Linda Laul began her career as a special education teacher and moved into administration for the New York State system supervising residential, day and clinical programs throughout Long Island, NY where she worked for over 19 years.

She joined ADAPT Community Network in July 1990 as the Assistant Executive Director for Day Services. Laul later assumed responsibility for all programs and clinical services as Chief Operating Officer and now leads the organization as Chief Executive Officer of ADAPT Community Network.

Laul received her BS in Education from St. John’s University and her MS in Special Education from Brooklyn College.

Lori Volpe has 40 years’ experience working with adults and children with ASD and other developmental disabilities in educational, residential and vocational settings. In addition to her position with BTI, Lori has worked for agencies in the New York area developing and opening programs for individuals on the autism spectrum, as well as providing consulting services to agencies and schools on Long Island, Westchester, and NYC.

Lori has presented on a variety of topics about supporting people with autism spectrum disorder across the lifespan. Conference presentations have included The Glamour of Garbage, The Hug Machine as Part of a Sensory Diet and A Picture is Worth a 1000 Words: Visual Supports. Lori was trained in TEACCH at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also trained in the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and Social Stories. She holds a BA in Psychology from SUNY at Albany, an MA in Developmental Psychology from Yeshiva University, an MA in School Psychology and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology both from Hofstra University.

Dahlian Porter has worked in the Intellectual Developmental Disabilities field for 26 years. His first job in the field was a Direct Care Worker and currently serves as Chief Program Officer. Porter joined ADAPT 19 years ago. During his tenure at the agency, he has held several key positions as a member of the senior management and executive leadership team.  

As part of his advocacy efforts in 2019, Porter joined the Executive Board of the InterAgency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies, INC. IAC serves over 150 Agency Members and provide services to children and adults in NY State.  In addition, Porter sits on several committees hosted by the Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State.  

He received his Bachelor’s from Dowling College and is a graduate of the National Leadership Consortium on Developmental Disabilities. 

Dorothy Neske is a champion of disability rights. Dee is a strong advocate for her 15-year-old son, Asher, who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder, and intellectual developmental disabilities. More recently, Dee had to take up the challenge of being her own self advocate when she lost her vision at the age of 45. Dee went back to school and earned her master of social work with a concentration and disability studies in 2023. She is available to Guide interactive workshops in a wide variety of disability topics through Person Centered Care Services, where she now works as a disability trainer.

Dr. Mary McDonald is a Professor at Hofstra University where she directs advanced certificate programs and a master’s degree in applied behavior analysis. She serves as the Associate Executive Director for Long Island Programs at Eden II. She has over 30 years’ experience directing programs for students with ASD utilizing the principles of ABA from early intervention through adulthood. She received her Ph.D. in Learning Processes from the CUNY Graduate Center and is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral level and a licensed behavior analyst.

Dr. McDonald currently serves on advisory boards such as QSAC and Accelerations Educational Software. She also serves on the Generative Al Task Force at Hofstra University. She has received awards for her work through the years from NYSABA, ABAI, Eden II Programs, and Hofstra University as well as NYS Assembly awards of distinction from Oyster Bay and Northport. She presents often locally and nationally on topics related to autism, applied behavior analysis, special education and advocacy She currently serves on the Editorial Boards of Behavior Analysis in Practice, Journal of the American Academy of Special Education and Special Education, Research Policy and Practice of which she was a founding member. Dr McDonald has published peer-reviewed articles on topics such as self-management, social reciprocity, PECS, the use of tactile prompts, scripts and semantic mapping and creativity. She also publishes a blog and popular articles to reach a broader audience. Topics such as cognitive flexibility, the effect of trigger words and Universal Design for Learning for students with ASD. She is a regular contributor to medium.com on topics related to autism.

Evalesse Segarra is a dedicated professional with over 13 years of experience supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Of Latin descent and grounded in a strong academic foundation in psychology and disability studies, Evalesse has built her career around advancing equity, inclusion, and self-advocacy within the IDD community. For the past 7 years, she has served in key roles at Person Centered Care Services, more recently an Outreach and Engagement Specialist, where she champions person centered practices and empowers individuals to become active participants in their own lives. Evalesse is deeply committed to systems change, disability justice, and fostering environments that honor dignity, autonomy, and meaningful choice for all.

Emma Biordi is a NYS certified special education teacher currently working at The Eden II Genesis Outreach Autism Center in East Meadow, NY. She holds four professional certifications in teaching and has worked in special education settings across ages, from preschool to adulthood. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Integrated Early Childhood Education at Towson University (Maryland), a masters degree in Early Child Intervention and Special Education, as well as an advanced certificate in Applied Behavioral Analysis from Hofstra University. Emma was a grant recipient at Hofstra University in the Hofstra Early Childhood Intervention Specialist (HECIS) grant program. Additionally, she has been providing behavioral intervention support, self-direction and community habilitation in various communities for ten years. Emma is passionate about working closely with families and practicing/teaching advocacy skills in the school and home setting.