Dr. Dena Gassner is a Senior Research Scientist for the AJ Drexel Autism Institute. She is a member of the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) advising the White House on autism research and a member of the Executive Committee for the Institute for Exceptional Care (IEC). She has won the Trailblazer in Diversity and Equity Award from ABC-T (Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies) and was inducted into the Health Care Hall of Fame at Union Commonwealth University. Her dissertation addressed the barriers of administrative burden as experienced by late-diagnosed autistic women. She is a wife, mother, grandmother and an autistic researcher.