President of the Highmark eHealth Collaborative.
Scott Greacen is the Director of Application Development for Pitt OhioExpress LLC, a transportation provider for the Mid-Atlantic region. Heoversees Software Development and Business Intelligence Applications. Scotthas been involved with the Autism Speaks' Walk Now for Autism for over nineyears and was instrumental in securing Pitt Ohio Express as a corporatesponsor and team. He also volunteers for the Shaler Area Activities for theHandicapped Program, a community organization for individuals with multipledevelopmental and physical disabilities in northern AlleghenyCounty. Scottand his wife Mary Ellen, reside in Wexford Pennsylvania with their two boysAlec and Ian. Alec age 12 and Ian age 9, are both children with AutismSpectrum Disorder.
Shalako Chesseygrew up in Monroeville and attended GatewayHigh School. After high school Shalako attended RobertMorrisCollege where she received her Bachelors Degree in Business Management. Shalako began her career at FedEx Express in March of 1998, as a part-time courier, and after one year became a full-time courier. In November of 2004, she was promoted to Operations Manager at theVistaPark location and currently still holds that position.In 2005 she obtained her Masters Degree in Business through a masters program held in Pittsburgh through DowlingCollege.Through FedEx, she is involved in charitable functions dealing with United Way, March of Dimes, and Safe Kids.
Susan Seiffis a six-year resident of HamptonTownship residing with her husband Peter and three children: 10-year-old boy-girl twins, Adam and Morgan, who attend ProvidenceHeightsAlphaSchool and a 3-year-old daughter, Emily, who attends North Pittsburgh Children’s HouseMontessoriSchool. Sue’s journey with autism began when Adam received his Asperger’s diagnosis just after his 4th birthday in July of 2002. Sue attended NorwinSenior High School and earned a B.S. with Honors from PennStateUniversity. During her four years at PennState, she was active in the Undergraduate Student Government, serving for two years as Vice President of the Academic Assembly. Upon graduation, she moved to Washington, DC and worked as a Systems Analyst and Project Manager for two computer consulting firms for 10 years. After she and her husband Peter married, they relocated to her hometown, Pittsburgh, where she continued her work in the computer industry as an independent software consultant. Sue has been involved in the community in various ways including: Child Watch of Pittsburgh, Moms Club of Allison Park, Girls Scouts of USA, Lakevue Athletic Club, Walk Now for Autism, UPMC Autism Research, AlphaSchool, and North Pittsburgh Children’s House. For the past two years, Sue has turned her interior design hobby into Easy Elegance Interiors, a part-time business that allows her to work with clients through the process of decorating their homes.