Board President
Rich Johnston
Rich has been a practicing psychologist since 1990 and has experience in
several settings and roles including inpatient and outpatient treatment, program development, administration, consultation and program management. Since 2010 he has conducted psychological evaluations for the Grandis Evaluation Center in Asheville, frequently clarifying the needs of those on the Autism Spectrum. He has supported Arms Around ASD for several years and joined the Board of Directors in the summer of 2019.
Board Secretary
Melissa Gerhardt
Melissa K. Gerhardt is a Speech-Language Pathologist who has loved working with autistic people for decades. She is passionate about working with the entire family. She currently works for SLP-Tele providing teletherapy. Melissa enjoys playing with her granddaughters, hiking, swimming, golfing, walking, reading and crafting. She has served in many volunteer roles and loves working with Arms Around ASD.
Board Treasurer
Jason Hadley
Jason retired from Kimberly Clark in 2018 after being an engineer there for 30 years. His last 17 working years were spent at the KC plant in Hendersonville. Before moving to Asheville in 2001, Jason lived in Atlanta for 25 years, attending Georgia Tech, Southern Tech and Georgia State University.
Board Members-at-Large
Catherine Bergrud
Cate Bergrud owns and runs a professional care company providing administration and marketing services to local healthcare providers. She and her husband Dag moved to the mountains of WNC to escape the natural disasters that plagued the LAs – Los Angeles and Louisiana – that they had called home. She is the mother of two lovely and opinionated young men, one of whom is special needs. Cate loves volunteering with Arms Around ASD, Special Olympics and various dog rescues, and would love to learn to knit. In her free time you can find Cate sleeping or reading British mysteries.
Sarah Broberg, Marketing Management
Public Relations
Sarah Broberg has over 15 years of experience providing strategic corporate communications consultancy services to clients in the United States and across the Middle East and North Africa, Europe and the Gulf region. Her award-winning approach to corporate communications has helped pioneer the development of the industry in Egypt and elsewhere.
She is an active member of the Asheville community, serving as a member of Young Professionals of Asheville, Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce, member of the Development Committee, Friends of the WNC Nature Center, the public member of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee for the Department of Veterinary Medical Technology at AB Tech Community College, member of the Advisory Committee, Haw Creek Elementary School and the Redwood Forest Neighborhood liaison to the Coalition of Asheville Neighborhoods (CAN) and founder of the East Asheville Neighborhood Coalition.
Alicia Fordham
Alicia traded the mountains of northern Utah for the mountains of WNC, arriving here with her husband and son in 2010. A worthwhile exchange for 4 mild seasons! She holds a degree in Horticulture from Utah State University and an MBA from UNC Wilmington. She is an avid gardener, dog lover (never met a bulldog she didn’t like), proud mama of an early college student, loving wife and eager volunteer at AAASD.
Roger Hecht
By way of introduction, I’m Roger Hecht, a retired attorney who moved to the Asheville area approximately two years ago from Northern California. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, left NY to teach school on the Navajo reservation in New Mexico, and then settled in the Bay Area where I attended law school and established my practice. My grandson was born on the spectrum so when I was introduced to the Arms Around organization, I was drawn to its commitment and dedication to the autistic community and decided to volunteer in the boutique and eventually join the board as a member.
Jarrod Perkins
Banking Branch Manager
Jarrod has been in banking for the past 20 years, with the bulk of that being in downtown Asheville.
He is very active with the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, Helpmate, and the local Harry Potter community.
Susan Plemmons
Susan Plemmons (nonbinary, they/them or she/her) graduated from Winthrop University in 2010 with a BA in psychology. In 2019, Susan was finally diagnosed with autism at the age of 32 and was previously diagnosed with ADHD. They have first-hand experience of navigating a world that was not designed for neurodivergent people and has overcome many obstacles in life. Susan has previously worked for a nonprofit organization providing community support to adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and is very involved in both the autistic and queer communities. They currently work as a merchandising manager for a large home improvement store and lead a support/social group for autistic adults that meets the 3rd Saturday each month from 1-3 at Arms Around ASD. Susan enjoys making jewelry, reading, outdoor adventures, and spending time with their cats Luna and Rajah in their free time.
Executive Staff
Founder and Executive Director
Michele Louzon
Michele is the founder and director of Arms Around ASD. A Chicago native, she received her BS in Communications from the University of Illinois and an MS in Counseling from Georgia State University. Her specialty is adolescent sexuality and taught sex education in Buncombe County middle schools and Asheville City middle and high school for The Health Adventure. During her time living in Atlanta BC (Before Children) she created and taught a sexuality and emotional wellness education program for Summit Medical Center to be used in Atlanta area schools. Currently, she is part of a coalition whose mission is to empower and support the I/DD community to prevent, respond and heal from sexual trauma.
Michele lives in North Asheville with her husband of 36 years Jason Hadley and their four completely insane rescue cats – Martin, Farley, George and Raj. They have two adult children, Jesse and Jake, and one daughter-in-law, Julia. Michele is a Third Degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and plays trivia weekly. Sometimes, she plays weakly.
Administrative Assistant
Jenn Hartzog
Jenn Hartzog is Michele Louzon’s Administrative Assistant at AAASD, and “Queen of All Things Administrative” (no joke!). Jenn, Paul, and their two sons moved to Asheville in 2013 from Ann Arbor, MI, and have been enjoying greener pastures ever since. Originally from Salt Lake City, Jenn prefers life in the mountains of Asheville over anywhere else! Aside from being Mom, and Administrator, Jenn enjoys amateur entomology, as well as etymology (look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls), bird-watching, cooking (and all things foodie), and making jewelry. Join her at Trader Joe’s sometime for a great Food Adventure!
