Jo Pike
Co-Founder
President/Executive Director 2003 - 2005
Mom to Matt, Aaron, Taylor, and Hunter.

Jo is a full time Mom with a strong management background who has been advocating for children at local, state, and national levels through media and legislation for many years. She serves on the School Improvement Council, has been a presenter at local and national autism conferences, and is very active in her local church as a co-director for the children's choir. She has helped coordinate several rallies and press conferences involving parents and legislators. It is her goal to see that all families and individuals with autism have access to the services and biomedical care that they need to live life to their fullest potential.

Jo served as President and Executive Director during her tenure with NAA from its incorporation in 2003 through 2005.

Liz Birt
Founding Board Member

Liz started her career in health insurance and then decided to go to law school at the ripe old age of 32. Liz began researching the role of vaccines and autism in 1998 shortly after Dr. Andrew Wakefield's first article was published in the Lancet. Liz started Medical Interventions for Autism, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to funding the possible link between inflammatory bowel disease, immune system disorders, viruses from vaccines and autism in 1999 shortly after her son, Matthew was treated at the Royal Free Hospital by Dr. Wakefield's colleagues. In 2000 she helped found the advocacy group SafeMinds and as General Counsel obtained various important documents relating to the CDC's knowledge of the dangers of Thimerosal. In 2001 she "retired" from the private practice of law to become a full time employee of the Committee on Government Reform under the Chairmanship of Rep. Dan Burton R-Ind.. Liz's main function was to review thousands of pages of government and industry records, conduct interviews of key FDA and CDC employees and to write a report on this issue to Congress. She accomplished this in May of 2002 when the Committee's staff report was released to Congress and the public entitled "Mercury in Medicine-Taking Unnecessary Risks".

Sadly, Liz was killed in a tragic car accident in December of 2005.  She is deeply missed by her family including her three beautiful children, Sarah, Andrew and Matthew and countless friends whose lives she touched in her own very special way.

Alan Clark
Scientific Advisory Board Member

The National Autism Association is deeply saddened by the loss of Alan D. Clark, M.D. A member of our scientific advisory board, Alan was respected and admired by all who had the honor of working with him. His love for his family was boundless, as was his compassion for all families affected by neurological disorders resulting from mercury exposure.

Although a genteel, soft-spoken man, Alan’s words and intellect were powerful. He was a selfless seeker of medical truth, even when that truth might prove unpopular with the medical community in which he served. Alan was one of only a handful of physicians in the entire state of Missouri brave enough to confront the reality that overexposure to mercury through vaccines has led to epidemic numbers of neurologically injured children.

Alan’s tireless pursuit to educate others about the devastating effects of mercury upon children led him to all parts of the country, where all who met him were struck by his sincerity, kindness, and dedication to helping others.

We have lost a much loved and irreplaceable friend in Alan Clark, and the autism community has lost a fearless advocate for truth and healing. Our sympathy and prayers go out to Alan’s family and loved ones. We join with countless others nationwide in mourning the loss of a hero.

Robert Krakow
Founding Board Member

Bob is an attorney in private practice in New York City. In the 1980's Bob was a prosecutor with the New York County District Attorney's office, serving for 9 years, including five years as a Bureau Chief in the narcotics prosecution Bureau. He founded his own law firm in New York City in 1989 and specializes in the trial of civil and criminal cases. Bob is committed to working for persons with disabilities. He is the Board Chairperson of Lifespire, Inc. (formerly ACRMD-Association for Children with Retarded Mental Development), a 55 year old NYC not-for-profit that provides residential programs, day programs, occupational programs and other supports for more than 5000 persons who are developmentally disabled. He is also active with his local Special Education PTA. Bob believes that the challenge of providing necessary supports and services for the increasing numbers of developmentally disabled persons is the biggest health crisis facing our nation. He lives in New York with his wife, Lori, and his two children, Carly, 10 and Alex, 4.

Bernard Rimland, Ph.D.
1928-2007

Education:
Undergraduate study at San Diego University
1953 Ph.D - Experimental Psychology and Research Design, Pennsylvania State University.

A research psychologist, Dr. Rimland studied the relationship between nutrition and retardation, hyperactivity, learning disabilities, delinquency and, primarily, autism since the mid-1960's. He was the director of the Autism Research Institute, editor of the Autism Research Review International, and founder of the Autism Society of America. His book Infantile Autism: The Syndrome and Its Implications for a Neural Theory of Behavior is credited with dramatically altering the field of psychiatry with the recognition that autism is a biological disorder, not an emotional illness. Dr. Rimland served as the chief technical advisor for the Academy-award winning film Rainman.