President
Chris Sabis

Attorney, Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison

Chris heads Sherrard Roe Voigt & Harbison's Government Compliance & Investigations group. Chris concentrates his practice in the areas of Government Investigations and Litigation. He has extensive experience in False Claims Act (FCA) matters involving allegations of healthcare and procurement fraud, white-collar fraud investigations, commercial litigation, and government investigations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs). Chris has significant experience in the mediation of FCA cases and is a Rule 31 Listed General Civil Mediator by the Tennessee Supreme Court. He also has advised clients on provisions of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the CARES Act, including emergency leave provisions and the Paycheck Protection Program enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chris earned his J.D. at Georgetown University Law Center, where he was Senior Notes Editor of the Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in History and Political Science from the University of Rochester.

Active in the community, Chris is the a member of the Honorary Board of Stars, a non-profit that provides prevention, intervention, treatment, and training programs addressing bullying, substance abuse, violence, and social and emotional barriers to success in Tennessee schools. He is the Secretary of the Board of Directors of Autism Tennessee and the Environmental Sustainability Chair for the Rotary Club of Nashville. Chris has been an Adjunct Professor of Law at Belmont University. He enjoys hockey, theater, and spending time with his wife and two young boys.

"I remember when my son received his diagnosis – the sorrow, the confusion, the fear. It was an AutismTN program that allowed us to begin coping and working toward providing him the services he needed. I want to help ensure the continued existence and growth of this programming to help other parents in the same position."

Past President
Dr. Darrell Gwaltney, Jr.

Dean & H. Franklin Paschall Chair of Biblical Studies and Preaching Ph.D.

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; M.A., University of Missouri-Kansas City; M.Div., Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; B.A., Missouri Baptist College; Additional Studies: Regent's Park College, University of Oxford 

I came to Belmont to serve as dean for the College of Theology and Christian Ministry in 2004 and was named the H. Franklin Paschall Chair of Biblical Studies and Preaching in 2012. I also serve as the Director of the Moench Center for Church Leadership.

I teach biblical studies, theology, worship and preaching, and church leadership classes whenever I can get away from the administrative duties of my job as dean. I love students and conversations with people about faith and life as we think deeply and purposefully about how to be best prepared for the work God has called us to do.

In addition to my classroom and administrative responsibilities, I have an active ministry working in local churches. I serve as an intentional interim and work in leadership development roles for churches. Working in churches helps me be better prepared for the classroom.

Serving as dean for the College of Theology and Christian Ministry at Belmont is particularly fulfilling because of the wide variety of denominational backgrounds and vocational interests among the students. Our students imagine themselves serving in churches and community non-profits, as musicians and doctors, artists and lawyers, and pastors and missionaries. It is exciting to serve here because everyone walks a somewhat different path of faithfulness.

The faculty and students in the College of Theology and Christian Ministry form a community of people who are seeking to understand God’s claim upon their lives. I believe I am privileged to work with such faithful colleagues and students.

I am an avid St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan, a lover of books, an erstwhile programmer, gardener, and big fan of my wife of 36 years, Donna, my daughter Meghan and her husband, Alvaro, my daughter Jordan, and my son Trey.

Vice President
Paul Wydra

Chief Development Officer - AOS/Sigma Pi

Paul Wydra - Paul has worked at Middle Tennessee State University for over 15 years now. He is the Director of Development Initiates and works with fundraising efforts for the James E. Walker Library, the Honors College, University College and special events, special projects and affinity groups. Prior to working in the development office, he was the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations for over 10 years. In that position, he worked with Alumni Affinity Groups, Young Alumni, the alumni scholarship program and organized events all throughout Tennessee and out-of-state. MTSU is the second largest undergraduate university in Tennessee with over 21,000 students and has almost 140,000 living alumni. 

Paul received his Master of Education degree in Higher Education - Management & Supervision from MTSU in August of 2011. Paul is currently the Vice President on the board and has been involved in AutismTN for over two years and loves the people he works with on the board and on staff. His mother is a retired special education teacher, who for years worked directly with special needs children and autistic children.

