Amy Weinstock
Program Founder and Director
Amy Weinstock is Director of the Insurance Resource Center for Autism and Behavioral Health at UMass Chan Medical School’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center and an instructor in the Department of Psychiatry. A recognized leader in autism and behavioral health insurance policy, she helped secure passage of several landmark Massachusetts laws requiring health insurance coverage for medically necessary autism treatments. She serves as a trustee of the Riverview School and as a commissioner on the Massachusetts Autism Commission. Her contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including awards from the Federation for Children with Special Needs, Autism Speaks, The Arc of Massachusetts, the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation, and Northeast Arc. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and a Master of Architecture from Harvard University.
Following a successful career in real estate and banking, Amy, the parent of a child on the autism spectrum, decided to merge her personal passions and professional experience. She completed a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) fellowship at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center in 2005. Following this, she served as President of the outreach organization of the Lurie Center for Autism at Massachusetts General Hospital for two years prior to her appointment as Chair of the Insurance Committee for Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts (AFAM)Amy’s work has been recognized through numerous awards including the Federation for Children with Special Needs Martha H. Ziegler Founders Award, the Margaret L. Bauman Award for Excellence, the Massachusetts ARC’s Distinguished Citizens Award, the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation Essential piece award, and the Northeast ARC’s Edward C. O’Keefe Memorial Award. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and received a Masters of Architecture from Harvard.
Terri Farrell
Senior Project Director
Terri Farrell, MBA, is the Senior Project Director of the Insurance Resource Center for Autism and Behavioral Health. She was drawn to this work through her son, who was diagnosed with autism at age three. In 2017, Terri joined the Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership Family Advisory Council and was appointed to the Massachusetts State Autism Commission’s 22+ Employment Subcommittee. From 2013–2023, she served as Government Affairs Chair and Autism Advocacy Event Chair for Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts. In 2023, Terri was named faculty for Harvard Medical School’s online course, Clinical Care for Autistic Adults. In 2024, she received a Massachusetts Heroine Award from the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women for her autism advocacy.
Terri has presented at local conferences focusing on autism insurance, transition and issues affecting homeless youth with ASD. She has presented at SPEDPACS throughout the Commonwealth on the ARICA law and accessing ABA coverage through MassHealth. Prior to joining the Shriver Center in 2014, Terri was the marketing manager for Immunetics, and prior to that, was a pharmaceutical/medical device sales representative for MediSense, Nordisk-Gentofte and Allergan. Her undergraduate business degree is from the University of Cincinnati. Her MBA is from Northeastern University. Terri completed a LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disability) Fellowship in 2015 to build on her expertise in the field of autism insurance.
Suzanne Jervinis
Insurance Navigation Manager
Suzanne Jervinis is the Insurance Navigation Manager for the Insurance Resource Center for Autism and Behavioral Health (IRC), where she has worked for over four years. She brings 15 years of experience from the Massachusetts Health Connector, where she wore many hats, including creating and facilitating trainings for Navigators, Certified Application Counselors, call center staff, and internal teams.
Suzanne is passionate about helping families navigate insurance options and access the coverage they deserve. Before joining the IRC, she advocated for families from within the Health Connector, helping colleagues understand the IRC’s mission and developing workarounds to better serve these families. She also serves on the Disability Task Force Steering Committee. Outside of work, Suzi enjoys baking and singing in her church choir.
Lisa Crouser
Project Director
Lisa Crouser, Project Director, joined the IRC team in 2019. Lisa spends a lot of her workday helping individuals, providers, and other stakeholders resolve a variety of issues related to insurance for autism and behavioral health services, from how to obtain secondary MassHealth insurance to addressing denials of services.
She previously held numerous positions within the employee benefits/health insurance industry. Lisa is a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) and she also earned her law degree. She most recently completed a certificate program in Patient Advocacy. While working for a TPA (Third Party Administrator) that performed back-office functions for self-funded health plans and insurance carriers, she was responsible for Operations and Legal Affairs.
Lisa understands how overwhelming accessing the healthcare system can be. She is passionate about applying her decades of industry experience to help families, providers, and others. What better way to do something meaningful than to help people who are encountering barriers while trying to get the insurance services they need and should have?
On a personal note, Lisa has been involved with a greyhound placement group that finds homes for retired racing greyhounds for almost as long as she has worked in the employee benefits arena. She and her husband enjoy going for long walks, although their current greyhound, Flower, prefers to stay at home on the couch.
Evan Gabovitch
Insurance Navigation Coordinator
Evan Gabovitch is the Project Assistant for the Insurance Resource Center for Autism and Behavioral Health. In September of 2013 he testified to the Massachusetts State House’s Joint Committee on Education promoting a section of what would be the Autism Omnibus Bill of 2014 to include school districts to offer autism-based trainings for special educators as well as general educators. Since then, he has been involved with other disability nonprofit organizations such as Massachusetts Advocates for Children, The Institute for Human Centered Design, Partners for Youth with Disabilities, and was a Peer Leader during the summers of 2015 and 2016 for The Youth Leadership Forum hosted at Bridgewater State University.
Evan also has prior experience as being a part of the Client Services Unit of the Massachusetts state agency the “Massachusetts Office on Disability” (MOD) as an “advocate” responding to phone calls and emails from families of or people with disabilities about issues with social services or problems with in their community. His work with them served as the basis for what his work would become with the Insurance Resource Center for Autism and Behavioral Health by providing our staff with insights, knowledge, and technical assistance.
Jerome T. Chiu
Associate
Jerome is an Associate of the Insurance Resource Center for Autism and Behavioral Health, where he works to resolve issues with insurance coverage and support families as the navigate the health insurance landscape. Jerome has dedicated his professional career to ensuring access to quality applied behavioral analysis services. Jerome worked to establish Medicaid coverage of ABA services for individuals with ASD in 2015. His current focus is on enhancing the quality of clinical documentation and establishing systems to ensure the quality of treatment. Jerome is a Board Certified Behavioral Analyst and Licensed Behavior Analyst in the state of Massachusetts. He holds a Masters in Childhood and Early Childhood Special Education from NYU Steinhardt, a Masters in Public Administration from Suffolk University. He is also graduate of the Leadership in Education and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) fellowship program through the Shriver Center at UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester, MA.
Maureen Maiuri
Insurance Navigation Manager
Maureen Maiuri joined the Insurance Resource Center for Autism and Behavioral Health as an Insurance Navigation Manager in 2024. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitation and Disability Studies from Springfield College and has built her career around advocacy, education, and coordination of benefits for MassHealth members with private health insurance. Maureen understands that navigating health insurance can be complex and overwhelming. She is passionate about helping individuals and families understand their coverage, explore available options, and connect with resources and community partners. Maureen takes pride in making complicated insurance information easier to understand, empowering individuals and families to make informed decisions, and helping them feel supported as they navigate the insurance system and access the benefits and services they need.
Ariana Matias
Insurance Navigation Manager
Ariana Matias is an Insurance Navigation Manager at the Insurance Resource Center for Autism and Behavioral Health at UMass Chan Medical School’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center. She brings extensive experience in health insurance, compliance, and healthcare access, with a strong commitment to helping individuals and families navigate complex insurance systems. Ariana is passionate about promoting health equity and, as a Spanish speaker, is committed to supporting the Spanish-speaking community in understanding their coverage options and available resources. She holds a Master of Public Administration and is a graduate of the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) program. Her professional interests include healthcare policy, systems improvement, and strengthening community resources to better support individuals with autism and behavioral health needs. Through her work, Ariana is committed to making complex insurance information easier to understand and helping people find solutions that work for them.