Nfar Board of Directors

Board Chairman and Founder
Co-Creator, NFAR Technical Training
National Foundation for Autism Research

Juan is co-Founder and Board Chairman for the National Foundation for Autism Research. As a father and a professional, Juan wanted to see autistic individuals have access to the tools they needed to reach their potential. With his wife Sharon, they founded NFAR in 2003 to address the unmet needs in San Diego. Later, to address the high unemployment rate for autistic individuals, Juan created the vocational training programs at NFAR that provides a comprehensive approach to job training so that that graduates can enter the workforce with greater success.

Prior to NFAR, Juan worked for HP and Sony. He has an undergraduate degree in engineering from the University of California, San Diego and an MBA from Stanford University.

Juan is dedicated to providing opportunities that offer autistic individuals a chance to pursue their goals.

NFAR Board Treasurer
Chief Financial Officer
Petco

As Chief Financial Officer, Brian leads Petco’s corporate and financial strategy, performance, reporting, and long-range business planning. He is responsible for all aspects of the finance function, including operations, budgeting, forecasting, investor relations, controllership, treasury and procurement.

Prior to Petco, Brian spent more than 20 years in senior roles at HP and Deloitte. While at HP, Brian led the separation management office during the separation of HP into two publicly traded Fortune 50 companies – at the time, the largest such split in U.S. history.

Brian holds a bachelor’s degree from Colby College and master’s degrees in business administration and accounting from Northeastern University.

Committed to improving the lives of autistic individuals, Brian joined the Board of the National Foundation for Autism Research, where he also serves as Treasurer, to help further the organization’s important mission.

NFAR Board Secretary
Staff Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Specialist
Qualcomm Incorporated

Matt Harris is a Staff DEI Specialist at Qualcomm Incorporated. As in his prior work as a Talent Acquisition professional at Meta (formerly Facebook) and Qualcomm, and as a Director of Corporate Partnerships at NeuroTalent Works, Matt has always been dedicated to including neuro-diverse talent in the candidate pool and helping companies build their best workforce. In 2019, he piloted Qualcomm’s Autism at Work program for hiring ASD individuals.

Matt has found a passion and interest in bridging the hiring gap for disabled people and hopes to continue to make an impact for the San Diego community by bringing his expertise to NFAR’s efforts. In September 2023, Matt became NFAR’s Board Secretary.

Financial Advisor, Eagle Strategies
New York Life Securities Agent, New York Life Insurance Company

As a financial advisor for Eagle Strategies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of New York Life, Rob specializes in creating custom insurance and financial solutions to help meet the needs of clients including, but not limited to, college funding, retirement, managing costs for extended periods of care, and lifetime income strategies.

Committed to improving the lives of autistic individuals, Rob has been actively involved with NFAR since 2009. He served as Board Secretary from 2019 – 2023 and is an active member of the Board Executive Committee.

Senior Director, Legal Counsel
Qualcomm Incorporated

David is Senior Director, Legal Counsel at Qualcomm Incorporated, where he oversees patent, copyright, trademark, and antitrust litigation throughout the world.  David sits on the legal DEI board at Qualcomm and founded AbilityQ, Qualcomm’s employee network dedicated to providing support and resources for employees with special needs and disabilities, as well as caretakers of those with special needs and disabilities.

David has both a Bachelor of Science and Masters Degree in electrical engineering from Cornell University and a law degree from Northwestern Law School, where he focused on intellectual property law. Upon graduation from law school, David worked as a patent litigator at law firms in Chicago and New York City. In 2013, after living in Ithaca, Boston, Chicago, New York, and Chicago again, David was happy to put 20 years of cold weather cities behind him and return to his hometown of San Diego, so that he and his family could cheer on the Padres in person.

David enjoys working with NFAR because he believes that having a job allows for independence and that everyone should have that opportunity. David works to expand its base, grow its mission, and increase its fundraising outreach.

Global Compliance Director, retired
Solar Turbines

Since 2016, Todd has supported NFAR vocational programs by volunteering his time and business experience to create internships and full-time positions for NFAR graduates. He’s proud to help make a dent in the 85% nationwide unemployment rate of ASD individuals.

Todd retired after a 36-year career with Solar Turbines making contributions in manufacturing and test, sales support, project management, and general administration, including compliance and enterprise processes and systems.

As an NFAR board member, Todd is happy to have found a fit where he can leverage his work experience, background, and energy to support NFAR’s mission and program participants. Having a family member who benefited from NFAR’s programs, Todd and his wife Coleen are passionate about finding answers for parents of neuro-diverse young adults.

