Advisory Board

Dr. Kristin Austin (she/her) is a lover of learning and unlearning. Dr. Austin’s goal is to catalyze individuals and structures to question, “Who is at the table? Who is missing from the table? For whom was the table built? and who is unaware the table exists?” Dr. Austin has pursued answers to this question via 20+ years of administrative and faculty higher education roles domestically and internationally, as well as by leading organizations and teams through equity, inclusion, and belonging-oriented education.

Currently, Dr. Austin serves as Vice-President of I.D.E.As. (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access) at Rewriting the Code, Inc., a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to disrupting and dismantling racial and gender inequality in the technology sector by equipping and empowering college women in tech. Along with her professional work, Dr. Austin engages in speaking, teaching, and pushing visibility for many inclusion topics, especially those related to neurodiversity. Holding identities of ADHD and learning disabled, Dr. Austin loves to create and hold space for neuro-spicy brains, like hers, and maybe yours. Dr. Austin holds a Doctorate in Higher Education Leadership & Administration, a Professional Certificate in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, a Master’s degree in Counseling, and a Bachelor’s degree (her favorite degree) in Social Work. She is also blessed to learn from 3 small, and forgiving professors, ages 14, 12, and 8 and is married to a fellow education professional. For these reasons, her favorite get-a-way is to Target…. alone

Emma Billingsley is an autistic individual with they/them pronouns and currently wears a lot of hats. They are a graduate intern for Student Activities Council at West Chester University. They are a graduate assistant at the Dub-C Autism Program as well as an Ambassador. They are also a student in the Higher Education Policy and Student Affairs program at West Chester University. They believe that Neurodiversity is crucial in the implementation of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Dr. Jared Bahir Browsh is an educator and researcher specializing in issues connected to political economics of culture and the media, particularly as it pertains to popular culture in the United States throughout its history. He has over a decade of experience advocating for increased accessibility in higher education, supporting high school bridge programs, and increasing participation in community media.

Michael Giongo was born in Phoenixville, PA. He is an alumnus of Ursinus College, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in math and physics and received prestigious honors such as the Evan Snyder Award. 

Michael is now employed full-time at SAP as a Sales Operations Process Management Specialist. Here, he applies his analytical skills to produce data analysis to help guide the difficult, but necessary financial and sales decisions made at an executive level by SAP. In his spare time, he works with his father, providing business and technology insights that have helped to shape the vision and direction of his ever-evolving physician-focused financial education business.

Michael is a member of SAP’s Autism at Work program. He has had the honor of sharing his story on various panels, from the PA Disability Employment Summit to the Philadelphia Eagles Autism Challenge and SAP Select at SAPPHIRE NOW. He is also active in his community, having volunteered at the Haws Avenue Soup Kitchen in Norristown, PA as both a member and as the Fall 2014 Community Service Chairman of Pi Omega Delta of Ursinus College. Michael has also assisted his father with the operation of the March Madness Face Paint Challenge for Charity to raise money for local and national charities.

In addition to his civic pursuits, Michael maintains a strong passion for exercise, reading, and his beloved Philadelphia Eagles. He currently resides in the Greater Philadelphia Area.

finnigan madison creates content and build community related to mental health, neurodiversity, and compassionate communication. finnigan is #actuallyautistic & ADHD. I serve as an advisory board member to both the Autism in Context research lab and to the Neurodiversity Employment Network. Ze consults, writes, posts, and speaks about hir experiences and expertise regarding autistic cognition, emotion, sensation, perception, interoception, and embodiment.

In hir current position at Johns Hopkins University, ze is proud to be the Communications Chair for the SEAM Diversity Council. finnigan also have the honor of participating in the Provost-chartered Disability Inclusion Advisory Committee.

As a graduate student of Naropa University, finnigan is learning to apply interpersonal neurobiology in a relational context to encourage wellness and recovery. Key aspects of this work include mindful presence, active listening, compassionate inquiry, and unbiased reflection.

finnigan’s undergraduate academic work explored cross-cultural intersections of gender, sexuality, and religious identities. Outside of work, ze loves thinking about linguistics (Japanese, ASL, Hebrew), mechanical keyboards, food gardening, Buddhism, Judaism, and hir two beautiful cats.

Evander “Ev” Smith is an Autistic adult who uses they/them or he/him pronouns. Ev works in a K-12 school in Philly for students on the autism spectrum, handling DEI programming and Operations tasks. They frequently speak & present on topics related to Autistic culture, LGBT+ Autistic identities, and Disability Advocacy at conferences and other events.