On December 19, NECC President and CEO Jessica Sassi, PhD, BCBA-D, LABA, was named one of the Boston Business Journal’s 2025 Innovators in Healthcare. Dr. Sassi was recognized in the category of Health Equity Champion, which according to the BBJ, “honors someone who has worked to break down inequities in health care or health care access for underserved populations or areas.”
Dr. Sassi is a powerful advocate for better services for children with autism, stressing the importance of using only scientifically proven methods (applied behavior analysis) to teach skills and curb challenging behaviors. Her roles on the Massachusetts Autism Commission as well as on the Board of the Massachusetts Association of Private Special Education Schools give her a platform to share expertise with legislators about the needs of this population and the importance of early diagnosis and treatment.
Leading this multinational non-profit that serves more than 15,000 children with autism worldwide, Dr. Sassi is committed to expanding access. NECC trains and places certified teachers overseen by board-certified behavior analysts in more than 66 public school classrooms throughout New England while NECC’s curriculum is impacting learners around the globe.
Training the next generation of special educators, clinicians, and researchers is one of Dr. Sassi’s personal missions, and a cornerstone of NECC’s existence. More than 3,500 staff have been trained at NECC (more than half earned master’s degrees through NECC’s onsite graduate programs) and are now helping children with autism around the world in places like Ghana, Iceland, and Brazil.
Last February, 15 staff working at NECC’s school in Abu Dhabi were the first international cohort to earn master’s degrees through the NECC-Simmons graduate partnership. These 15 teachers represent seven different countries – Lebanon, UAE, Philippines, Syria, Zimbabwe, India, and the US – and are now poised to positively impact children with autism in places where services have historically been scarce or nonexistent.