Treasurer

Walt Hovious

Accountant, Pilot.com

Walt is an accountant at Pilot.com and a member of the Tennessee bar. He studied at the Saint Louis University School of Law and Belmont University. He is Treasurer of the Board of Directors of Autism Tennessee. He lives in Bellevue with his wife Casey and their son, Gabriel.

Walt is interested in the furtherance of laws and workplace accommodations that assist those on the autism spectrum.

Secretary
Babs Tierno, M.Ed

Deputy Director, TN Strong Families and Homes, Department of Disability and Aging

Babs Tierno serves as the Deputy Director of TN Strong Families and Homes at the Tennessee Department Disability and Aging. In her role, she focuses on the cross-section of children in DCS custody who also have an intellectual or developmental disability. Her projects include TN Strong Families HRA, which is a program providing additional funding and support for foster parents to stabilize the foster placements for children with IDD, and TN Strong Homes, which provides medically-complex community-based placement options for children in custody with disabilities who would otherwise be maintained in a hospital setting due to their unique needs. Her efforts combine many years of experience in the disability world, and juvenile court setting, to maximize outcomes for this unique population.

Ms. Tierno has Bachelor degrees in Psychology, Sociology: Criminal Justice, and Interdisciplinary Legal Studies from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and her Master's degree in Education from Middle Tennessee State University. She has more than 15 years of non-profit experience. Prior to joining the Board of Directors, Ms. Tierno served as the Executive Director of Autism Tennessee for many years.

"I serve on the Board of Directors at AutismTN because I am passionate about maximizing independence and autonomy for marginalized populations. In the case of autism, I have a personal connection to the programs and advocacy work because we are creating opportunities for families like mine to normalize seeing themselves in their community working, living, and playing in the same way typical families participate." Ms. Tierno’s personal connection to autism is raising two sons who are on the autism spectrum."

Dr Tina Boni, LPC-S, LBS
Doctor of Psychology

Dan Beuerlein
Managing Director, Brentwood Capital Advisors

Daniel Byrdsong
Operating Partner, Graham Capital Healthcare

Sandeep Chauhan
Managing Director, Dreymoor Fertilizers Overseas

Sandeep Chauhan comes from a business family based in Rohtak, a city in Northern State of India, Haryana. However, his ambition to carve out a niche for himself, on his own, he decided to move to Moscow, Russia to pursue higher studies in engineering. Given his family business background, he has an innate ability to identify business trends and opportunities. He decided to join the bulk commodity trading industry post his engineering graduation.

Today he is one of the most successful executives running a billion-dollar trading company as the CEO and Managing Director. Amongst his many notable industry achievements, he was also conferred the ‘Haryana Gaurav Samman’, highest honor of the state by the state government in 2017 for his contributions to the business world.

Life has its own way of balancing. He moved his family of two young kids and wife to USA in 2014 to provide better education facilities and medical treatment required for special needs within the family. Autism cause is very close to heart, and he has been involved in many initiatives in India. His personal foundation in India is engaged with special needs schools, providing access to experts and funding. The Foundation helps the institutions dedicated to the cause with latest research-based teaching methods. It's working with panel of experts to deploy the programs and develop a sustainable network of experts.

Desiree Dyer
Senior Director of Services and Grant Operations, Upper Mattaponi Tribe

Desiree Dyer joined the board of Autism TN in early in 2023 as an Autistic Self-Advocate after volunteering as a Sensory Friendly Event Partner. Every other month she continues to host Online Bingo, a new group for Girls on the Spectrum ages 13+ for Autism TN, and is excited about the possibility of working on a podcast about Autistic culture. Desiree was diagnosed late in life at the age of 43 and considers it the moment her life changed for the better. When not doing advocacy work in the disability community, you can find her hard at work at her full-time job as IT Systems Administrator for the Nashville Symphony. On Sunday mornings you can find her at her part-time job as AV Coodinator at Second Presbyterian Church, creating graphics, generating links for worship services and other events, and running the live stream. To top it all off, Desiree is also an active citizen of the Upper Mattaponi Nation. She was recently elected to serve a 4-year term as a Legislative Representative on the Upper Mattaponi Tribal Council. She also serves on the Governance and Administration Steering Committee as well as the Economic Development Steering Committee after previously serving on the Constitution Committee that created a new and robust government for the tribe as a sovereign nation.

