After more than 16 years of service to Commonwealth Autism (CA), John Toscano, President & CEO announces his retirement effective June 30, 2018.

His career in autism began in 1981 in New York and has now spanned 37 years. John began his tenure with the organization in January 2002 after working in the UK and Malaysia, where he helped to develop and improve services.

“I have always searched for ways to positively impact the service system through solutions that address core issues, not just symptoms.” When he joined CA, the organization had 7 staff and a $.5M budget. Today, with an annual budget of $5M, it employs more than 75 staff who provide diagnostics & assessment, educational, behavioral health and residential services, assistance to those in need of information & resources, and training for service providers across the Commonwealth. “I’ve been beyond fortunate to have my time at Commonwealth Autism as the capstone of a career spent doing important work alongside so many talented, mission focused, and caring colleagues. It has been my privilege to work with people who seek to be catalysts for change, challengers and disrupters of the status quo, and partners who wish to develop true systems adequacy. Because of the audacity of our founders, we are an organization that is like no other in the Commonwealth. I am grateful to our Board for having faith in the vision that a small entity could have a big impact on the disability community throughout the Commonwealth.”

In this next life phase, John looks forward to staying relevant and involved in the work he values: with CA, through his continuing role teaching future social workers and nonprofit leaders, and other consulting and volunteer work.