Our Team
Catherine RobertSon
Founder, Director, Facilitator
Catherine (she/her) founded DC Peers with her daughter Sophie in 2016. This work engages everything she has learned in 25 years as an educator, researcher, writer, consultant, and parent of an autistic young adult. But she is continually learning from this wonderful team and from our participants!
Jacob Wesiman
Lead Facilitator & Adult Community Hub Coordinator
Jacob (they/them) is a long-time fantasy enthusiast and one of our in-house Dungeons and Dragons experts. As a neurodivergent person, they have personal experience with the special education system and working alongside other neurodivergent people. Their interests include reading, listening to music, appreciating the smaller things in life, and conversations with interesting individuals.
AVI KRISHNAN
Lead Facilitator
Avi (he/they) is a neurodiverse composer for video games and film studying at the Peabody Institute of John's Hopkins. He also has been a camp counselor for Outright Vermont's LGBTQIA summer camp and wants to give back and advocate for the neurodiverse community.
Steven isaacson
Lead Facilitator
Steven (he/him) works as an Autism Policy Analyst at the NIH. Steven is a job coach by training and enjoys working with folks on the spectrum in community-based settings. He is pursuing his Master’s degree in Social Work at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. When he’s not working, Steven is tending to his plants, camping, hiking, and petsitting. Steven is on the autism spectrum.
Leandra Nichola
Volunteer Family Liaison
Leandra (she/her) is a trained change-maker and community-builder. She brings over a decade of program management and alternative education experience to the team. Inspired by her kids - and the experience she wishes she had growing up - she has a passion for creating and nurturing safe spaces for queer and neurodivergent youth.
Madhav Pulle
Co-Facilitator
Madhav (he/him) is a neurodivergent psychology graduate and passionate disability and neurodiversity advocate. He has spent time volunteering with harm reduction and disability organizations for much of the last 6 years. In his free time he enjoys gaming, reading, cooking tasty food and going down Wikipedia rabbitholes.
ALLISON CHOE
Volunteer Co-Facilitator
Allison (she/her) recently moved to DC after graduating from the University of Michigan where she studied biopsychology. She works as a research fellow focusing on child health and development, and plans to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology. Allison is passionate about youth mental health and well-being, and she enjoys fostering environments for youth to build meaningful connections and be their authentic selves. In her free time, Allison loves taking dance classes, trying new recipes, and making crafts!
Rachel rehert
Co-Facilitator
Rachel (she/her) works as the Director of Data, Learning, & Evaluation at Pivotal, a nonprofit that provides education and career support to young people from foster care. She has spent over 10 years volunteering with teens and young adults in the community and loves volunteering with DC Peers because in her words, “there is just something magical about the environment DC Peers creates – it’s truly a place where teens and young adults can come and be nothing but themselves!"
Rose Glennon
Volunteer Co-Facilitator
Rose (she/they) is a freshman at American University double majoring in Public Relations and Music. Rose is beyond excited to work with middle graders and volunteer with DC Peers. She is eager to help advocate for the neurodivergent community and create a safe and welcoming place. In Rose’s free time, she enjoys musical theater, dancing, and gardening.
Board of Directors
dr. catherine robertson (President)
Catherine Robertson, PhD, founded DC Peers in 2017, after 25 years as an educator, researcher, writer, nonprofit consultant, student and teacher of communication and performance, and, most importantly, as a parent and advocate of a child on the autism spectrum who tried for years to work with DCPS to implement peer social programs in her kids’ schools.
Catherine is the only non-medical Certified Provider in the DC Metro area of the PEERS Curriculum from UCLA’s Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. She is also currently an adjunct faculty member at American University, and will be teaching a course entitled “Re-Imagining Autism” in the Spring of 2021.
Catherine has a BA, MA and PhD from Northwestern University; her graduate degrees are in Communication and Performance Studies. She lives in Washington DC with her husband and dog Gus. Also, she and Dr. Scott Robertson are unrelated, despite the last names!
lesley schaffer (treasurer)
Lesley has worked for three decades in non-profit program administration, humanitarian assistance, education and social services. After a career as a classroom teacher and school administrator, Lesley worked for many years in international post-disaster response and recovery with the Red Cross.
Lesley’s understanding of and appreciation for neurodiversity has primarily come through navigating resources for her son, but also from extensive engagement with different learning and working styles, languages and cultures. She feels passionately that educational, professional and social communities excel when neurodiversity is better understood and embraced.
Lesley graduated from Northwestern University, completed an M.Ed. at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), has lived and worked in five countries, and resides in Washington, DC.
nancie thomas
Nancie Thomas is Senior Counsel at the nonprofit Conservation International, where she has worked for over two decades in the General Counsel's Office. She advises on all aspects of the organization’s corporate partnerships and compliance with federal and state laws applicable to public charities as well as supporting country programs in CI's Asia-Pacific Field Division. She is a trusted advisor and counselor offering pragmatic solutions to support mission-driven organizations. A double Wolverine, Nancie has an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and a JD from the University of Michigan Law School.
Nancie loves the outdoors and live music (rock, punk, indie) and has especially enjoyed hiking, skiing, traveling and live concerts with her family as they’ve navigated and learned together over nearly two decades about ASD and neurodiversity. Her beloved husband Jim Rubin was an early respected advisor to DC Peers. Since his untimely and tragic death in 2017, DC Peers is grateful to have Nancie’s expertise and continued involvement.
Monica martinez
Monica’s experience with autism and neurodiversity began with parenting an autistic child. Shortly after her son’s diagnosis, Monica joined the autism advocacy non-profit, Partnership for Extraordinary Minds (XMinds) where she worked in a variety of leadership roles, ultimately serving as the organization’s first Executive Director. While working with xMinds, Monica developed an in-depth understanding of the Montgomery County Public School System. She has since harnessed this knowledge, attended the Wrightslaw Special Education Law and Advocacy Training, and completed the Special Education Advocate Training (SEAT) 2.0 through the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA), and now works as a Special Education Advocate with Suzanne Keith Blattner ED.S & Associates.
Monica graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown University with BS degrees in Linguistics and Russian Language. Subsequently, Monica earned an MA from Columbia University and a Masters of Library Science from the University of Maryland. Monica lives in suburban Washington, DC with her husband and twin sons.