Tara Connolly

Tara Connolly

Assistant Director, Research & Development – David C. Onley Initiative

Biography

Tara is a transitions specialist who has some 20 years of experience working with and learning from adults and youth on the Autism spectrum. Her work has focused on facilitating neurodiverse thinkers to thrive on their own terms through co-creating meaningful transitions into and throughout adulthood, including employment. She has worked as a teacher, ASD consultant with the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, ASD content expert with the Public Health Agency of Canada, and counsellor in private practice. She was instrumental in designing the Transition Support Centre at Algonquin College, a service that supports the transitions of students on the spectrum into post-secondary environments. Tara earned a Master’s in Sociology and Equity Studies from University of Toronto and is a member of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association and the College of Registered Psychotherapists.