James N. Bouder is the Chief Operating Officer of The Vista School® and The Vista Foundation®, and serves as the Director of Collaboration and Development of the Central Pennsylvania Regional Autism Center. In 2004, he served as the Chairman of the Pennsylvania Autism Task Force’s Funding Streams Subcommittee and was the primary author of the Subcommittee’s Final Recommendations. He is also a principal author of the Pennsylvania Autism Insurance Act (Act 62 of 2008) pertaining to private health insurance coverage for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, which has become a national model for autism coverage across the United States, with similar laws enacted in Florida, Louisiana, and Illinois. Mr. Bouder is published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders and the Speaker’s Journal of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Susan Calhoun, Ph.D. has a PhD and National Certification in School Psychology and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. Dr. Calhoun is a licensed psychologist and provides diagnostic services and psychological testing. Dr. Calhoun, together with Dr. Mayes, has established a research dataset of over 2,000 children with clinical disorders, including autism, and 700 typical children. She has numerous research publications on assessment and child clinical disorders, including autism, and served on the DPW Autism Task Force Rural Subcommittee. Dr. Calhoun will co-chair the Applied Research Committee.
Shiyoko Cothren, M.H.A., is the Program Director for the Central Region ASERT Center. She has a Masters in Healthcare Administration and serves as Operations Director for the Department of Psychiatry at Penn State Hershey. Ms. Cothren has responsibility for all departmental budgets, human resources and daily operations. With experience in basic science and clinical research, she now focuses on research budget activities and developing clinical programs. Ms. Cothren is an Instructor in Psychiatry and provides the administrative elective experience for the adult psychiatry residency program.
Michael Fueyo, M.D. is a board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist and is the Director of Philhaven’s Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities. Dr. Fueyo has experience in the inpatient and outpatient treatment of serious emotional and behavioral problems in individuals with developmental disorders, particularly autism. He has a strong commitment to the training of the next generation of developmental specialists as well as to the creation of systems of care to meet the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Dr. Fueyo will chair the Clinical Committee and represent Philhaven on the Executive Committee.
Susan Mayes, Ph.D. is Chief Psychologist and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Penn State Hershey. Dr. Mayes is a certified school psychologist, licensed psychologist, and former elementary and special education teacher. She has 35 years experience with children who have autism. Dr. Mayes has evaluated over 1,500 children with autism in her diagnostic clinic. She has published over 60 articles on the diagnosis, treatment, and psychological functioning of children with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders and has published diagnostic instruments, including the Checklist for Autism in Young Children. Dr. Mayes was a member of the Department of Public Welfare (DPW) Autism Assessment and Diagnosis Expert Work Group and a member of the Assessment Work Group jointly sponsored by DPW and PA Department of Education (PDE). Dr. Mayes is also the autism spokesperson in the autism awareness DVD developed by DPW and PDE. Dr. Mayes will co-chair the Education and Outreach Committee
Michael Murray M.D. is Acting Division Director of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and Medical Director of Child & Adolescent Services at Penn State Hershey. He oversees the Developmental Disorders Clinic, which offers evaluation and assessments, as well as, ongoing treatment for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Murray’s clinical research seeks to enhance social skills functioning and to increase facial processing abilities in children with autism. Dr. Murray will represent Penn State on the Executive Committee and co-chair the Applied Research Committee.
Heather Purichia, Ph.D. has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and is the Director of the Education, Health Services, Outcomes Research Division (EHSORD) in the Department of Psychiatry at Penn State College of Medicine. Her current research, funded by the Woodward Endowment, focuses on the development of web-based and non-linear training environments as an a effective, efficient manner to develop and enhance professional skill and expertise, as well as provide much needed education and training to practitioners in rural settings. The EHSORD, under Dr. Purichia’s direction, has piloted and collected outcome data on a telepsychiatry project that provides training and direct psychiatric patient consultation to mental health providers in Tioga County. Dr. Purichia will co-chair the Education and Outreach Committee.
Kirsten Yurich, BCBA is the Clinical Director of The Vista Foundation and The Vista School. She has been involved with the Vista organization for over five years. Kirsten received her Bachelor’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from Lock Haven University and her Master’s Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Penn State Harrisburg. Kirsten has provided a variety of behaviorally based services to children with autism and their families across school, community and home environments. As the Clinical Director of Vista, she has been providing effective, research-based treatments to individuals with autism and their families. Ms. Yurich is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has presented at professional conferences such as the American Psychological Association and Association for Behavior Analysis International. Prior to working with children with autism, she supervised a variety of programs supporting adults living with chronic mental illness across a variety of treatment settings including inpatient hospitals, residential facilities and outpatient clinics. Currently, Ms. Yurich is conducting research on joint attention skills in young children with autism spectrum disorders. She has published an article on using fluency instruction for students with autism in Intervention in School and Clinic (in press) as well as completing a chapter on the use of the Standard Celeration Chart. Other research interests include organizational behavior management and staff training, functional analysis and teaching with acoustical guidance. Ms. Yurich will chair the Training Committee.