Staatsburg, New York…. Executives from Anderson Center for Autism announced today that Anderson Center International (ACI) Director Noor Y. Syed, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA/LBS has been named among the recipients of the 2026 Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce (DCRCOC) Forty Under 40 Mover and Shaker Awards. The honor will be bestowed upon each of the winners at an event on April 30, 2026 in Poughkeepsie.
According to the DCRCOC website, the event each year “honors 40 outstanding individuals under the age of 40 who demonstrate exceptional commitment to the Hudson Valley through both professional success and community engagement.”
Said Patrick Paul, CEO of Anderson Center for Autism, “We are so pleased that Dr. Syed will be acknowledged in this way; she is incredibly deserving. Here at Anderson, Dr. Syed’s insight, vision, and dedication have helped put Anderson Center International on an inspiring trajectory of success in recent years. Under her leadership, ACI has now trained approximately 200 professionals from 40 countries at our Staatsburg campus, empowering these scholars with the tools needed to develop their own autism programs upon return to their home countries. This requires a tremendous ability to engage and motivate people, particularly in the face of language and/or cultural barriers: a remarkable demonstration of what effective leadership looks like.”
Added Dr. Tina Marie Covington, Chief Operating Officer at Anderson Center for Autism, “Dr. Syed has also positioned our organization as a leader in the field; she helped ACI earn consultative status with the United Nations – and has since helped ACI gain designation as a Civil Society Organization (CSO) with the UN Department of Global Communications. This has expanded opportunities for Anderson to engage with the UN and to connect with other global leaders, one example being Dr. Syed’s recent presentation at the United Nations during the 2025 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, an exciting moment in time when it was clear that she has really become a thought leader.”
Syed, a graduate of Binghamton University (undergraduate degree in ABA) and Teachers College, Columbia University (doctoral degree in ABA), not only serves as Director of Anderson Center International, but is also Associate Professor of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and founding director and Turben Director of Autism Advocacy with the Center for Autism Advocacy: Research, Education, and Supports (CAARES) at SUNY Empire State University. In these positions, she works to support SUNY Empire’s efforts to become fully inclusive for neurodivergent and autistic students and to help prepare future behavior analysts to engage in affirming behavior analytic practices.
Covington continued, “Noor’s efforts to create educational opportunities locally through her work with SUNY Empire will help develop a reliable workforce of capable professionals who can support autistic and neurodivergent residents throughout our communities and beyond. Autism incidence rates have risen exponentially, and there is an urgent need for experts who are prepared to deliver services and help build inclusive communities and support systems. Noor is building capacity to that end.”
Dr. Syed is also a Doctoral Advisor in ABA with Endicott College and a certified general and special education teacher. Dr. Syed serves on the ABA Ethics Hotline, co-facilitates the Shaping Change Lab, and is co-founder of Shining a Light, a coalition dedicated to raising awareness of and developing resources to prevent the use of aversive procedures. She is a member of the Organization for Autism Research’s Scientific Council, is President of the New York State Association for Behavior Analysis, serves as a Trustee for the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, and co-facilitates Cambridge Center’s Distinguished Scholars program.
She has consulted with autism clinics in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Romania, and Uganda, among others. Syed also recently delivered the keynote address for the 16th annual Association for Professional Behavior Analysts (APBA) conference.
Said Dr. Syed, “It is a great honor to be receiving a Forty Under 40 award this year, but more importantly, a true privilege to get to do the meaningful work that we do at ACI every day. I am deeply grateful for the many doors that have opened since my career first began, and for the countless people working to further our cause.”
The Forty Under 40 Awards event will take place on Thursday April 30, 2026 from 6-9pm at Living Water Theatre, 260 Mill Street, Poughkeepsie, NY. Tickets are $55 per person; register at business.dcrcoc.org/events.
Learn more about Anderson Center International by visitingt andersoncenterforautism.org/international.
About Anderson Center for Autism (ACA): Our mission at Anderson Center for Autism is to optimize the quality of life for individuals with autism.
About Anderson Center International (ACI): At ACI, our mission is to facilitate the improvement of the quality of life for individuals with autism throughout the world in a systematic, sustainable, and culturally significant way.
About Anderson Foundation for Autism (AFA): Through grantmaking, fundraising, and marketing initiatives, Anderson Foundation for Autism helps support, sustain, and expand upon Anderson Center for Autism’s efforts to optimize the quality of life for individuals with autism.