Autism-Europe started the year with some new faces. In the first months of 2024, we bid farewell to cherished colleagues and opened our doors to some passionate new team members. Get acquainted with them below.
Anne Rensma – Communications Manager
Anne has worked in communications for several years, holds a master’s in Gender Studies from Utrecht University, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in French language and literature.
What brought you to AE? I am mostly looking forward to making meaningful contributions to AE’s mission statement to improve the quality of life of autistic people, specifically in terms of communication and dissemination. My connection to the cause is a strong motivator and incentive and adds a layer of lived experience and specific expertise.
What is your connection with autism? I am an autistic, queer woman, and I am very driven to work in the neurodiversity advocacy field and to strengthen and support the community.
What’s a surprising or interesting fact about yourself? My synesthesia makes me count in colors and attach spatial realities to feelings, for example.
What inspires you? Stories.
What are you looking forward to most about collaborating with the team here? Since a lot of us are quite new to the team, I look forward to getting to know each other better and to work together smoothly on our interesting projects and AE-related topics.
Aoife McGarry – Project Officer
Aoife holds an LLM in International Law and Human Rights from Maastricht University and a BA in Law from NUI Galway.
Before joining Autism Europe, Aoife worked in Brussels within the disability rights field, first as a Policy Trainee for Inclusion Europe and then a Campaign Coordinator for the European Network on Independent Living.
What brought you to AE? It has always been my hope to work on autism rights. I have been an advocate for autism since I was a teenager. I studied human rights law and I have been in the disability rights field in Brussels for the past two years. Being a part of AE feels like a whole new opportunity to advance autism rights and acceptance.
What is your connection with autism? I am a sibling of an autistic person. My sister was diagnosed when I was sixteen years old. She is thirteen years younger than me and so like many siblings of disabled people, I took on a care role.
What’s a surprising or interesting fact about yourself? Even though I am Irish, I hate the taste of beer! (like really hate it)
What inspires you? I am inspired by people’s resilience. I think that everyone has a story of resilience. Part of getting to know someone is learning how strong they are. This inspires me to be resilient for myself and to support others.
What are you looking forward to most about collaborating with the team here? There are so many opportunities here at Autism-Europe. With all the amazing member organisations, projects and connections this organisation has I am just really looking forward to working with my new team on projects and work that strives for, not only autism awareness but autism acceptance.
David Eaton – Project Officer
David holds a Master of Public Policy from the University College Dublin specialising in European Union Public policy and a Bachelor of Arts in History and Politics. Previously David had worked in a diverse range of roles, contributing their analytical, communications, and research skills to several organisations.
What brought you to AE? I came to Autism-Europe to help build a more accessible and equitable Europe.
What is your connection with autism? My connection to autism is quite direct and personal, I am autistic. I have additional diagnoses of Dyslexia and Dyspraxia.
What’s a surprising or interesting fact about yourself? Hmm, this is a hard question. I once ran as a Local Election candidate in my home country of Ireland. I have 5 siblings.
What inspires you? I am inspired by my desire to help build a much more accessible and inclusive world for everyone. When I am at work on a project or a policy document the goal is to try and help others navigate and engage with the topic directly.
What are you looking forward to most about collaborating with the team here? I look forward to working on our various projects particularly those dealing with accessibility issues in unemployment and education.
Fernanda Buriola – Communications and Project Officer
Fernanda worked as a media analyst and journalist. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and has completed several other courses.
What brought you to AE? I was looking for a job that was meaningful to me and other people.
What is your connection with autism? I didn’t have a direct connection before working at AE. I am marveled at the human mind and everything related to it.
What’s a surprising or interesting fact about yourself? I can spend a whole afternoon watching trailers without choosing a movie to watch.
What inspires you? Learning. And poetry.
What are you looking forward to most about collaborating with the team here? I look forward to working with different projects and learning from what they have to teach. Additionally, I hope to enhance my skills through different tasks related to AE’s communication.
We would also like to wholeheartedly thank Carmen Clemente, Camilla Lombardi and Etxane O. Scott for their achievements and dedication on AE team, and wish them the best in their new professional endeavors.