We aim to collaborate on initiatives that advance neuro-inclusive marketing, public policy and management
Dr Josephine Go Jefferies is Co-lead for the Neurodiversity Think Tank and is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Marketing at Newcastle University Business School in the UK. Her sociologically-informed research focuses on improving well-being, especially among disadvantaged groups, such as people with chronic health conditions. Her work tends to consider closely the phenomena of lay expertise and co-creation to explain drivers of consumer participation in digital and in-person public services.
She has published peer reviewed articles on consumer responsibilization, marketing and neurodiversity, and studied the experiences of women with ADHD to theorise the heroic path that marginalised consumers follow to improve well-being and engender social change.
She is working on several projects as the Principal Investigator of studies focusing on the social support needs of (1) people working for two United Nations agencies (“Managing neurodiversity at work in multilateral organizations”); (2) parental caregivers of autistic children in the UK, Greece and Czechia; and Co-Investigator for (3) conceptualising family caregiver well-being; and (4) a review of neurodiversity and digital services.
Go Jefferies, J. and Ahmed, W. (2022), “Marketing #neurodiversity for well-being”, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 39 No. 6, pp. 632-648. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-03-2021-4520
Go Jefferies, J. (2023). An Arendtian perspective on responsibilized heroes: Why marketing needs a new model of heroic action. Marketing Theory, 23(1), 33-57. https://doi.org/10.1177/14705931221139318
Meredith Rhoads Thomas is Co-Lead for the Neurodiversity Think Tank and Assistant Professor of Marketing at Butler University. Her research interests include parenting and neurodiversity, the role of marketing, social systems and urban planning in transformative consumer well-being, and community housing for neurodiversity.
Baker, S. M., Azzari, C. N., Thomas, M. R., & Bennett, A. M. (2020). When Does the Social Service Ecosystem Meet Consumption Needs? A Power–Justice–Access Model of Holistic Well-Being from Recipients’ Perspectives. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 39(2), 220-239. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743915620903318
Dr. Alicia A. Broderick is a Critical Autism Studies (CAS) and Critical Neurodiversity Studies (CNS) scholar, and a Professor of Education at Montclair State University in New Jersey (U.S.). She is the author of The Autism Industrial Complex: How Branding, Marketing, and Capital Investment Turned Autism into Big Business (2022). She is currently developing interdisciplinary certificate programs in NeuroInclusive Practice & Leadership, and is presently working to establish the Institute for Neurodivergent Innovation and Leadership at Montclair.
Monograph: The Autism Industrial Complex: How Branding, Marketing, and Capital Investment Turned Autism into Big Business (Broderick, 2022)
Peer-reviewed journal article: Autism, Inc.: The Autism Industrial Complex (Broderick & Roscigno, 2021)
Public scholarship (webinar presentation on the AIC): “Raising Awareness of the AIC: How Branding, Marketing, and Capital Investment Turned Autism into Big Business” (Broderick, 2022)
Kristen Essex, Executive Director Organization for Autism Research
Kristen serves as the Executive Director of the Organization for Autism Research (OAR), bringing more than 20 years of diverse experience in small business and nonprofit management to her leadership role. As a certified autism specialist, she is deeply committed to advancing OAR’s mission of applying research to the challenges of autism. In her capacity as Executive Director, Kristen serves as a passionate advocate for the autism community, championing initiatives that provide support to autistic individuals and their families, caregivers, and educators.
Jean Hewitt has specialised in accessibility and inclusion in the built environment for over 20 years and is a senior member of Buro Happold’s inclusive environments team and a lecturer at UCL The Bartlett on this subject. She was the British Standards Institute’s appointed technical author for PAS 6463: ‘Design for the Mind – Neurodiversity and the Built Environment’ working with a steering group of experts. Jean currently holds the voluntary post of UK Government’s “Disability and Access Ambassador for the Built Environment”. In this voluntary role, one of her key objectives is to raise awareness around neurodiversity.
She is currently working on the relocation of Moorfields Eye Hospital Oriel – Creating the centre for advancing eye health (oriel-london.org.uk) and was the inclusive design lead for the Royal National Institute for Blind People (RNIB) London headquarters Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) – Grimaldi Building – Buro Happold.
Margaux Joffe (she/her) is a global neurodiversity advocate, dedicated to creating a more inclusive and accessible world.
After a life-changing diagnosis of ADHD at age 29, she founded the Kaleidoscope Society to empower other women with ADHD and dispel the stigma surrounding neurodiversity. She went on to lead disability inclusion initiatives at Yahoo and Verizon, launching the technology industry’s first Neurodiversity Employee Resource Group (ERG) and a partnership with Getty Images to change how disability is portrayed in the media.
Margaux is now a Board Certified Cognitive Specialist (BCCS) and the founder of Minds of All Kinds, is a platform for neurodivergent individuals to learn about their conditions, connect with peers, and educate others in their communities. She serves on the Board of Directors for the American Association of People with Disabilities.
As an advocate, speaker and educator, Margaux has presented at places like the United Nations, The World Health Organization and businesses like Nike, Intuit, Dell Technologies and Walmart.
