Program Directors

Meet Our Program Directors

Abby Marden

Program Director - Tulane University

Abby is an undergraduate at Tulane University studying Psychology and Early Childhood Education with a Minor in Art History. She is one of the Program Directors for ACEing Autism at Tulane, which she has been involved with since her freshman year. She is originally from New York City and will be studying in Rome this upcoming Spring. She...

Adrienne & Matthew Bransky

Program Directors – University of Texas at Dallas

Matthew Bransky Matthew is a rising Freshman at Purdue University pursing a degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering. He launched the Dallas Program when he was a junior in high school and continues to co-direct during the summers. With a younger brother on the autistic spectrum, Matthew has always looked for ways to help others...

AJ Song

Program Director - Yorba Linda, CA

Andrew J. Song was born in Dallas, Texas and is currently a sophomore attending Yorba Linda Highschool in Southern California. He is also a member of the varsity tennis team and is a competitive tennis player who has a passion for the game and competes in tournaments regularly. Whenever he is not training at Matchpoint...

Alexander Brandt

Program Director - Durham NC

Alexander Brandt is a senior at Durham Academy in Durham, NC. He has been playing tennis since he was five years old and plays on his high school team and in junior tournaments. Alexander has a younger cousin on the Autism spectrum and has been looking for ways to merge his love of tennis and...

Alicia Bullock

Program Director - UNC Charlotte, NC

Alicia is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a life-long tennis lover. While tennis was a mainstay throughout high school and college, learning how to be a therapist became the most important part of life in graduate school. While in college, Alicia learned about the awesome therapy being done with individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum...

Alyssa Migliorini

Program Director - North Haven, CT

Alyssa Migliorini is a Speech Language Pathologist at a local special education school. She specializes in working with children of all ages on the autism spectrum. Alyssa was a two-time CT All-State singles tennis player at North Haven High School. She also played D1 college tennis at Sacred Heart University as an undergraduate student and...

Amy Bonner

Program Director - Powder Springs, Ga

Amy is the Facility Manager and Director of Tennis at Lost Mountain Tennis Center in Powder Springs, Ga. Amy is a former Division I student-athlete and collegiate coach. She has been a PTR certified pro for fifteen years. She received her B.S. in Sport Management and Business as well as her M.S. in Kinesiology from...

Anna Catherine Henley

Program Director - Charlotte Latin School

Anna Catherine Henley is currently a junior at Charlotte Latin School, and plays on the Latin tennis team. She has grown up playing tennis, and is excited to share her love of tennis with others. As a previous volunteer the clinics were and are the highlight of her Saturdays. AC recently chaired Charlotte’s Charity Cup...

Anshu Sharma

Program Director - Houston

I was born and raised in India. I started playing Tennis when I was in the middle school and played tennis all the way till college. I did my Bachelors in India and came to USA 15 years ago. Did not get a chance to get back to tennis due to family and work until...

Ashleigh McLean

Regional Program Director - New England

Ashleigh McLean grew up playing tennis in the summers at a small club in Plymouth, MA and continued playing through college while attending Bryant University in Smithfield, RI. Upon graduation from Bryant, Ashleigh earned her Master’s Degree in Corporate Communications from Gonzaga University and worked in marketing for the adidas Group in Canton, MA for...

Bob Mayerhofer

Program Director - Staatsburg, NY

Bob Mayerhofer has been the girls’ and boys’ tennis coach at FD Roosevelt HS, in Hyde Park NY, Since 1980. When Bob introduced the Aceing Autism program to his tennis team , the student athletes at FDR eagerly signed on as volunteer coaches for the children. Aceing Autism in Hyde Park is currently in its 5th...

Bob Migliorini

Program Director - North Haven, CT

Bob Migliorini is an avid tennis player and has coached children from ages 5 to 22 for over fifteen years. He is the Head Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT and the Girls Varsity Tennis Coach at North Haven High School, which provides the program with a great...

Brian Browne

Program Director - Elk Grove, CA

Coach Browne has coached high school tennis for 12 years and works as a special education teacher at Laguna Creek High School. He also played college tennis at Modesto Junior College and California State University, Stanislaus. He worked for the National Junior Tennis Program in Oakland, California for three years. He was born in Sydney,...

Celina Cerf

Program Director - Ann Arbor, MI

Celina Cerf is a speech-language pathologist who specializes in the evaluation and treatment of children with autism spectrum disorders. She is an integral member of the STEPS early intervention program for children with autism at the University of Michigan Health System. Celina enjoys facilitating social opportunities for children with ASD and is excited to connect children through...

Chad Periman

Program Director - Stuart, FL

I am the program director for the Stuart Florida ACEing Autism chapter, and the proud father of two sons. Erich, my youngest was diagnosed with a form of Autism at the age of five. As a parent of a child on the Autism spectrum, I know that finding opportunities for positive, healthy outdoor activities are always...

