Kerry Magro

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Kerry Magro
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NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipUnited States of America
Occupation
  • Self-advocate
  • Professional speaker
  • Non-profit professional
  • Author
  • Film consultant

Kerry Magro is an autism self-advocate, professional speaker, non-profit professional, author and film consultant. His primary advocacy areas are autism and bullying awareness. He is a contributor to websites such as The Huffington Post and The Mighty, and has written three books. His film credits include Joyful Noise (film) and Jane Wants a Boyfriend[1]. He has also worked with Upworthy[2], CBS News[3], Huffpost Live, BBC News, NBA.com, American Express, JP Morgan Chase, Yahoo Parenting and CBS NY. In 2011, he founded Draft:KFM Making A Difference, a non-profit organization that provides postsecondary scholarships to students with autism.

Early life and education

Magro was raised in Jersey City, NJ. He was nonverbal until 2.5 and diagnosed with PDD NOS (ASD under DSM-5 diagnostic crtieria)[4] at age 4[5]. Following his diagnosis, he continued occupational, physical and speech therapy for 15 years until graduating Community High School in Teaneck, New Jersey at 19[6]. His parents were strong advocates for his success. Magro's mother, Susan Mack, served on the New Jesey Elected Board of Education, where she was an advocate for special needs students and worked to ensure that "all these children were treated with dignity and received all the services they required to fulfill their potential."[7]

Magro attended Seton Hall University where he Major (academic) in Business Administration with a concentration in Sports Management, Cum laude with honors in 2011. In the hopes of purusing a career in sports, Magro began interviewing some of the most iconic basketball athletes in the world including Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone and hall-of-fame coach Bobby Hurley[8]. He continued his education at Seton Hall in his Master's degree|Master's work in Strategic Communications and Leadership. Following graduation, he accepted a position at Autism Speaks[9] and in 2016 enrolled at New Jersey City University (NJCU) studying Educational Technology and Leadership. He received his doctorate in Spring 2019.[10]

Career

Magro began giving speeches about autism as a freshman at Seton Hall[11], and began travelling as an international motivational speaker in 2011. To date, he has spoken at over 1000 events worldwide. His speaking led him to authoring 23 books and contributing to countless others. Through his work he's also started a nonprofit organization called KFM Making A Difference that hosts sensory-friendly events and provides scholarships for students with autism to attend college.

While pursing sports Magro met film Director Todd Graff (Camp, Bandslam) who asked him to be a consultant on an upcoming film called Joyful Noise. Magro worked as a consultant for one of the characters in this film who had autism in Walter Hill (played by actor Dexter Darden). Following a year later Magro started a nonprofit organization KFM Making A Difference that hosts sensory-friendly events along with providing scholarships for students with autism to go to college. It was during his Masters work he started consulting part-time for Autism Speaks while also helping consult for yet another film called Jane Wants a Boyfriend. Magro was brought on to help give advice to the main character in the film (played by Louisa Krause), who was a 25-year-old woman on the autism spectrum. John Hopkins University featured his journey in a published journal titled Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics, Volume 3, Number 3, Winter 2013. [12]

Magro today resides in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Bibliography

Author

Defining Autism From The Heart: From Nonverbal to National Speaker (2013)

Autism and Falling in Love: To the One That Got Away (2014)

I Will Light It Up Blue! (2019)

Other Works

Contributor to the book College for Students with Disabilities: We Do Belong' (2015)

Contributor to The Out-Of-Sync Child Grows Up (2016)

Foreword for I Am Strong: The Life and Journey of an Autistic Pastor (2017)

Filmography

Joyful Noise (film) (2012)

Jane Wants a Boyfriend (2015)

HBO's Mrs. Fletcher (Fall 2019)

Awards and nominations

Year Nominated Award Result
2019 New Jersey Goverment New Jersey Hero Award Won
2018 Els For Autism Autism Spectrum Award Finalist
2016 Future Horizons LLC Temple Grandin Award Won
2014 30 Under 30 Young Professions on the Spectrum Award Won
2012 Current Trends in Autism Conference Margaret L. Bauman Award Won
2011 Autism Society of America Outstanding Individual With Autism Award Won
2007 Center for Disease Control Outstanding Individal with Autism Award Won

References

  1. "Kerry Magro". IMDb. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  2. "This man's open letter to bullies went viral. Now he has even more to say".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "Inspiring stories of people on the autism spectrum".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  4. Hyman, Susan L. (2013-06-04). "New DSM-5 includes changes to autism criteria". AAP News. doi:10.1542/aapnews.20130604-1. ISSN 1073-0397.
  5. "Inspiring stories of people on the autism spectrum". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  6. "Kerry Magro | Alumni Success Story from NJ School for Special Ed". www.communityschoolk12nj.org. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  7. "Former Jersey City Board of Education President Suzanne T. Mack Steps Down From the Elected Board". PRWeb. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  8. "Graduate student with autism spreads message that 'anything is possible'". Graduate student with autism spreads message that 'anything is possible' - The Setonian. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  9. "A Letter to the Organization That Took a Chance on Me". The Mighty. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  10. "Coronavirus Information Series: "Autism & Building a Supportive Community with Peers" with Dr. Kerry Magro". Autism Society. 2020-05-14. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  11. Journal, Matthew Speiser | The Jersey (2015-01-07). "Jersey City best-selling author, speaker takes on autism and inspires others". nj. Retrieved 2021-06-29.
  12. "John Hopkins University Press, Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics". Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics. 3: 202–205. December 9, 2013 – via Project MUSE.

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