Leadership Team
Erik Brenner
Director of Diversity Initiatives & Engagement, Office of the Dean
Gregory D Abowd
Dean of the College of Engineering, Office of the Dean
Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Affiliated Faculty, Health Sciences
Affiliated Faculty, Khoury College of Computer Sciences
g.abowd@northeastern.edu
Richard Harris
Associate Dean, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Diversity Programs
Director of NU Program in Multicultural Engineering, NUPRIME
Affiliated Faculty, Department of Africana Studies, College of Social Sciences & Humanities
617.373.5904
ri.harris@northeastern.edu
Team support
Micheal John Carley
Core Faculty
m.carley@northeastern.com
The Neurodiversity Initiative at Northeastern University’s College of Engineering is pleased to announce the hiring, as part-time Core Faculty, of Michael John Carley, one of the world’s most well-known autistics working in the field. Michael John runs New York University’s Connections Program for Global Students with Autism, and is the author of “Asperger’s From the Inside-Out” (2008, Penguin/Perigee), “Unemployed on the Autism Spectrum” (2016, JKP), “The Book of Happy, Positive, and Confident Sex for Adults on the Autism Spectrum…and Beyond!” (2021, Neurodiversity Press), and dozens of articles for the Huffington Post, Autism Spectrum News, and many others.
Additionally he is the Editor-in-Chief of Neurodiversity Press, the Neurodiversity and Leadership Advisor for Walpole’s League School for Autism, the Board Advisor for EPIC Players (disability theatre company), the Special Advisor for Neurodiversity to The Ed Factory, a Core Faculty member of LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) at Stonybrook University, the neurodiversity representative at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, a member of the Leadership Committee for the ALICE (United Way) Initiative on Disabilities, and a reviewer for the Journal of Autism and other Developmental Disorders.
Between 2003 and 2013, as the Founder and first Executive Director of the Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership (GRASP), at the time the largest membership organization in the world that was comprised of adults on the autism spectrum, he spoke at over 100 conferences, hospitals, universities, and health care organizations. As the Executive Director of the Asperger Syndrome Training & Employment Partnership (ASTEP, now “Integrate”) from 2011-2014, he spoke at conferences focusing on Human Resources, Corporate Diversity & Inclusion, and he conducted numerous trainings and webinars for individual Fortune 1000 companies.
In a prior career he was a playwright in New York, while by day he was an NGO representative at the United Nations wherein he conducted projects in Cuba, Bosnia, and in Iraq (before the invasion). Along with his then- (and then-only) four year-old son, he was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in 2000. Later re-evaluated under DSM-5 in 2014 he was diagnosed as autistic. He is married to the Public News Service journalist, Kathryn Carley, and they have two sons. One of whom is now a Freshman soccer goalie at Bentley University and the other currently can’t decide whether to conduct his remote position in Buenos Aires or Montreal.
Alexia Dinis
Project Coordinator
a.dinis@northeastern.edu
Alexia Dinis is the Project Coordinator of the Neurodiversity Initiative. She has years of experience within the Education field, which aided in developing time management, multitasking, and organizational skills. She graduated from Framingham State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology. Also earning a Google certification in Project Management, this influenced her transition into project coordination. Alexia currently focuses on supporting the Initiative’s mission, while building and managing projects to support neurodiverse inclusive environments and partnerships.
Michael Lewis
Student Support Specialist
mich.lewis@northeastern.edu
Michael Lewis is the Student Support Specialist at the Neurodiversity Initiative. He has a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Boston College, where his studies focused on building rapport with students in order to improve educational and social-emotional improvement in students. Michael does the direct student facing work for the Neurodiversity Initiative, which includes supporting students with executive functioning, Co-Op support, and organizing community events for students on campus.