Dr. Amy Wood

Dr. Amy Wood

Title: Vice President
Email: Amy.Wood@projectbeacontx.org

Biography

Dr. Amy Wood graduated Summa Cum Laude from North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Microbiology. She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill receiving her Doctorate in Pharmacy with Highest Honors. Amy completed her Postdoctoral Residency at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. While a Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at MD Anderson and Adjunct Clinical Professor at The University of Houston School of Pharmacy, she became a national speaker and expert in Oncology Pharmacy.

In 2004, Amy’s 22-month-old son, James, was diagnosed with autism. She resigned from clinical practice to develop and oversee a full-time home ABA program for him, which she continues to direct today. Amy is President and Scientific Advisor for Families for Effective Autism Treatment (FEAT) – Houston. She serves as a resource for individual families and organizations seeking to better understand the research behind the success of Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and how it can be successfully utilized to acquisition skills, address challenging behavior, and improve quality of life.

Based on her experience as a parent and leader in the local autism community, Dr. Wood has become a local and statewide speaker on issues facing families and children with autism. In 2018, she was included as a speaker at the Texas Association for Behavior Analysis Annual Conference. Her reputation as an effective and motivational speaker to multiple audiences including parents, community leaders, educators and healthcare professionals earned her the invitation to serve as a Faculty Member and Board Member of the Lonestar LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities). Amy also serves as a Board Member for the Texas Autism Academy.

In 2020, Amy agreed to become a founder and consultant to The Grove ABA. Through parent education, she supports The Grove’s mission of providing ABA services with the highest clinical and ethical integrity across all ages and profiles on the spectrum.

As her son James is now moving through adolescence into adulthood, Amy is dedicating much of her time and expertise toward finding solutions for the lack of services and vocational and residential opportunities for adults with ASD. In meeting the founders of Project Beacon, Amy discovered a group of kindred spirits with a vision that matched her own hopes and dreams for her son’s future.

Amy and her husband, Jim, live in The Woodlands with James (age 19). Their daughter, Caroline (age 21) currently attends college in Austin.