Bobbi Rogers champions autism support through community partnerships and family advocacy

Bobbi Rogers, senior director at Proud Moments ABA and a longtime autism advocate, is being recognized for more than two decades of work expanding access to care and building family-centered support systems in New York and beyond. Her leadership spans nonprofit organizing, conference speaking and programs that connect families to resources.

Why it matters: - Bobbi Rogers has spent more than 20 years helping families affected by autism find services, support and community connections. - Her work sits at the intersection of access to care, nonprofit advocacy and family-centered programming. - Rogers’ approach is built around making support systems easier to reach for families who often face barriers navigating autism services.

What happened: - Influential Women highlighted Rogers for her career in autism advocacy and community leadership. - Rogers serves as senior director of community and industry relations at Proud Moments ABA. - She leads initiatives focused on community partnerships, access to care and support for families. - Rogers is also a best-selling author of The Pages That Carried Us. - IngramSpark ranks the book No. 1 in the psychology and autism category. - The book is available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Walmart. - Rogers received this year’s Distinguished Service Award from The New York Association for Behavior Analysis. - She is a frequent invited speaker at autism and behavior analysis conferences across the country.

The details: - Rogers’ advocacy began after her son was diagnosed with autism in 2003. - She and her husband founded Families FIRST in 2005 as a nonprofit parent organization. - Families FIRST grew from one family’s search for support into a resource for many families in the community. - Rogers has created programs, educational trainings and collaborative partnerships that have reached thousands of families and professionals. - At Proud Moments ABA, Rogers has helped support the development of multiple satellite centers in her community. - Those centers are designed to bring services closer to families who need them. - Rogers holds a bachelor’s degree from Buffalo State University. - She serves on the board of the New York State Association for Behavior Analysis and ACCESS CNY. - Her specialties include autism, parent support, advocacy and collaboration.

Between the lines: - Rogers’ career blends lived experience and professional expertise, giving her a dual perspective on what families need. - Her emphasis on listening, empathy and kindness reflects a broader belief that effective autism support must be both evidence-based and personally responsive. - She has framed access to care as both the biggest challenge and the biggest opportunity in the field. - That focus helps explain why she has concentrated on systems, partnerships and family supports instead of only direct clinical services.

What’s next: - Rogers plans to continue expanding access to care through her work at Proud Moments ABA and her ongoing volunteer role with Families FIRST. - She remains focused on building inclusive, family-centered solutions that help children and adults with autism thrive. - Her community partnerships are expected to keep shaping how services and resources reach families in her region.

The bottom line: - Rogers has turned a family’s search for help into a long-term platform for autism advocacy, nonprofit support and care access.