Desiree is has been married to her partner, Ben Vos, for 10 years and loves being stepmom to his teen daughter, a student at Hume-Fogg Academic High School. In her rare and closely guarded free time, Desiree loves to sip wine out on her porch when the weather is nice, trains as a power-lifter, loves to participate in the Second Presbyterian Church women’s book club, “Dancing on the Edge,” attends as many shows as possible at the Schermerhorn, and seeks out opportunities to smash the patriarchy.

Cindy Hickman, EdD, OTD, OTR/L, SIPT, CLT, LANA
Academic Fieldwork Coordinator, Assistant Professor - Belmont University

Cindy Hickman serves as the academic fieldwork coordinator and assistant professor for the Doctor of Occupational Therapy program at Belmont University. Cindy graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Western Kentucky University, her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy and Doctor of Occupational Therapy from Belmont University. She recently earned her Doctor of Education from Trevecca Nazarene University with an emphasis in leadership and professional practice. She has 22 years of occupational therapy practice experience in educational and clinical settings. Her clinical experience includes serving pediatric clients in the school, early intervention and the outpatient settings, she has also worked in the oncological setting working with patients with breast cancer. She is a certified children’s yoga and mindfulness teacher. Her research interests include sensory processing, anxiety and the impact on occupational performance.

Dr. Theodora Pinnock
Assistant Professor and Associate Dean, Meharry Medical College

Theodora Phea Pinnock's, MD serves as Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Meharry Medical College where she teaches and trains medical students and residents, and provides developmental and behavioral assessments and treatment. In 2018, she became the Assistant Dean of Admissions. In 2019, she became Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Admissions, where she oversees medical school admissions and assists student with non-academic issue.

Mischa Rowland
Manager, HR Business Partner, Cardinal Health

Mischa Rowland is a HR Business Partner for Cardinal Healthcare. Mrs. Rowland has been in human resources for more than 15 years with various companies in the Nashville TN area. Mrs. Rowland has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Spring Hill College and a Master’s Degree in I/O Psychology from MTSU. Mrs. Rowland lives in Nashville with her husband, daughter (11), and son (9) who was diagnosed with Autism at 4 years old. Along with AutismTN, Mrs. Rowland serves on the boards for Schrader Lane Childcare Center and Nashville Classical Charter School each that has a focus on quality education for a diverse community.

I am excited to join the AutismTN board. I have spent my career and personal life helping individuals to grow and develop to their fullest potential and making sure they have the tools and resources to do so. I have never let an autism diagnosis stop me from seeing the full potential in my son. I will continue to advocate for him and children like him to ensure they are able to participate wholeheartedly in the communities that they love. I am appreciative that AutismTN is another way to bring important tools, resources, programs and camaraderie to others who are members of the Autistic community and those who advocate for the Autistic community.

Dr. David Spielman, PhD, MSN, PMHNP
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner, Quirkiatry

Dr. Spielman is very excited to serve on the AutismTN Board of Directors to support the organization's important work providing programs, resources, and community for autistics and frequently refers his patients and friends to AutismTN to get involved as participants in their activities and as volunteers. He is a board certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University's Master of Science in Nursing program and has experience in inpatient and outpatient treatment settings, having worked effectively with a wide range of mental health conditions and symptom presentations. Prior to entering the mental healthcare field, Dr. Spielman earned a PhD in English and taught for a decade at Penn State. He often leverages his teaching background when empowering clients to collaborate with him in making well-informed decisions about how to best manage their treatment needs. In addition to working with FACTS, Dr. Spielman serves on the Board of Directors for the Nashville Psychotherapy Institute and maintains his own innovative specialty practice, Quirkiatry.

"As a gay, neurodivergent gamer and anime fan, I create a welcoming space for those feeling overlooked or misunderstood. My goal is to help you celebrate your uniqueness and leverage your quirks."

Dr. Spielman treats adults and adolescents (age 13+) for medication management, psychotherapy & biofeedback, and psychiatric/diagnostic assessment services. He especially enjoys working with attorneys and others in high-stress, demanding professional environments who are seeking relief from situationally-based depression and anxiety symptoms and/or experiencing problems with attention and sustained focus.

