Kerry Magro

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. He has also worked with Upworthy, CBS News, 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) at age 4. Following his diagnosis, he continued occupational, physical and speech therapy for 15 years until graduating Community High School in Teaneck, New Jersey at 19. 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."
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. 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 and in 2016 enrolled at New Jersey City University (NJCU) studying Educational Technology and Leadership. He received his doctorate in Spring 2019.
== Career ==
Magro began giving speeches about autism as a freshman at Seton Hall, 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. 
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
Category:Motivational speakers
Category:American authors