Charles River Center
Jennifer Ryan is an experienced professional in the field of autism support and education, currently serving as the Wings for Autism Program Coordinator and Director of Autism Support Services at The Charles River Center since August 2010. Jennifer has been instrumental in overseeing autism programming, creating and implementing the Wings for Autism program at multiple airports, and facilitating its national expansion in collaboration with The Arc. Additionally, experience includes roles as an Educational Evaluation Specialist at CREST Collaborative and Adjunct Faculty in the Psychology Department at Mount Washington College, where Jennifer taught various psychology courses. Earlier career highlights include serving as an Education Developmental Specialist at South Bay Early Intervention and a Lead Teacher at MCI Concord Prison. Jennifer holds a Graduate Certificate in K-12 Educational Leadership from Kaplan University, a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in School Psychology from Rivier University, and a Master’s degree in Elementary Education and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst.
Charles River Center
The Charles River Center is a private, nonprofit human service agency headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, providing employment and job training, residential homes, day habilitation, and recreational programs for children and adults with Down syndrome, autism, cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities. Founded by a group of parents of children with special needs in 1956, the mission of Charles River has always been to improve the quality of life by helping each individual with a developmental disability achieve his or her highest possible level of independence so that he or she can fully participate, benefit, and become a contributing member of the community. The Charles River Center serves over 950 families from many communities including Needham, Wellesley, Weston, Newton, Dedham, Cambridge, Brighton, Brookline, Framingham, Natick, Westwood, Dover, Waltham, Roslindale, Hyde Park, Roxbury, Watertown, Quincy, Norwood, West Roxbury and many more.