Born and raised in East Harlem, Darnaé Nickens is a parent advocate, educator, and the Founder and Executive Director of Autism Connect NYC. Her deep connection to her community, combined with her personal experience navigating autism services and special education for her son, became the foundation for an organization built to ensure families have greater access to information, resources, advocacy, and support.

Darnaé’s journey into advocacy began as a mother navigating systems that did not always provide her son with the services, supports, and educational setting appropriate for his individual needs. Learning to navigate those systems required asking questions, understanding rights, locating resources, and advocating when something simply was not working. Through that experience, she recognized a larger issue: valuable information exists, but families do not always know it exists or have equitable access to it.

That realization inspired Autism Connect NYC, a community-driven organization created to help bridge the gap between families and the resources available to them. Through advocacy, resource sharing, educational information, community outreach, and family-centered initiatives, Darnaé works to ensure families are not left to figure everything out on their own. At the heart of her work is a commitment to helping families become informed, connected, and empowered advocates for themselves and their children.