Dr. Lee Burdette Williams has been part of the student affairs profession for nearly three decades, including serving as Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at Wheaton College (MA) and as Dean of Students at the University of Connecticut. Most recently she was the Director of Collegiate Partnerships for Mansfield Hall in Burlington, VT, where she provided training for colleges and universities seeking to improve their services to students on the Autism Spectrum.
Dr. Brad Cox is an Associate Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education (HALE) at Michigan State University and Founder of the nonprofit College Autism Network (CAN). His most recent scholarship focuses on the ways personal characteristics and institutional environments affect college students with disabilities, particularly those on the autism spectrum. More broadly, Dr. Cox’s studies explore factors that shape college experiences and outcomes for student populations often overlooked within higher education, including racially minoritized students, transfer students, adults, students facing difficult life events, and first-generation college students. Alongside Dr. Brett Ranon Nachman, Dr. Cox directs the Postsecondary Education: Autistic Collegians’ Experiences of Success (PEACES) project.
Dr, Brittany L. Jackson serves as the Director of Training and Technology for the College Autism Network and is the Disability Services Coordinator at Hiram College. Brittany is neurodiverse (autism, ADHD, and anxiety) and developed Hiram College’s Power of Neurodiversity Project which highlights neurodiverse individuals within the campus and community. Through this project and with funding from the Hiram Community Trust, she has established Hiram’s first sensory room. She has an Ed.D. in educational leadership studies from Ashland University (Ashland, OH), which she earned in 2022. Her research focuses on autism and neurodiversity in higher education, Universal Design for Learning, leadership, higher education, technology, training, and disability studies. Brittany received her bachelor of arts in theatre and communication in 2004 and her master of arts in interdisciplinary studies with a focus in education and psychology, specifically autism in higher education, in 2015 from Hiram College (Hiram, OH). She earned a certificate in autism spectrum disorders from Kent State University (Kent, OH) in 2019. Brittany also serves on the Board of the Hiram Living and Learning Community.
Dr. Brett Ranon Nachman is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education at the University of Pittsburgh and serves as CAN’s Director of Research, in which he organizes CANVAS webinars, facilitates the CANVAS list-serv, and spearheads other research-related efforts. Along with Dr. Bradley E. Cox, Brett spearheads the Spencer Foundation-funded “Postsecondary Education: Autistic Collegians’ Experiences of Success (PEACES)” national study of autistic college students. Brett’s scholarship primarily focuses on the portrayals and experiences of autistic college students, as well as issues around community college access, equity, and transfer. He has been published in venues including The Review of Higher Education, Community College Review, Journal of College Student Development, and Innovative Higher Education. Brett’s research interests stem from his own background as an autistic community college graduate.
