Niko Boskovic – Summit Director and Sensory Barn Consultant (he/him)
Niko Boskovic is a nonspeaking autistic man living in Portland, Oregon. He graduated high school in 2019 with a regular diploma, and is pursuing his Associates degree at Portland Community College. Since gaining access to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) at age 11, he has dedicated himself to writing about life as a nonspeaking autistic, and finds that he is best able to express his lived experience through poetry.
Niko is a columnist for Spectrum Life Magazine and wrote a monthly blog for four years for the Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities. His poetry has been published in Lunch Ticket’s Amuse-Bouche: Spotlight (2019); Montana Mouthful (2020); In Parentheses Magazine (Fall 2020); The Pointed Circle (2021); Kind Writers Literary Magazine (August 2022); MediaRites’ “The -ISM Youth Files” (2023); and DSTL Arts (2025). He was also a contributor to “Leaders Around Me: Autobiographies of Autistics who Type, Point, and Spell to Communicate,” edited by Edlyn Vallejo Peña (2019).
Sarah Cox – Board Secretary (she/her)
Sarah Cox is from Portland, Oregon, and at a young age developed a deep love of horses for the immense happy place they helped her cultivate. As a child, Sarah interacted imaginatively with horses through her horse figurines, spent hours riding around on her rubber ball hoppity horse, stopped to ride on any nickel horse carousel she saw, and took photos of every horse in parades.
While raising her son, Sarah volunteered at several different therapeutic riding programs and delighted in bringing the joy of connecting with horses to people of all abilities.
Sarah is a second generation Licensed Clinical Social Worker, providing mental health healing to children and adults in the greater Portland area for over 25 years. Sarah believes deeply in the transformational and healing power of horses, and is deeply honored to be a board member with Autism Mustang Alliance. She has a special interest in supporting nonspeakers, and has completed the certification with Communication For Education to become a communication and regulation partner for individuals to learn how to spell and type. AMA is truly fortunate to have Sarah’s dedication and expertise in connecting with both humans and horses as they embark on future plans to expand their program to center nonspeakers.
Harvey Hanson – Board Vice Chair (he/him)
Born and raised in Portland, Harvey Hanson has always loved working with and helping people. He has a particular passion for making the world a more accessible place. Harvey works in the Accessible Education & Disability Resources department at Portland Community College and recently completed the Communication for Education certification to learn more about supporting the nonspeaking autistic community. In his free time, he likes reading, making art, and long walks with the horses. Harvey has been an extremely dedicated volunteer at AMA and will have an active role in developing their future endeavor to create short-term and long-term housing solutions for autistic individuals and their families. Harvey is a very supportive older brother to an autistic young adult.
Rem-Iseul Kim – Designer and Tech Support (they/he)
Rem-Iseul Kim (Remy) is a communication and regulation partner and art/yoga instructor based in Los Angeles, California. Having grown up with an incredible and incredibly autistic nonspeaking brother, Remy is determined to support nonspeakers in their endeavor to create a more inclusive world. In their teaching practice, Remy believes in letting the nonspeakers take the lead, often subverting the traditional roles of teacher and student. In working with a wide variety of nonspeakers, Remy continues to refine their allyship and co-regulation skills.
Remy completed a certification in Facilitated Communication at the young age of 16, as well as the Communication for Education certification at 17. He is a Registered Yoga Teacher and lifelong artist and student.
Ethan Nagy – Equine Therapeutic Program Consultant (he/him)
I am a 24 year old nonspeaker who uses a letterboard. I am a member of the I-ASC NonSpeaking Leadership Cadre. I am also a writer, poet, and advocate for my community. I have published blogs and contributed to novels. I am a fierce supporter of the disabled who use AAC. I reside in Oregon.
Searmi Park – Board President (she/her)
Searmi Park is the founder of Autism Mustang Alliance, an initiative that was inspired by the relationships she witnessed between her nonspeaking autistic son Ben and their wild horses, while also trying to meet the need for programs for autistic adults who age out of the school system by 22-years-old. Autism Mustang Alliance established nonprofit status in June of 2020, and they opened their doors in February of 2022.
Searmi is a public practitioner for the Trust Technique, a mindfulness method for gaining trust and building authentic communication with animals and humans. She also holds certifications as an RYT 200 yoga instructor, Reiki levels 1 and 2, and studies biodynamic craniosacral therapy for humans and equines.
Searmi is a classical violinist by trade, and received her Bachelors and Masters degrees from UCLA, studying violin under soloist Mark Kaplan, who continues to be a life-long mentor. Searmi became a member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra at age 23, and played over a decade with them and also as a substitute with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, and Pacific Symphony, in addition to playing on hundreds of film scores, television shows, and album recordings. In 2012 she and her family moved to Portland Oregon, where she was a member of the Oregon Symphony for five years in between her eight years serving as Concertmaster of the Eugene Symphony, which is the position she currently holds.
Elizabeth Tippett, Board Member (she/her)
Elizabeth “Liz” Tippett is a Professor and the James O. and Alfred T. Goodwin Senior Fellow at the University of Oregon Law School. Her research on employment law has been cited in numerous state and federal court decisions, and her writing has appeared in the Washington Post, the Huffington Post, The New Republic, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, Newsweek, Fast Company, Salon, the LA Times, and the Chicago Tribune, among others.
Liz has appeared on NPR, the BBC and other radio outlets in the US and abroad. Her new book, “The Master-Servant Doctrine: How Old Legal Rules Haunt the Modern Workplace” was published by the University of California Press in 2025. Before joining the UO faculty in 2012, Liz practiced employment law at the Silicon Valley based law firm, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. She graduated from Harvard Law School in 2006 and Harvard College in 2002.
Liz’s research has been cited by various decisions by the United States Court of Appeals, including a Fourth Circuit decision upholding the constitutionality of state ethics regulation of drug injury advertisements. In 2017, Tippett testified before a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee about how these ads may affect patient decision-making. In 2018, Professor Tippett testified before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and its Select Task Force on the Study of Harassment in the Workplace.
Liz has a super fun and positive energy, which is very infectious as her joy is felt immediately by those around her. She is a passionate supporter of nonprofits, and enjoys time spent in nature and with the performing arts.