Board of Directors

Jennie is a co-founder of TACT and brings the service provider's perspective to our organization. She graduated Towson State University (1998) with a Bachelor's in Speech/Language Pathology, and then graduated George Washington University in 2000 with a Masters Degree in Speech/Language Pathology.Jennie worked for two years at the National Speech/Language Therapy Center in Bethesda, MD before doing contracting services through ICAN of Washington and Dower and Associates, Inc.In 2003, she started her own business, Kids Communicating, LLC in Frederick, MD. Jennie started her work in the field as a home therapist during college and now is an ABA consultant utilizing B.F. Skinner's Analysis of Verbal Behavior. Jennie is Vice-President and Secretary of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Therapeutic Qualifications Committtee.

Chris is a co-founder of Teach Autistic Children Today. She is married to Frank Patterson (since 1974), has two grown daughters and six grandchildren. Five-year-old grandchild, Lydia, is the reason she started thinking about what the community could do to help families battling autism. But it is volunteer work as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for two children with autism that gave her the final push to do something about it. Chris graduated from Hood College with a dual major in Psychology and Law & Society (2001) and has worked in mortgage banking, management and training, and the newspaper biz. She also has volunteered with the State’s Attorney’s Office Youthful Offender Program and Advocates for Homeless Families. Chris is President of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Administrative and Media Relations Committee.

George is a retired New York City Police Officer (1982) where he was a Union Delegate for eight of those years. He, along with his wife Carolyn and three sons, moved to Maryland two years later. George brings a long history of financial investment experience to our organization that includes current volunteer work as a member of the Board of Directors for the Park Place Homeowners Association in Worman’s Mill and a member of that board’s Budget and Finance Committee for the last five years. He is also President of the Beth Sholom Investment Club. George has seven grandchildren (one of them, five-year-old Lydia, is autistic) and is currently working with Shockley Honda. He is Treasurer of the Board of Directors.

Beth is married to Kevin Johnson  and the mother of three boys. Hunter was diagnosed with an ASD at age two. Beth credits early intervention therapies paid for by the Autism Waiver with Hunter learning to speak at age four. They are services she said her family could not have paid for, which is why she feels Teach Autistic Children Today is "crucial". Beth is currently a member of the Brunswick, Maryland City Council, and is in charge of fundraising for ICare (International Cancer Alliance for Cancer Research and Education). She has volunteered with Special Olympics and as a Volunteer Coordinator for her older son’s school.