In 1998, Karen Simmons, a mother of seven, founded Autism Today, the first online global autism resource center. She won the Internet Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2001 and has been featured on PBS, ABC, and Woman’s World. Karen co-authored “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Children with Special Needs,” authored “Little Rainman,” and “Artism: Art By Those with Autism,” and has contributed to 14 books, including the Gold Medal-winning “The Official Autism 101 Manual.” She has also hosted 74 autism conferences across North America.

Karen has transformed Autism Today into two non-profit organizations, the Autism Today Foundation and Autism Today Foundation Canada. She plans to share information through a channel, ARTS network, and Learning & Education Division, providing essential resources for the autism and neurodivergent community. Her most recent accomplishment was hosting the “World Autism Summit” with Dr. Temple Grandin, Dr. Stephen Shore, Elaine Hall, Dani Bowman, and other top experts in the autism community. Currently she is planning the “World Autism Summit” by Autism Today which is a virtual event meant to continue the mission of “moving the needle of understanding, support and success for people with autism and neurodiversity in the fastest way possible, globally.