John Caldora, M.Ed., is the Assistant Director of Student Accessibility at Sacred Heart University. Previously, he was the creator of the Neurodiverse Educational and Social Initiative at the University of Kentucky. a cross institution initiative to support the success and sense of belonging for neurodivergent students.
In his career he has worked in Behavioral Intervention, Threat Assessment, Residence Life, and Student Conduct. He earned his M.Ed. in Student Affairs from the University of Maryland. John draws on his lifetime of experience as a neurodivergent learner, his career spent acting as an advocate for autistic students in higher education, and his experience working with autistic organizations.
John has over a decade of experience presenting on the emergence of Autism as an Identity starting with a Disability KC Sponsored Presentation at NASPA 2012. John has previously presented to numerous professional and paraprofessional audiences and conferences. John also previously volunteered with the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network and worked as an editorial board member for Stairway to STEM, an NSF grant funded project to support the recruitment, retention, and matriculation of Autistic students in STEM fields. John also co-authored a chapter on Self-Advocacy in the book Supporting Neurodiverse College Student Success.
