Project Miracle Board:
Tom Cajka, President:
Tom is an entertainment business manager, certified public accountant and the CFO of Ogulnick Leventhal & Cajka, LLP with over 30 years experience in running the financial activities of entertainment clients and small businesses. He, along with board treasurer Tarryn Breskal, oversee our financial records. Tom has served on the board of The Miracle Project, previously as treasurer, since 2011.
Rob Eshman, Vice President:
Rob is the former Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of TRIBE Media and the Jewish Journal. Rob is also the recent recipient of the Jewish Communal Professionals of Southern California Lifetime Achievement Award. Rob’s reputation, connections, and passion for both the Jewish community and the disability community are why he has been a central figure on our board for many years.
Tarryn Breskal, Treasurer:
An experienced certified public accountant, Tarryn is a dedicated member of TMP board. She is passionate about the program as she has a young adult son with autism and her daughter, Leah, volunteers for the program. She is very involved with the broader autism community, helping TMP spread information about the program. She also serves on the board of Sinai Akiba Academy School and is the CFO at Milken Community High School.
Lauren Katz, Secretary:
Lauren has been involved in executive management and major fundraising for various non-profits and foundations for the past 25 years. She is the Past President of the Board of Directors for the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara and sits on their executive board. Her roles include Major Gifts chair and member of the Jewish Family Service advisory board. She is also a member of the National Women’s Philanthropy Board of Directors. In addition to serving on the board, Lauren is a strategic advisor around TMP’s fundraising endeavors.
Elaine Hall, Founder of the Miracle Project
Elaine, also known as “Coach E,” has been referenced by The New York Times as “the child whisperer” and is a pioneer in using theatre and movement practices as a portal for connection among individuals with autism and related disabilities. Elaine was a top Hollywood acting coach when her adopted son was diagnosed with severe autism. When traditional behavioral therapies did not work for him, she developed an innovative methodology combining mindfulness and the expressive arts with what she was learning from autism experts, Dr. Stanley Greenspan, Dr. Ricki Robinson, and Dr. Barry Prizant. These methods are chronicled in her book, Seven Keys to Unlock Autism: Making Miracles in the Classroom, which is used as a textbook in several universities, including Brown University. Elaine’s memoir, Now I See the Moon: A Mother, A Son, a Miracle was selected by the United Nations for World Autism Awareness Day, where she has been a featured speaker. Elaine has been lauded in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, as well as on CNN, CBS, and the Oprah Winfrey Network. The Emmy Award-winning HBO documentary, AUTISM: The Musical profiles Elaine’s early work with The Miracle Project, which has since been deemed evidence-based and is now being replicated nationally and internationally.
Advisory Board:
Rabbi Naomi Levy
Naomi is the founder and leader of Nashuva, a groundbreaking Jewish spiritual outreach movement based in Los Angeles. Levy was named one of the top-fifty rabbis in America by Newsweek and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the Today show, and NPR. Her latest book, Einstein and the Rabbi, was published in September 2017. She is the author of the national bestseller To Begin Again, as well as Talking to God and Hope Will Find You. She was in the first class of women to enter the Jewish Theological Seminary’s rabbinical school and the first woman in her movement to head a congregation on the West Coast.
Alex Plank:
Alex developed and owns WrongPlanet.net, one of the most visited social media sites for individuals with Asperger’s syndrome and autism, which he started in his teen years after being diagnosed at the age of 9. He graduated from George Mason University with a degree in Film and Video Studies and serves as a consultant to actors playing characters with autism on television and film. Alex serves as the consultant to the lead actress & creators of FX’s hit TV series The Bridge. Alex’s feature documentary film Shameful about autism in France was released in 2012. As a prominent autism advocate in the entertainment industry, Alex provides important gateways and connections for TMP.
Dr. Barry M. Prizant, PhD, CCC-SLP
Barry is among the world’s leading authorities on autism, with more than forty years of experience as a scholar, researcher, and international consultant. He is an adjunct professor at Brown University, author of Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism with Tom Fields-Meyer and coauthor of The SCERTS Model: A Comprehensive Educational Approach, now being implemented in more than a dozen countries.
Dr. Ricki Robinson
Dr Robinson is co-director of Descanso Medical Center for Development and Learning in La Canada, California. She is a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Keck School Medicine of USC and Senior Attending Physician at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. She has been in private pediatric practice for over 30 years, specializing in children and adults with developmental delays for over twenty years.
Dr. Stephen Shore
Dr. Shore is a professor at Adelphi University where his research focuses on matching best practice to the needs of people with autism. In addition to working with children and talking about life on the autism spectrum, Stephen is internationally renowned for presentations, consultations and writings on lifespan issues pertinent to education, relationships, employment, advocacy, and disclosure. A current board member of Autism Speaks, president emeritus of the Asperger’s Association of New England, and advisory board member of the Autism Society, Dr. Shore serves on the boards of the Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism Association, The US Autism and Asperger Association, the Scientific Counsel of OAR, and other autism related organizations.
