FINANCE AND AUDIT COMMITTEE
The Finance and Audit Committee monitors all fiscal affairs of CHADD to ensure that the financial policies established by the Board are being met and that the fiscal integrity and accountability of CHADD is being maintained. Duties include reviewing and recommending revisions and/or new fiscal or investment policies and standards; reviewing budget recommendations and submit jointly with the Executive Committee a recommended organizational budget to the Board of Directors; in conjunction with staff, developing and submitting monthly financial reports to the Board of Directors; and in conjunction with staff, reviewing all unrestricted and investment funds annually to determine amounts to be allocated into long term investments.
Shirelle F. Pearson, MBA, GBA, Chair
Shirelle F. Pearson is an account manager with Marsh & McLennan Agency (MMA) in their New York City employee health and benefits office, with over thirty years of experience in insurance carrier, human resources, and group benefits consulting. She also extends her knowledge to her graduate students as an adjunct professor at the New York Institute of Technology. She sought resources to support her newly diagnosed son and found CHADD quite valuable in her ADHD educational pursuits, for herself and family. In 2014, she accepted the role of treasurer for the Nassau County chapter and accepted the additional role of coordinator in 2018. Having recently assumed membership on CHADD’s diversity, equity, and inclusion committee, she is currently pursuing an ADHD parent coaching certification. Her career has allowed her the opportunity to effectively communicate across organizations and implement thoughtful benefits and wellness recommendations, positively affecting the lives of thousands of employees and their families. She is a published essayist who enjoys helping clients empower employees through emotionally intelligent strategies, which foster better health, employee satisfaction, higher productivity, and loyalty. A member of MMA’s diversity, equity, and inclusion council she participated in its Aspire mentorship program. She also volunteers as the director of programs with the New York Metro Area chapter of the International Society of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists (ISCEBS) and its chapter working group. She is a lifelong learner and critical thinker who believes that collaboration is the best way to build a strong village that elevates everyone. She earned her BBA from Adelphi University, her MBA from Dowling College and Group Benefits Associate Certificate from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans in partnership with Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Her crowning achievements are her marriage of twenty-five years and the role of doting mother to her two sons.
Ingrid Y. Alpern, JD, LLM in Tax
Ingrid Alpern practiced tax law in Washington, DC, for many years. Alpern has helped to raised awareness about ADHD and provides support to families coping with ADHD through her long-term work as a volunteer for CHADD and as a Parent to Parent teacher. She also serves on CHADD’s Finance Committee. Alpern brings to CHADD the expertise she developed as a tax attorney in legal research and writing and analysis of complex matters.
Vincent Buttaci, JD
Vincent N. Buttaci, JD, is a member of Buttaci Leardi & Werner LLC, a boutique health law firm with offices in New Jersey and New York. He focuses his practice on representing nonprofit and for-profit behavioral health facilities and health systems in all aspects of care delivery, access, and reimbursement. Additionally, he has nearly twenty-five years of experience representing nonprofit healthcare associations in matters of advocacy, legislative action, and public policy reform. While in law school, Buttaci struggled with undiagnosed adult ADHD and later learned about coping with neurodiversity. His experience spurred him to establish the Wellness in Career Program at The Ohio State University Michael E. Moritz College of Law, which provides workshops to law students on building self-awareness and addressing time management, stress, and anxiety. He first became involved with CHADD after his daughter’s ADHD diagnosis and is thrilled to join the board of directors to support the organization’s ongoing mission.
Stephen Chen
Stephen Chen is a board-tested operational leader and CFO who connects people and initiatives that can improve business and societal outcomes at the intersection of technology and business transformation. Chen was educated at Texas A&M Corpus Christi, New York University, and Brown University. He is a public and private board member of several companies, including Phunware, Kent Moore Capital, BioIntegrate, and formerly Anchor Fundings. He was previously the chief investment officer for a UHNW commodities-based family office and started an alternative asset fund that was collateralized by assets in excess of $2B. Chen brings twenty years of executive experience in financial services and technology, where he has built up particular expertise in sales, capital markets, strategic partnerships and investments, as well as growing and scaling business operations in the United States and Asia. He is a member of the US Chamber of Commerce in New York City, the Urban Land Institute, New York Investment Network, and Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. His philanthropic work has been covered by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Fox News, ABC, and NBC. He has spoken at Yale, Brown, NYU, and Columbia University and is the recipient of the Orphans International Global Citizenship Award, the Dragon 100 Fellowship, and the C.V. Starr Fellowship. He has been profiled in two books, Luck Does Not Exist by Mario Calabresi and Inspired! by Vik Venkatraman.