Chandler Semjen

Program Director - The Longfellow Club

Chandler has been a part of the ACEing Autism community since 2009. Over his eight years with the program, he has held several roles including program volunteer, chapter originator, and most recently program director. Chandler first got involved with ACEing Autism through the Weymouth program as a high schooler. A few years later, while attending...

Charlie Humes

Program Director - Johns Hopkins Uni

Craig Marshall

Program Director - Parker, CO

Craig Marshall, a native Coloradoan, has led a very active lifestyle. Playing many team sports as a youngster, he didn’t discover tennis until high school. He quickly became hooked on the sport and has played, taught and coached tennis for over 42 years. Craig played collegiate tennis at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. It was here,...

Donald Widener

Program Director - Williamsburg, VA

Elise Joshi

Program Director - Mountain View, CA

Elise Joshi is currently a junior at Mountain View High School. She has played tennis for over 10 years and competes in tournaments regularly. With an interest in neuroscience, ACEing Autism is the perfect opportunity for her to combine her two passions. She is launching her first program at Mountain View this Fall and is...

Elizabeth Meyer

Program Director - Shrewsbury, MA

Ellie is a second year at UMass Medical School. She minored in neuroscience and before medical school, she worked as an assistant teacher at a school for children with Autism. She loves spending time with kids and fellow volunteers!

Elizabeth Tkachenko

Program Director - Shrewsbury, MA

Lizzy is a second year medical student at UMass and has played tennis her whole life. Having worked at the Lurie Autism Clinic at MGH during her undergraduate years, getting involved with ACEing Autism was the perfect combination of Lizzy’s clinical interests and lifelong hobby. She loves working with the kids each week and seeing...

Emily Weber

Program Director - Ladue, MO

I grew up in St Louis Missouri playing tennis. I got my love for the sport from my Dad who played all the time. I have been substitute teaching in special needs classrooms for the last couple years and I love working with those special kiddos. Aceing Autism was a perfect fit for my me...

Erica & Andrew Grub

Program Directors - Midtown Athletic Club

Andrew Grub Andrew is an excellent seventh-grade student at Falcon Cove Middle School. He loves spending his summers at Camp Blue Star in Hendersonville, North Carolina, which he has attended for the past 4 years. Andrew is passionate about tennis and has played at Midtown Athletic Club in Weston, Florida for many years. In addition, he...

Gary Bertoldo

Program Director - Niceville, FL

Gary is an Australian native who moved to the US to play college tennis at 18 years of age. A graduate of Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina, Gary held a winning record in college tennis for singles and doubles. He graduated with a degree in Business and has held tennis positions in the Hamptons,...

Hannah Case

Program Director - Tulane University

My name is Hannah Case and I’m originally from Orlando, Florida. I’m a junior at Tulane University majoring in Biological Chemistry and minoring in Psychology. I’ve been working with children on the Autism Spectrum for 5 years and am glad that I am able to continue this work through ACEing Autism. After graduating from Tulane I hope to attend medical school and become...

Harvey Rubin

Program Director - UCLA

After a brief 40 yr career as a motion picture cameraman, Harvey became a USPTA certified instructor in 2005, from 2004-2012 Harvey was a photographer on the ATP/WTA tours. In 2010 Harvey, quite by accident, discovered ACEing Autism. Harvey was and is still completely captivated with the concept of tennis as a therapeutic tool for...

Jamie Fu

Program Director - Novi, MI

Jamie Fu is a senior at Novi High School who has been an avid tennis player since she was 10. After discovering ACEing Autism through an article in TENNIS magazine, she became inspired to bring the program to her community in Michigan. As 1 Singles and captain for the varsity tennis team as well as...

Jarrod Liston

Program Director - La Costa, CA

Originally from Albury, Australia, Jarrod Liston has spent his past six years in the U.S. playing and teaching tennis. Jarrod played college tennis at Midwestern State University where he started in singles and doubles and captained the team for three years, helping lead them to two NCAA Division 2 Quarter Finals. At Midwestern State, he...

Joey Snell

Program Director - La Costa, CA

Justin Belisario

Chief Operating Officer

Justin was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. He received his BA in Neuroscience from the Johns Hopkins University where he also played Division III tennis for a nationally ranked program. He went on to work for Kaiser Permanente for 5 years until he decided to pursue a medical degree. He earned his MD...

Karen Schaffner

Program Director - Rio Ranco, NM

Karen Schaffner was a full time PTR instructor and tennis director at tennis clubs in Florida and New Mexico teaching all ages and skill levels until 2015. As of Fall of 2015 she has worked in Adapted Physical Education and started teaching students with various disabilities in the Public School District. During the tennis unit,...

Katie Harris

Program Director - Kansas City

Katie Harris was born in St. Louis, however, ventured on to Kansas City in 2000. She started playing tennis when she was 9 years old and other then a few injury breaks here and there, never stopped playing. Katie began coaching in St. Louis and then later brought that coaching to the Kansas City area...

