Legislative Honorees

Cindy F. Friedman was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in 2017 to represent the Fourth Middlesex District, which includes Arlington, Billerica, Burlington, Woburn, and precincts 1-2 and 4-7 in Lexington. Cindy’s legislative agenda is informed by her decades of public activism, dating back to when she first marched to protect women’s reproductive rights in the 1970s. Since then, Cindy has grown to be a vocal champion for fair labor laws, lowering prescription drug prices, and expanding access to timely, quality behavioral health care, particularly for children.

Cindy’s legislative priorities are also reflected in her committee, caucus and working group memberships she has held since her election to the Senate. Cindy serves as the Chairperson of the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing and the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Steering and Policy. Cindy has received numerous awards and recognitions for her work during her tenure in the Senate. Most recently Cindy received the Massachusetts Health and Hospital 2024 Hero award, the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers 2024 Legislator of the Year award, and the Mental Health America 2024 Legislator of the Year award. Prior to becoming a state Senator, Cindy worked as a public school teacher, an executive in the high-tech industry, and later served for nearly a decade as chief of staff to the late Senator Ken Donnelly.

Christine P. Barber is State Representative for the 34th Middlesex District, which includes Somerville and Medford. Now in her sixth term in office, Christine serves as House Chair of the Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. She also serves as House Chair of the Massachusetts Caucus of Women Legislators.

Before being elected State Representative, Christine was a health policy expert for a national health care advocacy organization, leading a number of health care campaigns on issues ranging from organizing groups around the country to enact the Affordable Care Act, enrolling people in health coverage, and ensuring health insurance coverage for transgender individuals.   Some of Christine’s most recent accomplishments include: passing the Work and Family Mobility Act, a bill she filed to allow all people to apply for a driver’s license, regardless of immigration status; passing “Laura’s Law,” which requires hospital emergency departments to ensure entrances are monitored, clearly marked, and passing a law to allow young adults with disabilities to remain on their parents’ health plan.

Keynote Speaker

Amit Basak is a proud parent of two sons with profound  autism. He serves on the board of Nashoba Learning Group (NLG), a school and adult program dedicated to helping people like his own two sons realize their full potential. He also serves on the board of FirstPlace, a pioneering residential community for adults with autism in Phoenix, AZ.

Amit has had a successful 25-year career serving in leadership roles for global companies, creating value by applying his own life values to everything he does. His deeply held beliefs about grace, integrity and the importance of a team shape every decision he makes from whom to hire, how to lead, and how to help his clients achieve their goals for growth and bottom-line success.

Speaker

Autism Welcoming℠ provides training and certification to businesses, with the goal of building inclusive communities for people with autism and their families. Our hands-on certification process considers the unique needs of each business, helping organizations make small but impactful changes to create a welcoming environment for people with autism and sensory sensitivities. Our new Autism Welcoming website allows individuals and families to identify welcoming businesses in their communities. You can visit us at www.autismwelcoming.org

About Advocates and Autism Alliance
Advocates is a nonprofit human service provider serving more than 40,000 children, adults, and families throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island facing life challenges such as autism, brain injuries, intellectual/developmental disabilities, mental health conditions, and substance use challenges. Autism Alliance, a program of Advocates, provides education, resources, and support for families and their loved ones with autism. Autism Welcoming trainings are provided by Autism Alliance staff with decades of personal and professional experience in the autism community.

Emcees

Gyasi Burks-Abbott, MS, is on the faculty of the LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities) Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and UMass Boston’s Institute for Community Inclusion. He serves on the boards, committees, and commissions of many autism and disability organizations; and he’s written for several autism and disability-related publications.

Gyasi graduated from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN with a BA in English and psychology, and he has an M.S. in Library and Information Science from Simmons University in Boston. Gyasi tells the story of how he became an autism self-advocate in his autobiography/memoir titled My Mother’s Apprentice: An Autistic’s Rites of Passage.

Ted Daniel is an investigative reporter and father of two who is celebrating his 20th year at WFXT-TV, Boston 25 News. Ted has had the privilege of working with The Arc of Massachusetts on several occasions while advocating for people in Massachusetts with disabilities.

In December, Ted and The Arc of Massachusetts helped a Westford mother avoid a temporary gap in services when her son aged out of a school program. Ted’s reporting has been recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTNDA).