Guest Speaker: Dr. Dave Caudel from the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation

This session will talk about the strengths and challenges of neurodiversity, and the underserved and underutilized members of our society.

Dr. Dave Caudel is the associate director of the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation at Vanderbilt University in Nashville Tennessee. Diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in 2009, Caudel is a neurodivergence advocate, speaking to a variety of organizations, including the U.N. and autism conferences internationally. For much of his life, he struggled to find his place in the world, and has had a number of careers, including videographer, soldier in the U.S. Army, journalist, photojournalist, magazine editor, public affairs specialist, truck salesman, and corporate stints from customer service to loss prevention, just to name a few, before deciding to give, “this college thing a try.” He received his Ph.D. in Physics at Vanderbilt University in 2017. He serves on the advisory committee for the Center for Discovery, Innovation, and Development (CDID) at Children’s Specialized Hospital in New Jersey, the Clinical Advisory Panel on Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities for BlueCare Tennessee, the Vanderbilt University Diversity Council and the All Access Inclusion Network, and is a founding member of the Vanderbilt Autism and Neurodiversity Alliance. His research interests include gamma spectrometers for astrophysics applications and meaningful employment for adults on the spectrum by finding novel, innovative ways to measure their strengths, talents, and passions, then match those to specialized business needs, as well as determining the programs and training needed to maximize success in the workplace.

Every spring, the University Career Center offers programming that centers on disabled community members and their professional development as well as their rights in the workforce.

The theme this year is The Future of the Neurodiverse Workforce

If you need accommodations, please email Lee Anne Tourigny at ltourign@charlotte.edu

Stay tuned for the rest of the series:

• Meet-up 2: Thursday, March 21st 1-2 PM EST: "Job Searching as a Neurodivergent Job Seeker" led by David Barlaam from Honeywell


• Meet-up 3: Thursday, March 28th 10-11:30 AM EST: "Panel on Interviewing as a Neurodivergent Candidate" led by representatives from Bank of America


• Meet-up 4: Thursday, April 4th 11 AM-12 PM EST: "NeuroInclusion in the Workplace" led by Musi Lee from JP Morgan Chase & Co


• Meet-up 5: Thursday, April 11th 11 AM-12 PM EST: "Introduction to Digital Accessibility" led by Laura Trybus