My brother was diagnosed with autism at the age of 6. It wasn’t until the age of 26 that I finally began learning what that meant to me, and more importantly, what my brother meant to me. Keep reading to learn more about what I’m doing with my life – all brought to you by my brother (aka – my best man).

___________________________________________________________________

As Chief Executive Officer of Infiniteach LLC, Katie Hench brings passion, business acumen, and strategic focus gained through twenty years of personal and professional experiences in the field of autism. Leveraging her personal experiences, educational background, and professional expertise, Katie has already demonstrated her dedication for working tirelessly to change the educational landscape for children with autism around the world. Since joining Infiniteach LLC’s team in January 2013, Katie has secured seed funding and has helped negotiate contracts for initial product development and distribution.

Prior to her involvement with Infiniteach LLC, Katie served as the Executive Director of AACTION Autism, an international nonprofit that provides autism training and resources to families and educators in developing countries. Under her guidance, AACTION Autism has directly trained more than 750 teachers and parents from countries throughout Southeast Asia and Western Africa in best practice autism intervention. Utilizing asset-based community development, Katie focused the organization on increasing local capacity, standardizing policies and procedures, and fostering new relationships with partnering organizations from around the world.

Katie previously worked for the Chicago Children’s Museum and Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago.  Katie is also an alumna of Teach for America, having taught elementary special education with St. Louis Public Schools. As the Lead Special Education teacher, Katie was responsible for the development of educational, social, and independent living skills for students in grades K-6. Katie is trained in a variety of autism interventions and travels throughout Illinois as a Structured Teaching trainer and autism consultant.

As a ‘double domer’ graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Katie holds her Masters in Nonprofit Administration through Mendoza College of Business and received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Katie currently serves on the Ethics & Rights Committee for Esperanza Community Services, a Chicago-area nonprofit serving the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities. Katie also serves on the Board of Directors for Chief Supermarkets Inc., a family run grocery store chain that operates 11 full-service stores across Northwest Ohio.

Katie lives in Chicago with her husband, Mark, but together they spend as much time as possible traveling the world. Mark knows that he falls second on Katie’s list – that’s why she loves him so much.