Meet the Panelists

Samantha, better known as Sam or Ben’s Big Sister, is a recent Stanford graduate currently living and working in New York City. She graduated with her B.S. in Human Biology, focusing on brain health and health policy. In New York she works for the Autism Science Foundation as their Communications Associate, bridging the gap between scientists and families to make research more accessible. Sam left Stanford with research experience in a variety of fields, including global public health where her team’s paper on the state of healthcare in Colombia was presented to UNICEF. As Ben loves to remind people, Sam also played rugby throughout her college career, culminating in a tour to Canada representing the USA Junior National Women’s Team.

Ben has always and will continue to be Sam’s inspiration. She has learned far more from Ben than she could ever hope to teach him. Sam hopes to bring that same level of empathy, humor, and passion into everything she does. She looks forward to pursuing her graduate degree in the future, likely in cognitive neuroscience.

Amanda Lopez is a Speech and Language Pathologist currently working at The Learning Center at the Els Center of Excellence. She grew up in Key West, Florida with her mother, father and two younger brothers. The oldest of her brothers, Georgie, was diagnosed with Autism at the age of two when Amanda was six years old. She credits her brother, Georgie, greatly for unlocking her passion and purpose to help her students find their voice. She received her undergraduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and her Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology from Florida State University. In her graduate studies, she completed work on a grant specializing in building the capacity of SLPs to address the needs of individuals with autism spectrum disorders and their families. Amanda has completed her fourth year working in the field and looks forward to a fulfilling career working to enhance the lives of individuals with Autism.

Evee is a college student, a sister, a daughter, skateboarder and paddle-boarder. She grew up in Pennsylvania and is currently attending the University of Pittsburgh where she is studying biology with the goal of becoming an infectious disease doctor. She is also passionate about research and for several years organized the “Scoring Goals for Autism” day for families across the spectrum to join together to play soccer.

Max is a DNA repair scientist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center starting his graduate degree soon at Mount Sinai. His younger brother, Matthew, has a form of autism that requires constant care and is believed to derive from a mutation in the CHD8 gene. Matthew, while immeasurably taller, is a year younger than Max at 20 years old and is truly a gentle giant.

Nathan is a medical student at McGovern Medical School in Houston, Texas. He has been inspired by his older brother, Charles, who was diagnosed with Phelan McDermid Syndrome, a rare genetic disease. As a result, Charles has developmental delays and severe epilepsy that have caused a number of regressive changes, such as losing the ability to talk, read, and write. Nathan hopes to pursue pediatric neurology as a physician-scientist to improve outcomes for individuals like his brother and families like his own. You can read more about Nathan here: A Brother’s Love: Researching for a Cure | Texas A&M University

Kaitlyn Letourneau is a proud big sister to younger brother Sam, who is autistic and currently attends the Els Center of Excellence. She received her bachelors degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of California, Berkeley in May 2021. She is currently working as a Postbac Fellow at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience where she is doing research on Autism and its underlying mechanisms. Kaitlyn plans to continue this research and eventually pursue a PhD in neuroscience.

Lauren is a senior at Yale, where she is majoring in Cognitive Science. Her sister Jodie has intellectual disability and autism, and Lauren has volunteered in programs for both children with developmental disabilities and their siblings. At Yale, she is a research assistant at the Yale Child Study Center. Lauren plans to become a physician.

Amy is ecstatic to be a part of the Sibs Stick Together initiative as a panelist! She is originally from Dover, MA, and she is currently a junior at Emory University in Atlanta, GA studying Neuroscience & Behavioral Biology and Classics on the pre-medical track. She is also sister to the amazing Jack, who inspires her every day. Outside of school, she enjoys distance running, serving as the president of Emory’s chapter of Best Buddies, and conducting research at the Emory Autism Center. She is so grateful for the opportunity to discuss various topics with other panelists!

Mario is a recent graduate of the University of Pittsburgh where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology, a minor in chemistry and a certificate in American Sign Language. He is currently working as a Research Specialist in the Regulation of Emotions in ASD Adults, Children, and Teens (REAACT) Lab at the Center for Excellence in Autism Research through the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Mario grew up in Pittsburgh with his twin brother, Sam, who is Autistic. He hopes to continue his work in the Autism field through earning a PhD in Clinical Psychology. His brother has been an inspiration for all the work he’s done and is very excited to get involved!