Our Founder

Juli Liske

Juli C. Liske, founder and executive director, is the parent of a remarkable child with autism and the sibling of two brothers with disabilities.  She has firsthand experience in the often seemingly insurmountable challenges families of children with disabilities face.  She is also the author of the book In the Eye of the Hurricane: Finding Peace within the Storm of Autism.  http://www.spiritbuilding.com/Liske/liske.html

Ms. Liske was also awarded the Nashville Business Journal´s 2011 Women of Influence award for excellence in the area of Nonprofit Leadership, and the Sertoma Club of Nashville´s 2011 Service to Mankind Award.

In response to her own son´s diagnosis of autism in 2002 and the lack of services available in rural Appalachia where they lived at the time, Ms. Liske designed and implemented an intensive, integrated, home behavioral program for her son.

Today, at 11 years old, Ben Liske is a National Young Scholar, a member of American Mensa Society, and an accomplished mathematician, artist and performing musician.  Ben served as the poster child for the 2006 Autism Society of America "Voice of Autism" ad campaign. In 2009, Ben was featured in an Autism Self-Advocacy Network public service announcement funded by The Dan Marino Foundation which aired on national television networks, as well as on radio and in print.

The Liske´s inspire and give hope to parents of children with ASD.  After publication of her book and an overwhelming response from families in Middle Tennessee asking for help, Ms. Liske left her 15-year career as a registered dental hygienist to become a fulltime behavioral consultant to parents of children with autism and a trainer to the supporting professionals who serve them. Ms. Liske is also a frequent speaker to both professional and parent groups on the local, state, and national levels.

As a direct result of her success as a behavioral consultant, Ms. Liske was the recipient of a substantial donation from the family of a young client who has also made enormous progress as a result of Ms. Liske´s teaching strategies. Ms. Liske chose to utilize these funds, along with her experience, to found The Brown Center for Autism as a non-profit, family-focused, therapeutic center in order to offer a unique and effective early intervention autism treatment model to the Middle Tennessee community in the most cost-effective manner.