Our Team

Sandra Marie Nothem-Whalen holds a Master’s in Education Counseling Psychology from St. Bonaventure University. With a rich background in counseling and nonprofit work, Sandra currently serves as the co-founder and acting board secretary of the nonprofit Creating Hope for Opportunities, Participation, and Empowerment. She also volunteers with their classes weekly. Sandy and her husband, DAT Founder Dave, have operated the Central Amherst Little League Challenger Division since 2014, a baseball league with 90 players with disabilities.

Sandy brings over a decade of experience as a guidance counselor and has served as a senior social worker at Cattaraugus Community Actions and as the director of the ProCare employee assistance program in Buffalo, New York. Sandra has also contributed significantly to youth development, having served as a youth advisor at multiple schools and coordinated Drug-Free School grants. She has been recognized with the Robert Gavin Award for Outstanding Student Achievement and was awarded a graduate assistantship at St. Bonaventure University.

Sandy and Dave live in Williamsville, NY and are the proud parents of their adult children, twins David and Rachel. David and Rachel were born 11 weeks premature, which caused David to have cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder, and a learning disability. David received his Skills and Achievement Commencement Credential from Williamsville South High School and Rachel graduated Summa Cum Laude from Cornell University, majoring in English Literature and minoring in Spanish. Rachel also obtained a Masters in Fine Arts from New York University.

Vicky Davidson has forty years of experience working with people with disabilities. Over 30 years of her career, she was with the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council where she retired as the Executive Director. In this role, she worked toward statewide systems change and policy development that impacts individuals with developmental disabilities, their families, serving as a strong advocate for people with disabilities. Following Hurricane Katrina, Vicky became active in the emergency management arena with a focus working with individuals with disabilities, their families and providers of services. She managed Missouri’s state Health Department’s Emergency Response Center for several years where she gained experience responding to the H1N1 pandemic, ice storms with massive power outages, flooding, tornadoes and other public health emergencies. Vicky’s passion is providing people with disabilities the tools they need for preparedness and recovery from disasters. She served as Chair of Missouri’s Access and Functional Needs Committee for seven years and was a voting member of the National Advisory Council for Individuals with Disabilities in Disasters (NACIDD). Vicky also served as the Chair on the Board of Directors for MO Protec9on and Advocacy Services. In her retirement, she continues to provide emergency preparedness and best practices in emergency management. She is a parent and family member of individuals with disabilities and enjoys spending time with her daughter, hiking, traveling, and nature photography.

Nick Dubin, Psy.D., is an autism advocate, author, educator, and speaker diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2004. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from Oakland University, a Master’s degree in Learning Disabilities from the University of Detroit Mercy, and a Doctorate (Psy.D.) from the Michigan School of Professional Psychology. Nick’s early development was marked by profound challenges: he was nonverbal until the age of 4, exhibited significant fine motor difficulties, engaged in self-stimulatory behaviors such as arm-flapping and jumping, and was placed in special education at age 12. His developmental delays persisted through adolescence, deeply shaping both his worldview and professional path.

Nick is the author of several books on autism spectrum disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Disabilities and the Criminal Justice System: Breaking the Cycle, The Autism Spectrum and Depression, Asperger Syndrome and Anxiety: A Guide to Successful Stress Management, Asperger Syndrome and Bullying: Strategies and Solutions, and The Autism Spectrum, Sexuality and the Law: What every parent and professional needs to know, co-authored with Dr. Isabelle Hénault and Dr. Tony Attwood. In addition to his books, Nick co-authored a peer-reviewed article with Professor Janet Graetz titled “Spirituality and the Autism Spectrum,” published in the Journal of Religion, Disability & Health in 2009. He has also contributed chapters to academic volumes published by Carolina Academic Press and Springer Publishing in collaboration with defense attorney Elizabeth Kelley.

Bringing both personal experience and scholarly expertise, Nick is a passionate advocate for systemic change. Having himself been involved in the criminal justice system, he is uniquely positioned to speak to the failures and reforms needed to protect neurodivergent individuals. He currently serves on the Justice Task Force of the Autism Society of America. He is the Secretary of the board for Decriminalize Developmental Disabilities, a nonprofit focused on reducing legal inequities faced by individuals with developmental disabilities. Nick has delivered invited presentations on autism and justice reform at national venues including the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Division in Washington, D.C., the National Association of Federal Public Defenders Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and for Federal Defender offices in both the District of Kansas and the Western District of New York. In addition to his professional work, Nick was an All-State tennis player in high school, competed as the number one singles player on both his high school and college teams, and once appeared on The Price is Right. He is also a devoted jazz aficionado.

Pat bio…

Michelle is the 9-1-1 Master Trainer, beginning her tenure in 2016 when the program was housed at Niagara University’s First Responder Disability Awareness program. She retired from public safety in December, 2015 after more than 38 years with Erie County (NY) Central Police Services Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). Michelle began working as a 911 call taker in 1977, became a shift supervisor in 1980 and spent the last six years as the PSAP Director.

Formerly certified as an APCO Public Safety Telecommunicator-1, 7th edition instructor, she has conducted the Public Safety Telecommunicator-1 course numerous times for Erie and adjoining county’s telecommunicators. She volunteers as treasurer of Elma Community Emergency Response Team, Inc., has trained at the FEMA Emergency Management Institute as a CERT trainer for the Basic Community Emergency Response Team training course. Michelle has participated as an instructor for the Basic Community Emergency Response Team training course, usually focusing on the CERT Organization and Incident Command System portion of the course. She is certified as a
Heartsaver and BLS CPR instructor.

Three of Michelle’s five younger brothers were diagnosed with spinocerebellar ataxia with onset in
their early 40s. The condition is degenerative and causes difficulty with balance and fine
motor skills, slurred speech and eventually loss of the ability to ambulate without assistance.
The oldest of the three also experienced depression, which ultimately led to his suicide in January
of 2013. Michelle has seen many of the challenges presented with accessibility, communication
impairment and mental illness. Her personal experience has led her to feel very strongly about
the need for disability awareness training for first responders. Because of her 911 background,
it was apparent to Michelle that disability awareness was not only necessary for field responders but
should include public safety telecommunicators as well.

Maria bio…

Sam bio…