Founder
Keyhole Research & Consulting
Specializing in B2C Categories

As the Founder and Chief researcher of Keyhole Research & Consulting, a boutique qualitative market research firm, Natalia brings a wealth of life and work experience. Before founding Keyhole Research, Natalia spent over 18 years in the automotive industry.

Natalia holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. Her diverse upbringing across North and South America, combined with her experiences living, working, and studying in various European cities during her 20s, has given her a unique perspective she leverages both in personal and professional relationships.

Ever since her son received an autism diagnosis at the age of 3, Natalia has been dedicated to finding opportunities to support his development, and her journey naturally led her to become a key resource for other families navigating autism diagnoses and to become an NFAR Board Member. Natalia advocates that “better together” is essential for enhancing the lives of neuro-diverse individuals and fostering greater acceptance in the wider community.

Director of Delivery, retired
Rangam SourceAbled

Chelsea Asaro brings almost a decade of expertise in corporate neurodiversity hiring to the NFAR Board. She has played a pivotal role in helping Fortune 500 companies design and implement successful neurodiversity hiring initiatives. Chelsea’s journey with NFAR began as a Board Member (2015–2018) and later as the Corporate Training and Industry Outreach Specialist, where she made significant contributions to advancing workplace inclusion.

Most recently, Chelsea served as Director of Delivery at Rangam SourceAbled, leading a team of diversity staffing professionals to help global corporations source, hire, and retain talent with disabilities, autism, and other forms of neurodivergence. Prior to her work in the neurodiversity community, Chelsea worked as a freelance writer specializing in technical writing, content creation, and corporate communications. She earned her B.A. in English, magna cum laude, from the University of California, San Diego.

Now retired, Chelsea and her husband, Guy Asaro, enjoy traveling, cycling, and spending time with their growing family. They are proud parents to three adult children, recently welcomed two sons-in-law to their family, and have their first grandchild on the way. Chelsea is passionate about giving back to organizations like NFAR that make a meaningful impact in the San Diego community.

Co-Founder and Executive Director
National Foundation for Autism Research

Sharon is the Executive Director and Co-Founder for the National Foundation for Autism Research. Sharon has an undergraduate degree in Engineering and an MBA from the University of Southern California, and spent over a decade in industry, working as an engineer and consultant before moving to the non-profit sector.

Inspired by their son, Sharon and Juan Leon created NFAR in Dec. 2003 to aid in the development, expansion, and support of programs and services that improve opportunities for autistic individuals. In 2005, she spearheaded the Race for Autism 5K Run and Walk in Balboa Park, which raises awareness and funding for autism each year.

We wanted to see San Diego become the type of community where our families could grow up, find work, education, recreation and social options, and feel a part of this community. At NFAR, and together with our community partners, we are working to create those options because we believe that a more inclusive and equitable community is a better community for all.

Board Chairman and Founder
Co-Creator, NFAR Technical Training
National Foundation for Autism Research

Juan is Co-Founder and Board Chairman for the National Foundation for Autism Research. As a father and a professional, Juan wanted to see autistic individuals have access to the tools they needed to reach their potential. With his wife Sharon, they founded NFAR in 2003 to address the unmet needs in San Diego. Later, to address the high unemployment rate for autistic individuals, Juan created the vocational training programs at NFAR that provide a comprehensive approach to job training so that that graduates can enter the workforce with greater success.

Prior to NFAR, Juan worked for HP and Sony. He has an undergraduate degree in engineering from the University of California, San Diego and an MBA from Stanford University.

Juan is dedicated to providing opportunities that offer autistic individuals a chance to pursue their goals.

Chief Operating Officer
National Foundation for Autism Research

As COO at NFAR, Nick leads the day-to-day operations of our vocational training programs in design, approach, and efficiency to ensure we are meeting the needs of autistic individuals and staying true to NFAR’s mission and vision.

Nick has over a decade of nonprofit experience including time with the YMCA’s Youth & Family Services branch and the San Diego Workforce Partnership where he developed and executed innovative programs for under-resourced communities. He believes all people deserve the chance to thrive and live fulfilling lives and works hard to ensure this opportunity can be realized by all communities.

Nick received his bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and an MPA from Cal State Long Beach. His leadership is shaped by his time conducting direct service work, and he believes that people with lived experience should inform the work every step of the way.