Dr. Karen A. Berkman - President

Dr. Karen A. Berkman is the President of the Board of Directors. She was on faculty in the Department of Child and Family Studies and the Executive Director of CARD-USF (Center for Autism and Related Disabilities) and the Director of the Learning Academy at the University of South Florida (USF) for 16 years before meritoriously retiring in 2019. She coordinated all project activities and provided administrative supervision at the CARD-USF Tampa site, Highlands regional site and FGCU site. According to her teams, Dr. Berkman “ is the true definition of a leader. She is determined, forthright, and has the ability to inspire those around her. She has pushed us to great heights and constantly nudges us to think bigger, smarter and beyond by asking “what’s next?”. However, at the same time, she is compassionate, understanding and willing to stop at nothing to make sure we have all we need for the overall success of our work.”

Dr. Berkman was at the forefront of developing The Learning Academy for young adults to learn employment skills. She created the Autism Friendly Business initiative after seeing a need in the community which expanded into the Autism Friendly Tampa Initiative with the City of Tampa and former Mayor, Bob Buckhorn. Dr. Berkman also brought CARD-USF and HIPPY (Home Instruction for Parents of Pre-school Youngsters) together for a collaborative effort to assist children with autism participate in their home based instruction curriculum. This collaborative was recognized internationally and given the prestigious Avima Lombard award.

Dr. Berkman was selected by Governor Charlie Crist to be a member of the Governor’s Florida Autism Task Force for a four year period to develop a statewide plan to best serve those individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. Dr. Berkman has spent over 40 years working in the field of developmental disabilities as a clinician and program administrator. She is recognized for her seminal work on challenging behavior and lifestyle planning as well as creative program development for individuals with developmental disabilities. Since retiring, she is participating on two Boards for Tampa-based organizations and is the President of the Harold and Muriel Berkman Charitable Foundation providing scholarships nationally to combat veterans attending college