Who We Are...
A Closer Look at What Drives Us
Meet Our Leadership Team
Our Culture
At Autism Inspired Academy, everything we do is built around our Six Pillars of Character, which help the children in our programs develop perseverance, conscientiousness, optimism, curiosity and self-discipline. By modeling and teaching these six pillars as our core values, we can enhance children’s moral growth and development.
Six Pillars of Character
Trust
Respect
Responsibility
Fairness
Caring
Citizenship
Our Team
Liz Bauer Russell
Liz Bauer Russell earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Nevada Las Vegas and a master’s degree in educational counseling from the University of Phoenix. She was an educator for 5 years, challenging 8th-grade students to share their ideas through writing. She enjoyed a successful 8-year career with Pfister Faucets, including a role as a National Sales Manager. She is currently the co-founder of Autism Inspired Academy, an autism academy for education and development. Liz is passionate about using her knowledge and personal experiences with her son to benefit others in the community. She believes that all children have the right to an excellent education regardless of disability or income.
Cher Harris
Cher Harris serves as Principal of Autism Inspired Academy. Cher has worked in Exceptional Student Education for over 12 years and is an advocate for children with autism. In 2017, Cher was named the ESE Teacher of the Year for the Council of Exceptional Children in Pinellas County and received the ESE Teacher of the Year Award for the State of Florida. Cher has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Special Education and a second master’s in Educational Leadership. Her involvement in Autism Inspired Academy stems from the need for a comprehensive education program that enriches each child socially, emotionally and academically. Students deserve educators that believe they are capable of more and will not give up until they have exceeded expectations. Cher believes all children can learn with a multi-faceted approach in the classroom and curriculum that leads to differentiation for the individual student.
Toni Salvatore
Toni Izzie Salvatore is part of the education team at Autism Inspired Academy and has spent 12 years working hands-on with exceptional student education, starting her career in Maryland, and carrying on here in Florida. Toni had the pleasure of training under Cher Harris for the past 5 years in working with children with autism and has attended numerous trainings that have helped her grow her career in working with children on the spectrum. She also worked as a lead teacher for an autism school in Hillsborough county where she co-taught with Cher Harris and helped students achieve success. She specializes in both individual and group educational intervention to improve and reinforce math and reading skills for students below grade level with special needs. Her experience also includes 6 years of intercultural outreach, having traveled to Dominican Republic and Haiti to facilitate summer camp operations for the deaf and challenged students of Touching Live Worldwide. She spent 5 years as Children Director of NAC (North Arundel Church). Toni’s passion is to see a need and meet it according to what strategy is best for each individual student. As human beings, we all have a desire to be independent and Toni possesses an intuitive drive to help her students reach their goals of independence.
Chloe Hoffman
Chloe Hoffman will complete her bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Neuroscience in May of 2020 from Nova Southeastern University, where she also played collegiate soccer and was a part of their premier scholarship program, Razor’s Edge. She has a passion for working with children with autism that comes from her own personal experience with her younger brother Campbell. Chloe believes that all individuals regardless of disability have incredible potential and she wants to help those individuals reach their potential through teamwork, support, and love each and every day. Chloe has done work with many organizations such as the Special Olympics and Best Buddies in the past, but this is her first experience within a classroom setting and she is extremely eager to learn all she can in order to help her students in any way they may need in order to succeed. Chloe strives to bring energy, positivity, and motivation into the classroom while also staying highly goal oriented and organized in order to bring her students the most success possible.