MEET THE PRESENTERS

Ret. Captain Cannata became a member of the Autism and Law Enforcement Education Coalition (ALEC) in November, 2003.  In January of 2006, he became the statewide coordinator of ALEC. To date, ALEC has trained over 34,000 first responders. He also served as a member of the Autism Society’s Safe & Sound Task Force and is a father of a son on the spectrum.

Ret. Lt. Donohoe is the creator of the Take Me Home Program, which has been distributed to hundreds of law enforcement agencies nationwide and four foreign countries to help people with disabilities during crisis situations. He has served on the National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability National Advisory Committee as well as the Autism Society’s Safe & Sound Task Force and the Autism Pensacola Board of Directors. He helped develop the curriculum for the mandatory autism training for law enforcement in the state of Florida. Ret. Lt. Donohoe is considered a Subject Matter Expert on how first responders handle autism in the State of Florida and is a father of a son on the spectrum.