2026 DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION AWARD – James D. Lee

Award for Distinguished Contributions to DEI: Enhancing Access to Autism Care in Global Low Resource Settings

Dr. James D. Lee is an Assistant Professor in the Early Childhood Program within the Department of Special Education at The University of Texas at Austin. His research focuses on capacity building among marginalized families of young autistic children by leveraging implementation science, cultural adaptation, and intervention development. Prior to joining UT Austin, Dr. Lee served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine and at the Seattle Children’s Autism Center. Dr. Lee received his Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign (2021), followed by an IES-funded postdoctoral fellowship at the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project at the University of Kansas (2022). He completed his MPH degree in Global Health at the University of Washington (2024).

Abstract: Evidence-based practices (EBPs) in autism, including behavior analytic interventions, have exponentially grown in the past few decades. Unfortunately, these EBPs are not equitably accessible by families of young autistic children who are in low-resourced contexts globally, including many low- to middle-income countries (LMICs). This talk will focus on work on expanding access to autism EBPs in a few LMICs as an example of capacity building and community partnerships.