Our Board of Directors

Kimi Matsumura - Founder and CEO

Kimi has a bachelors in education from Brigham Young University. After teaching high school for a year, she moved to Chicago and began working for The Joffrey Ballet in their community engagement department. She began studying about autism when her 2nd child began showing signs of autism around age 2 1/2. In the years since her daughter received a diagnosis, Kimi has been grateful for the services that have helped her daughter thrive and hopes Chicago Autism Network will allow more families to access needed autism services and supports.

Sam Brunson, jd, Treasurer

Sam is the Georgia Reithal Professor of Law at Loyola University Chicago. His articles have been published in a variety of law reviews, including the Northwestern University Law Review, the Wake Forest Law Review, the Washington University Law Review, the Alabama Law Review, and the Florida Tax Review. Prior to joining the Loyola faculty, Professor Brunson practiced law with Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and clerked for the Honorable George W. Miller on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Professor Brunson teaches Federal Income Tax, International Tax, Not-for-Profit Organizations, and Business Organizations.. He received his law degree in 2004 from the Columbia University School of Law, where he was a Senior Editor of the Columbia Law Review and a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar for all three years. He also was an Editor of the Columbia Journal of European Law.

Natashee Scott, Jd/mba, Secretary

Natashee is a proud autism mom and theChief-of-Staff for the Office of the Illinois Lieutenant Governor Julianna Stratton. Before joining the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, Natashee was the Chief Strategy and Operations Officer at the North American Center for Threat Assessment and Trauma Response. Prior to that, Natashee was both the Senior Advisor and Chief Legal Counsel to Chicago City Clerk Anna M. Valencia and Legal Counsel at the Chicago Park District. Before her government career, Natashee worked in the private sector for 15 years. Outside of work, Natashee is committed to serving her community. She is the President and CEO of the Westside Cultural Foundation (“WCF”), a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating cultural and educational outlets for the youth, adults, and seniors on the West Side of Chicago, a Board Member of Gardeneers, a not-for-profit dedicated to providing students access to healthy foods in schools in food-insecure neighborhoods throughout Chicago, and she is also a member of the Loyola University Chicago School of Law Dean’s Diversity Council. Natashee holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Northeastern Illinois University, a Master of Business Administration degree from Roosevelt University, and a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. She is a member of the Chicago Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association.

David Matsumura

David is a quantitative developer for Patronus Capital. He was previously employed at Kabouter Fund as a quantitative analyst and Credit-Suisse as a research analyst. Though he spends more time working with data, he is an active part of our website development. He received his undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University.

Erin Potterton, Med

Erin has a Master's degree in Urban and Multicultural Education from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in NY. She began her career teaching special education in New York City public schools before moving to Egypt, then Sweden, to teach English and continue her studies in cultural immersion. Since 2015, Potterton has worked closely with children with autism and their families as the Director of Administration at Blue Bird Day and Eyas Landing. She has extensive experience with non-profit organizations, including the National MS Society and as one of the founders of U4Uganda.

Debra Vines

Debra is the Founder and Execute Director of The Answer, Inc, an autism nonprofit that assists parents and caregivers in navigating through the systems of social services and academic institutions by providing case management/referral services, recreation and resources for families with individuals having autism or other developmental disorders. Under Ms. Vines’ leadership, The Answer, Inc. has developed amazing evidence-based programs such as Spectrum University Tutoring Program, and Music N Me. She serves on several boards and is involved with several organizations including the Erikson Institute, Interfaith, Inc, and Targeting Autism. She is also the recipient of several awards and honors, but her greatest accomplishment has been to watch families that she has aided reach milestones that were once told would be unobtainable.