Meet The Founders
Elena Lawson
Cassandra Lopez
Cassandra Lopez
Elena is a mother of two young boys living on beautiful Vancouver Island. Her oldest son was diagnosed with autism in 2018. Once diagnosed, Elena built her sons home team that he has had ever since. Individual funding has been an integral part of their families lives & has built a pathway for success. When the funding changes were
Elena is a mother of two young boys living on beautiful Vancouver Island. Her oldest son was diagnosed with autism in 2018. Once diagnosed, Elena built her sons home team that he has had ever since. Individual funding has been an integral part of their families lives & has built a pathway for success. When the funding changes were announced in October 2021, Elena joined Cassandra Lopez in advocating to retain this essential funding for the thousands of families in BC. In late 2022, Children’s Autism Federation of BC was formed. Through grassroots advocacy, Elena hopes to bring awareness to this issue but also general awareness about autism. She formed Children’s Autism Federation of BC with Cassandra to also help parents navigate the entire autism journey from pre-diagnosis forward & to keep government accountable for the sweeping changes to individual autism funding.
Cassandra Lopez
Cassandra Lopez
Cassandra Lopez
Cassandra lives in Metro Vancouver with her family and is the mother of two. Her oldest was diagnosed with autism in Ontario before relocating to Vancouver. Her experience in both the Ontario and the BC autism support system have made her a strong advocate.
She built and managed her daughter’s therapy team and in 2018 took on homeschoolin
Cassandra lives in Metro Vancouver with her family and is the mother of two. Her oldest was diagnosed with autism in Ontario before relocating to Vancouver. Her experience in both the Ontario and the BC autism support system have made her a strong advocate.
She built and managed her daughter’s therapy team and in 2018 took on homeschooling.
After working as a parent advocate with Elena Lawson in 2021 when the funding changes were announced, Cassandra went on to form Children’s Autism Federation of BC with Elena to ensure the needs of children are met along their journey from pre-diagnosis forward and to capture the necessity for choice within supports and services. Together, they are working to hold the government accountable to ensure the needs of autistic children are heard.