Frist Center hosting full calendar of Autistic Pride Month events
The Frist Center will be celebrating April as Autistic Pride Month by hosting a series of engaging webinars and panels. Here’s a brief overview of our upcoming events – there may be small changes to the further-out events, which we will update this article to reflect, so be sure to check back here for the latest!
- April 2nd, 6:30 – 7:30 PM CST: The Intersectionality of Autism and Gender
- Frist Center Communications Coordinator Claire Barnett will present what we know about autism, gender identity, and gender socialization. Panelists include Lydia X. Z. Brown (they/them) from Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network, actress, model and advocate Rachel Barcellona (she/they/fae), Vanderbilt Undergarduate Emery Hall (they/them) and advocate & librarian Lauren Melissa (she/her). The panelists will expound upon their experiences being women or non-binary people on the spectrum.
- April 6th, 12:00 – 1:00 PM CST: How Do We Empower and Support Autistic Talent in the Workplace?
- After an introduction by Frist Center HOD intern Ellie Del Guercio, the Frist Center’s Tim Vogus and Claire Barnett will present the current state of autism at work. They will be followed by EY’s Emily Edwards and Hiren Shukla, who will dissect their success recruiting and supporting neurodivergent employees. This discussion will look at the motivation behind EY’s neurodiversity initiative and the impact the mass neurodiversity hiring program has had.
- April 9th, 3:00 – 4:00 PM CST: A Vanderbilt Autism and Neurodiversity Collaboration: Being Autistic at a University
- A discussion with Nina, an autistic post-doc at Vanderbilt, and Ben, an undergraduate student in the Next Steps program. This panel will offer participants an opportunity to discuss their experiences being neurodivergent on Vanderbilt’s campus and offer a look into the ways this campus works – or doesn’t – to support those individuals.
- Join using this Zoom link: https://vanderbilt.zoom.us/j/97500978594
- April 15th, 11:00AM – 12:00 PM CST: Autistic Success in Professional Fields, from Academia to Law to Medicine
- A discussion with autistic professionals in a variety of disciplines from lawyer Haley Moss, MD-PhD student Zack Williams and Vandy researcher Suzana Herculano. This discussion will cover how these individuals got into their field, what they are currently doing there and the ways in which their unique brains have impacted their work.
- Join using this Zoom link: https://vanderbilt.zoom.us/j/95732526799
- April 19th, 4:00 – 5:00 PM CST: Behind the Scenes of Frist’s CBS 60 Minutes Special
- Join Frist’s employees Claire Barnett, Keivan Stassun and Dave Caudel along with CBS producers, Katie Brennan and Denise Cetta. Our Frist Employees will discuss their experience being interviewed and the major impact the special has had on Frist since it aired. Katie and Denise will delve into why Frist was chosen for this segment and why they felt compelled to tell the story of autism and employment.
- Join using this Zoom link: https://vanderbilt.zoom.us/j/94051947008
- April 29th, 12-1pm: Autistic Voices in Politics and Public Policy
- Join us for a discussion on the importance of having neurodivergent representation in politics. Speakers will be discussing their experience being neurodivergent in the public eye and why they got involved in politics. Stay tuned for more information on who are featured speakers will be and when this event will take place!
- Join using this Zoom link: https://vanderbilt.zoom.us/j/91390151148
