Neurodiversity Awareness Day at Columbia University

Juliette Gudknecht

Juliette Gudknecht is an autistic/ADHD graduate student researcher at Teachers College, Columbia University, pursuing a PhD in ID/Autism starting this fall. She received her undergraduate degree in physics and mathematics and will receive her masters degree in applied statistics from Teachers College this spring. Juliette's research interests focus on the experiences of autistic students in educational contexts, and she is specifically interested in the reciprocal effect of academic self concept on academic achievement, specifically in neurodivergent populations. She is also the CEO of her own nonprofit, Autism and Neurodivergency Advocacy Association, aimed at mentoring, educating, and empowering neurodivergent individuals and allies. Juliette is dedicated to using her knowledge and skills to improve the lives of autistic adults and advocating for their rights and well-being.

Ara Bakhteyar

As the Co-founder, Chair, and Co-organizer of Neurodivergent @ Columbia, Ara served as a co-organizer of this event. She is autistic, a full-time wheelchair user, and a master's student in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University. Ara graduated with an undergraduate degree in biophysics from Columbia. She is deeply passionate about advocating for neurodiversity, both in academia and beyond. Ara serves as a Social Impact Fellow at Columbia World Projects for the 2023-2024 term and is completing the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Other Related Disabilities (LEND) fellowship, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Her research focuses on evaluating the transition from pediatric to adult medicine for individuals with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Ara's commitment to ethical research is reflected in her leadership of a multi-center IRB-approved project titled "Neuroengineering Transitions in Bridging Diagnostic Modalities for Adolescents Transitioning from Pediatric to Adult Neural Care." This project explores the intersection of engineering and bioethics, addressing the ethical challenges faced by individuals with intellectual and neurodevelopmental disabilities and emphasizing the importance of adhering to bioethical principles in biomedical engineering research.

​​Professor Liz Pellicano has long been committed to transforming autism science so that it more accurately reflects everyday autistic life. She is Professor of Autism Research at University College London (UCL), having recently been Professor at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. Previously, she was Professor of Autism Education and Director of the Centre for Research in Autism and Education (CRAE) at UCL Institute of Education. Her most recent research, funded by a Future Fellowship from the Australian Research Council, identifies ways to bridge the gap between lab and life and open up research to greater involvement of Autistic people

themselves, with the aim of generating scientific discoveries that bring real benefits to Autistic people and their families.

Patrick is an autistic PhD candidate in developmental psychology in the Neurocognitive Development Lab at the University of California, Davis.  His main research interest sensory processing and attention in autism.  However, Patrick is more broadly interested in anything relevant to the well-being of autistic and neurodivergent people, and he has studied community perspectives regarding intervention and neurodiversity controversies.  Patrick is a co-founder of the Autistic Researchers Committee at the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) and helped to found a neurodivergent peer-support and advocacy community at UC Davis.  He maintains a blog, autisticscholar.com.

Hari is a minimally-speaking autistic and adhder, who recently graduated from UC Berkeley, majoring in psychology and minoring in Disability Studies. At Berkeley, he was lead instructor for a semester-long class on autism, was the first nonspeaking president of the student org, Spectrum at Cal, wrote for the Daily Californian and was an RA at the university Psychology Labs as well as the UC Berkeley Disability Lab. Hari was awarded the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans, a presitigous scholarship which will assist him in pursuing a doctorate in neuroscience at Vanderbilt University, where he plans to conduct more research in autism. He also enjoys music, watching pro sports in addition to learning tennis. He loves creative writing with some of his poems and other work winning awards including a National Award at Carnegie Hall. Hari is passionate about disability advocacy and is a board member of ASAN. Hari was featured on President Obama’s Instagram campaign on the 30th anniversary of ADA.