In 2023 Linkedin named Margaux a “Top Voice” in disability advocacy reflecting her expertise and impact in her field. Her work has also been recognized by the United Nations Foundation, the D&AD Impact Awards, the Webby Awards, the Shorty Social Good Awards, and the Susan M. Daniels Disability Mentoring Hall of Fame. Her work has been featured in popular publications such as Forbes, Vogue, Teen Vogue, Fast Company and the Hollywood Reporter.
Margaux is a graduate of Duke University and is trained in documentary storytelling as a tool for social change. She is a Certified Accessibility Professional (CPACC) by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), and certified in Mental Health First Aid by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Margaux is currently based in Seattle, Washington, the land of the Duwamish People.
AdAge Magazine “Margaux Joffe on Embracing the Brilliance of Neurodivergent Minds” By Margaux Joffe. July 17, 2023. https://adage.com/article/creativity/margaux-joffe-embracing-brilliance-neurodivergent-minds/2504491 (register for free to access or view content here)
Minds of All Kinds is a platform for neurodivergent individuals to learn about their conditions, connect with peers, and educate others in their communities. We also help organizations be more inclusive through speaking engagements, training and consulting.
Minds of All Kinds LLC is a Certified Disability-Owned Business Enterprise.™
Dr. Cinthia B. Satornino is a member of the Marketing faculty at the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics at the University of New Hampshire and served as the Research Director for the UNH Sales Center. She is currently the co-chair of the Neurodiversity Center taskforce, and a co-PI for a grant-funded project exploring best ways to support neurodiverse researchers in a lab environment. Cinthia earned her MBA at the University of Florida and her Ph.D. at Florida State University. Her work has been published in the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, the Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of Marketing Education. Her research has been cited in Forbes, Big Think, and Fast Company, among other practitioner focused media outlets. Cinthia is a frequent speaker and panelist at practitioner and academic conferences including the Fulfilling America’s Future: Latinas in the U.S., a White House summit in Washington, D.C. She was recognized as one of the Top 40 Undergraduate Business Professors by Poets & Quants. Cinthia frequently conducts marketing management and strategy workshops for both private and public organizations and continues to be an active consultant.
Satornino, C. B., Allen, A., Shi, H., & Bolander, W. (2023). Understanding the Performance Effects of “Dark” Salesperson Traits: Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy. Journal of Marketing, 87(2), 298-318. doi:10.1177/00222429221113254
Tim Vogus is the Brownlee O. Currey, Jr. Professor of Management and Faculty Director of the Leadership Development Program at the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management. He is also the Deputy Director, Business Innovations for the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt University. He was named one of the 50 most influential business professors of 2013 and one of the Top 40 Business School Professors under 40 by PoetsandQuants.com in 2011. He was the recipient of the Owen Graduate School of Management Research Productivity Award in 2013 and Research Impact Award in 2022. His teaching has been recognized with the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Health Care Management Division of the national Academy of Management in 2019, the James A. Webb Jr. Award for Excellence in Teaching at Owen in 2007 and 2013, and a Dean’s Award for Teaching Innovation in 2018. He was also a finalist for the Webb Award on 13 other occasions. He has published over 95 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in leading autism, health service, industrial relations, management, medical, nursing, and social work journals. His research focuses on how to make organizations more inclusive, especially for neurodivergent employees and the organizational practices, processes, and technologies that can help create and sustain meaningful employment for individuals on the autism spectrum. The key to this is recognizing in theory and practice the centrality of the double empathy problem and his research also focuses on studying how to create cultures as well as developing technologies and studying workplace practices and interventions that can bridge it. He serves as an Associate Editor of Health Care Management Review and previously served as Division Chair for the Health Care Management Division of the Academy of Management.
Autism and Employment: A Review of the “New Frontier” of Diversity Research https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/01492063231193362?casa_token=uNn_Or69vuEAAAAA%3AY51EMmZCCWSRvltssjBeWzKRjfsnHogWt8zNVcujfKpfSAijwASzwMCzCRxGTrxh1rr0ncBHFd3R
From environmental niches to unique contributions: Reconsidering fit to foster inclusion across neurotypes https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/industrial-and-organizational-psychology/article/abs/from-environmental-niches-to-unique-contributions-reconsidering-fit-to-foster-inclusion-across-neurotypes/8F24A47D42FA87508D5A33F1B4872DDB
Sustainable employment depends on quality relationships between supervisors and their employees on the autism spectrum https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09638288.2022.2074550?casa_token=_P9m_9FUtMIAAAAA%3A2Ps1Xo49Tvrg8XMG1eh7_lGZhC6-yIszRFgQCccxEdRXKyipjW94aTIjgur8qAt8UIHUfl1x27Qw
Flipping the script: Bringing an organizational perspective to the study of autism at work https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1362361318776103?casa_token=qy1w_Fg2dfsAAAAA%3AGrpjYZ45_rhdVmJJ-BNzmPD8smioqdELpCzUCvJz1PtFr5JzOwCExPHemkCEnMKt1lfHTCKwkxIf