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Presenters:
Susan Askeland graduated from the University of Nebraska with a master’s degree in speech language pathology. She worked for Northwest AEA in Sioux City, Iowa as a Speech Language Pathologist and a member of the Autism Resource Team for 37 years. In 2013 she moved to Eastern Iowa where she worked as an autism consultant for Grant Wood AEA until her retirement in 2017.
Sue continues to be actively involved in the autism community. She is a board member of the Autism Society of Iowa and past board member of the Corridor Autism Resource Expo (CARE) and the Awesome Autism Awareness and Acceptance Art Project. Sue also facilitates several support groups that currently meet on Zoom.
Jenny Brodell, M.A., CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. She also holds an appointment at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics where she participates in interdisciplinary Autism diagnostic evaluations. Jenny has extensive experience working with families and individuals in the area of Autism and pediatrics.
Erika Hertel, MA, is the program manager for the Iowa Regional Autism Assistance Program (RAP) at Child Health Specialty Clinics, with University of Iowa Health Care. She received her BS in Psychology and MA in Counselor Education from the University of Iowa. She is a certified Family Development Specialist through the National Resource Center for Family Centered
Practice and Family Peer Support Specialist through the Iowa Board of Certification. Erika has experience working with children ages 0-21 and their families in a range of programs focused on prevention, family education and support, treatment, and connection to services. She is an ex-officio member of the Iowa Autism Council, serves on the Autism Society of Iowa Board of Directors, and leads the RAP Expert Panel. She is the parent of three young adults, one of whom has autism.
Todd Kopelman, Ph.D., BCBA is a licensed psychologist and a board-certified behavior analyst. He evaluates children, adolescents, and adults for questions about autism spectrum disorder and related neurodevelopmental conditions and provides individual therapy for children and adults as well as parent coaching at Meadowlark Psychiatry.
Before joining Meadowlark, Dr. Kopelman was a Professor in the University of Iowa Hospitals and clinics Department of Psychiatry. He co-directed the hospital’s Autism Center as well as the Day Treatment Program at The Center for Disabilities and Development. He has worked collaboratively with schools across Iowa to support students with behavioral challenges, served as Project Coordinator for three federally funded grants investigating the use of telehealth and young children with Autism, and has co-written several journal articles and book chapters.
Dr. Kopelman is an active board member of the Autism Society of Iowa, including serving as its President, and he has helped organize conferences on several topics related to Autism. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Psychiatry where he continues to teach and mentor graduate students, medical students and psychiatry residents and conducts interdisciplinary autism evaluations.