Jeff Stubblefield
Interim CFO + VP of Strategy

My journey into the tech world was one of self-discovery, rooted in a passion for learning and problem-solving. Before leading the IT department at Accelerated Inc., a prominent Nashville-based company, I spent over a decade in the timeshare industry with Wyndham Vacation and Berkeley Group Resorts, building invaluable skills in empathy and resilience. Today, as the CFO and VP of Strategy at CargoSprint, I lead initiatives that address complex challenges in payments and logistics, including integrations with global Freight Forwarders and the development of advanced APIs to drive the company’s growth.

In early 2022, I received an autism diagnosis, a revelation that brought clarity to much of my life. This milestone in self-understanding revealed how my unique thought processes, similar to Temple Grandin’s “Bottoms Up” approach, enable me to solve intricate problems in my career. It also deepened my appreciation for empathy and perseverance, values I first honed in the timeshare business. My journey with autism has become deeply personal as my 5-year-old son, Sam, is also autistic. I am dedicated to ensuring that Sam—and everyone on the spectrum—has a place where they are safe, respected, and truly understood. This drive fuels my commitment to advocate for AutismTN.

Being part of diverse and inclusive teams has taught me the immense value of embracing differences and fostering environments where all feel respected. My journey with autism has given me a strong commitment to promoting neurodiversity in the workplace and beyond. Supporting AutismTN is essential to creating spaces where individuals can thrive regardless of their neurotype.

Outside of work, I treasure time with my family: my wife, Carrie, and our three sons—Aidan, Garrett, and Sam. I’m a devoted fan of the Washington Redskins, Tennessee Titans, and Virginia Tech Hokies, whose resilience on the field resonates with the perseverance I strive for in my own life. My values of empathy, honesty, and curiosity drive me to lead by example, promoting transparency and collaboration in everything I do.

Looking to the future, I’m eager to use my professional skills and personal experience to help others navigate a late autism diagnosis. I envision a world that celebrates diversity, where everyone, including those on the spectrum, has the opportunity to reach their fullest potential. Serving with AutismTN is a step toward that vision, and I’m proud to contribute to such an impactful cause

Hunter Williams
Data Operations Analyst, Trilliant Health

Justin H. Wilson

Partner, Hall Strategies

Working in communications in Nashville for more than a decade, Justin H. Wilson has become a highly sought-after strategic communications partner. He leads comprehensive, results-driven communications strategies for companies and organizations that are shaping the future of the region and rewriting what is possible in their respective industries.

As a Partner and co-owner at Hall Strategies, Justin serves as managing director of public relations, overseeing strategic communications, marketing and branding, crisis communications, community relations, social media and media relations.

He has diverse multi-industry expertise which includes professional and financial services, logistics, law, healthcare, technology, nonprofits, and food service industries. During Nashville’s boom era, he’s helped build the area’s leading commercial real estate communications practice, representing billions in proposed, under development, and delivered projects including Fifth + Broadway, Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Nashville, and River North.

Throughout his public relations career, his work has been frequently recognized by peer and industry groups and has been named to the Nashville Post's In Charge list of top business leaders. Justin led client programs and projects that have been named a National PRSA Silver Anvil finalist and won a Telly Bronze Award, a Communicator Award of Distinction, an LEA Global Marketing Achievement Award, and 18 Nashville PRSA Parthenon Awards.

He is a graduate of Auburn University, where he earned undergraduate degrees in marketing and English.

Justin was introduced to the autism community when his son was diagnosed on the autism spectrum at the age of four. He is inspired to serve by his son and the many like him that AutismTN supports in a wide range of important and meaningful ways.

Blair Dunigan
Special Education Attorney

Dr. Donna Perlin
Physician, TriStar-HCA

Dr .Donna J. Perlin is a pediatric emergency physician at The Children’s Hospital at Tristar Centennial in Nashville, Tennessee. Previously she was on the faculty at The University of Maryland Medical Center, The Johns Hopkins Medical Center and Vanderbilt Medical Center.