Dr. Edlyn Peña is the Program Director and Professor of the Education Leadership doctoral program at Cal Lutheran. She is an award-winning researcher who studies ways to support autistic students in the preschool through higher education pipeline. Her edited books, “Communication Alternatives in Autism” (2019) and "Leaders Around Me" (2019), feature prominent autistic individuals who advocate for communication and inclusion rights.  As a scholar and Director of the Autism and Communication Center, Dr. Peña’s service to the autism community has reached international audiences.