Yes She Can Honors Four Autism Advocates

Four individuals, including Scarsdale residents Liane Kupferberg Carter and husband Marc Carter, who advocate for and support adults with autism, will be honored by Yes She Can, Inc., a recognized leader in job skills development for young adults with autism and related disabilities. The ceremony will be held at a breakfast on Friday, March 25, 2020, at the Renaissance Westchester Hotel in West Harrison.

Liane Kupferberg Carter is the author of the award-winning memoir, Ketchup Is My Favorite Vegetable: A Family Grows Up With Autism. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, Washington Post, New York Magazine, Chicago Tribune, PBS Next Avenue, and many journals, blogs and book anthologies. She was a recipient of the Autism Science Foundation’s Caryn Schwartzman Spirit Award, which recognizes excellence in autism advocacy. A longtime community activist, she co-founded CHILD, the special education PTA in Scarsdale, and with her husband Marc created the town’s sports league for children with special needs. Liane and Marc are engaged in the expansion of Spectrum Designs, a screen-printing business that employs individuals on the autism spectrum, which opens in Pleasantville this year. Liane has a Master’s in Journalism from New York University and a B.A. in English from Brandeis University. Liane and Marc are parents of two sons, one has autism.

Marc Carter, actively involved in supporting the autism and disabled communities’ efforts to achieve equity status in society, serves on the board of non-profit organizations including Hawthorne Foundation; Foundation For Empowering Citizens With Autism (FECA); NEXT for Neighbors (the housing subsidiary of NEXT for Autism); and Ramapo For Children. He is a member of the Scarsdale District School Board, and serves on the board of the Mount Pleasant Cottage School District and chaired the Scarsdale Village Council on People with Disabilities, where he facilitated the development of the disabled citizen first emergency responder alert form. Retired after a 40-year career in management consulting, he specialized in healthcare information system technology. He has an MBA in accounting from New York University Stern Graduate School of Business Administration, an M.A. in English Literature from University of Chicago and a B.A. in English Literature from Carleton College.

The other honorees are:

Jodi DiPiazza, an 18-year-old student at The New School’s Mannes College of Music Preparatory Division in New York City and the Newmark High School in New Jersey. DiPiazza is building an illustrious career in the field of music, racking up awards as a winner of the Young Composer National Composition Competition 2019, winner of the NYC NATS Classical Singer High School Girl 2019 and a multiple finalist in the ASCAP Young Composers Awards for four years. Her musical prowess was noticed early on and at age 9 she wrote and performed a song “Heroes of Autism” for Toys R Us used in conjunction with a fundraising campaign for Autism Speaks that raised over $3,000,000. In 2012, she performed a duet with pop star Katy Perry on “The Night of Too Many Stars,” televised on Comedy Central. DiPiazza continues to study composition, conducting, voice, music theory, jazz piano, guitar and songwriting. She was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2.

Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D., the executive director of the EPIC School in Paramus, NJ, has for nearly 40 years utilized the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) in support of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders in educational, employment, residential and community-based settings. Author of articles and book chapters on the needs of adolescents and adults with ASD, Dr. Gerhardt has presented nationally and internationally on ABA. He serves as co-chairman of the Scientific Council for the Organization for Autism Research and is on numerous professional advisory boards including the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies. He received his doctorate from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey’s Graduate School of Education.

“We’re delighted to recognize the vast contributions of these honorees,” says Marjorie Madfis, president and executive director, Yes She Can. “They not only demonstrate that people with autism can fulfill their potential, but they have dedicated their lives to ensuring they are included in every aspect of our community.”

For more information about the Awards Breakfast to support Yes She Can’s continuing work, go to https://yesshecaninc.org/aaaa2....

Yes She Can Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization based in Westchester County, NY, dedicated to helping teens and young women with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and related disabilities develop transferable job skills and life skills that will enable them to enter the workforce and retain employment. Yes She Can operates Girl AGain, a resale boutique for refurbished American Girl dolls and accessories in White Plains, NY, as an authentic business and training program site. Yes She Can advocates for inclusion of people with ASD in the workforce and advises others on how to create job skills development programs in their communities. To learn more about Yes She Can, visit https://yesshecaninc.org/.