Kevin Springer

Program Director - Costa Mesa, CA

Coach Kevin has over 15 years of coaching experience working with children of all ages and backgrounds. The saying, ‘it takes one to know one’ is true when it comes to Coach Kevin. He is a big kid himself and really connects with the kids he coaches.

Loriane Favoretto

Program Director - Auburn, Al

Lori is currently working on her Phd at Auburn University. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Health and Physical Education (Adapted Sports) from Columbus State University. Her research interests focus on motor development in children with Autism and other disabilities. Lori was born in Brazil and has been playing tennis for the past...

Mason Vierra

Program Director - Wayland, MA

Mason grew up in Monterey, California, where he spent his time hiking, kayaking, paddle boarding, and playing tennis. He graduated from Vanderbilt University in 2017 where he studied Public Policy, Financial Economics, and Corporate Strategy, and also played on the Division 1 Tennis Team. After accepting a job in Boston following graduation, he started off...

Matthew Miller

Program Director - Providence, RI

Matthew has been playing tennis since he was four years old. After playing USTA junior tennis in high school, he is currently the president of the men’s club tennis team at Brown University. He has worked as a tennis coach at both the Steve Adamson Tennis Academy and Tierrasanta Tennis Club in San Diego, CA....

Matthew Trytell

Program Director at Westway Sports and Fitness Centre

Matthew Trytell brings his tennis experience in America to Westway Sports and Fitness Centre. Previously a collegiate tennis team player, Matthew has been involved in tennis for the past 4 years coaching in schools and in the developmental pathway and also heads up the Disability tennis program at the Westway Matthew has developed his coaching...

Maureen Migliorini

Program Director - North Haven, CT

Maureen Fay Migliorini is not a tennis player herself, but is married to an avid tennis player and coach (Bob Migliorini). Maureen received her Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and Business from the College of New Rochelle and her MBA from University of Connecticut. Maureen spent 25 years working in the employer benefits industry....

Miles Vidreiro

Regional Program Director - New York

Miles brought ACEing Autism to NYC in 2013. He has a master’s degree from Columbia University in Health and Beahvioral Studies of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities and Autism. He has a BCBA certification from Penn State and works full-time as a teacher at the Eden Autism school in Princeton, NJ. He was a NCAA Division...

Neeraj Pandita

Program Director - Columbus, IN

Neeraj Pandita was born in Columbus, Indiana. He lived in Tennessee and the United Kingdom before returning to Columbus. He is currently a high school senior at Columbus East High School and plans to attend an undecided four-year university. Neeraj has been been playing tennis since he was 8 years old and plays for his high school tennis team. He...

Nicole Jacobs

Nicole Jacobs, a.k.a. Ms. Nicki, is a South Florida native coming from a tennis family. She has 3 children of her own who actively play on the USTA circuit in South Florida and who are always on the court with her to share their passion with the children. She is a special education teacher at...

Nils Weldy

Marketing Director and Regional Program Director - North Carolina & Georgia

Nils is the Director of Marketing and Community Development for ACEing Autism. In this role he focuses on developing our marketing, communications, fundraising and development activities.

Pam Rende

Program Director - Philadelphia

Pam has been playing tennis since she was 5 years old. A multi sport athlete, her love of racquet sports always brought her back to tennis. Pam enjoys studying the biomechanics of Sport and teaching it in an understandable manner. She has taught tennis for 15+ years ages 3 to 89 from Beginners to National...

Rachel Bowden

Program Director - Columbus, Ohio

Rachel was born and raised in Naples, FL in a big tennis family, as both her parents played professionally. Although she grew up around tennis and taught some in high school, she focused on volleyball and track all through middle and high school and was president of the women’s club volleyball team at her alma mater Elon...

Riley Newman

Program Director - Seattle

I was born and raised on Whidbey island, Washington. I have five sisters and a little brother. Growing up I played all the sports with my family, and was very fortunate to earn a athletic scholarship to play college tennis at Seattle u. I ended competing at number 1 singles and doubles by my senior...

Sara Longo

Regional Program Director - Mid-West

Sara holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a French Language minor from Allegheny College, where she played on and captained the women’s tennis team. At Allegheny, she started volunteering with the local Autism Society and quickly found a passion for working with children with autism.

Sue Beatty-Hites

Program Director - Atlanta

Sue Beatty-Hites grew up playing junior tennis in Northern California. Sue attended University of San Diego on a full tennis scholarship and graduated with a BA in Sociology. She also competed at the professional level. Sue began teaching tennis in Sonoma, CA before moving to Southern California. While Director of Tennis for the City of...

Tom Tvedt

Program Director - USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, NY

Currently working at the USTA BJK National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows as an Instructor and Tournament Director. Also, Tournament Director for the City Parks Summer Series of tournaments. Served on various USTA Eastern committees. Enjoying serving as the Program Director for the Aceing Autism Program at Flushing Meadows. Tom played collegiate tennis at Wagner College...

Support Us

Make a safe and secure PayPal donation to ACEing Autism and help us continue our mission.

EIN: #26-2688140