Allyson Dennis
Allyson Dennis is a strategic leader with more than twenty years of experience spanning finance, audit, cybersecurity, and responsible AI. She began her career in finance and audit, later expanding her expertise to lead cybersecurity programs as regulatory demands and emerging technologies introduced new organizational risks. Most recently, her work has focused on responsible AI. She is passionate about advocating to protect the best interests of individuals and marginalized communities by addressing systemic biases that technology can amplify, ensuring fair and equitable outcomes. She also mentors women with neurodiversity in cybersecurity. In addition to her profession, she serves her community on the Charleston County procurement appeals board and is the founder of the CHADD of Charleston chapter. Recognizing that many families have relocated to the Charleston area in recent years without established networks of friends or family, she is passionate about helping them find belonging and community. She lives in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, with her husband and three teenagers, two of whom have ADHD. On weekends, she enjoys quality time with her family, often at the beach or on the water boating in her coastal community.
Jeremy Didier, LSCSW, LMAC
Jeremy Didier, LSCSW, LMAC, ADHD-CCSP, is the immediate past president of CHADD’s board of directors and has more than fifteen years of experience supporting individuals and families affected by ADHD. Grounded in CHADD’s mission of evidence-based information, support, and advocacy, she is the founder and co-coordinator of Kansas City’s CHADD chapter, ADHDKC, twice named CHADD Chapter of the Year. Didier provides assessment, diagnosis, and therapeutic services for adults with ADHD through her private practice, TreehouseADHD, in the Kansas City, Missouri, area. A nationally recognized speaker and contributor to the Washington Post and NBC Nightly News, her professional focus includes the underdiagnosis of ADHD in girls and women, the intersection of ADHD and addiction, and improving outcomes for justice-involved individuals. Diagnosed with ADHD as an adult, she holds a master’s degree in social work from Fordham University and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Kansas. Didier is most proud to be the mother of five children, four of whom are also neurodivergent.
Stacey Heffner
Christine Kotik
Christine Kotik, PCC, NBC-HWC, has over fifteen years of dedicated experience supporting individuals and families affected by ADHD, both personally and professionally. Certified as both a professional coach (International Coach Federation) and a health and wellness coach (National Board for Health and Wellness Coaching), she specializes in helping clients navigate the unique challenges of ADHD by offering customized strategies and skill-building techniques. Her twelve-year involvement with CHADD has been a cornerstone of her work. She is a professional member, a Parent to Parent facilitator, and has delivered webinars and podcasts that have provided vital education and support to the ADHD community. She also serves as the coordinator for CHADD of Ohio, where she plays a pivotal role in expanding the organization’s reach and impact.
Suzanne Sophos, CMPSS
Suzanne Sophos, CMPSS, is president of CHADD’s board of directors, where she provides strategic and governance leadership in support of CHADD’s mission to empower and improve the lives of people affected by ADHD. She also serves as director of CHADD of California, overseeing one of the nation’s largest and most active ADHD communities, including a robust online presence and more than thirty monthly peer support groups, educational meetings, and social gatherings across the state. Sophos represents CHADD on the leadership steering team for the International Conference on ADHD and serves on the editorial advisory board of Attention magazine. She was honored with the CHADD Volunteer of the Year Award in 2022, and she has twice led chapters recognized as CHADD Chapter of the Year. An adult with both autism and ADHD (AuDHD), as well as a twice-exceptional (2e) individual and parent of a neurodivergent child, Sophos brings lived experience to her work as a certified peer support specialist, ADHD/AuDHD coach, and support group facilitator. She is also the founder of Brave Spaces, a peer support and coaching practice. Sophos speaks to the national ADHD and AuDHD community—individuals, families, clinicians, and leaders—on the role of community infrastructure in supporting follow-through and sustainable change. Prior to this work, she spent two decades as a business strategy consultant for Fortune 100 and global brands, including AT&T, Toyota, Honda, and Nintendo. She is a graduate of Texas Christian University and is based in Los Angeles.
Laurie Kulikosky, CAE, Staff Liaison
