WLC Quarterly Luncheon featuring Lorri Unumb of CASP

PRESENTED BY

Lexington native Lorri Shealy Unumb will share her inspirational journey involving her son’s diagnosis with profound autism, the lack of services available to him, and the story of passing legislation, named for her son, to help autism families everywhere.

11:30 - 12:00 p.m. - Registration and Networking

12:00 - 1:30 p.m. - Luncheon and Program "Favors, Fishnets, and Facts: A Journey in Autism, Policy, and South Carolina Politics"

Lorri Shealy Unumb, Esq. (pronounced YOU-numb)

Chief Executive Officer, The Council of Autism Service Providers

Lorri Shealy Unumb is a lawyer, professional speaker, law professor, mother of three young adult boys, and an internationally renowned autism advocate.

She began her legal career clerking for a United States District Judge in Charleston and then moved to Washington, D.C. to practice law with the United States Department of Justice. She enjoyed a fulfilling career as an appellate litigator, arguing civil cases in Circuit Courts all over the United States.

After working as a law professor in D.C. (George Washington University) and Charleston, Lorri began running and teaching advocacy courses at the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Advocacy Center. During the same period, she hosted an award-winning weekly cable TV show called “The Law with Professor Lorri.”

Following her firstborn son’s diagnosis with autism, Lorri began working in autism advocacy as a volunteer, writing ground-breaking autism insurance legislation for South Carolina (“Ryan’s Law”) that passed in 2007 and served as the catalyst for national autism insurance reform. In recognition of Ryan’s Law, Lorri was awarded the Autism Society of America 2008 “Parents of the Year” award (along with her husband Dan). She then was recruited by the New York-based nonprofit Autism Speaks to advocate full-time on behalf of individuals with autism.

Alongside her career with Autism Speaks, in 2010 Lorri founded the Autism Academy of South Carolina, a non-profit, year-round diagnostic and treatment center for individuals with autism; in 2019, the board of directors voted to rename the academy “The Unumb Center for Neurodevelopment” in honor of Lorri & Dan’s extensive national contributions in the autism field. Lorri & Dan also wrote the first-ever comprehensive textbook on legal issues related to autism, called “Autism and the Law.” Additionally, Lorri is in her 20th year of organizing and conducting the annual “Autism Law Summit,” a national gathering of parents and professionals who advocate for legal and policy changes to better the lives of individuals with autism. Finally, in 2018, Lorri was appointed by the governor of South Carolina to serve as a Commissioner for the SC Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, which administers several of the state’s Medicaid waivers.

In 2019, Lorri was recruited by the national nonprofit trade association The Council of Autism Service Providers, where she currently serves as CEO.

In recent years closer to home, Lorri led the development of Unumb Place, a residential community for adults with autism. It opened on Duffie Drive in 2025 and has been toured by autism stakeholders from across the country and around the world.

For her local, national, and international advocacy efforts, Lorri has been recognized with

· the 2012 NASCAR Foundation’s Betty Jane France Humanitarian of the Year Award;

· the Jefferson Award for Public Service (Charleston, SC);

· the Professional Women in Advocacy “Excellence in a State Campaign” 2014 national award; and

· the Civitan International “World Citizenship” 2021 Award.

Her work has been profiled on CNN, on NPR’s “Morning Edition,” and in Town&Country magazine, from whom she received one of three 2009 “Women Who Make a Difference” awards. She is also profiled in the American Academy of Pediatrics book “Autism Spectrum Disorders: What Every Parent Needs to Know.”

Lorri is a magna cum laude/Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of South Carolina (Journalism, 1990; Political Science 1990; Law 1993) and a proud honor graduate of Lexington High School.

Corporate Sponsorships -

Ignite Sponsor (Full Table) - $450

• Reserved seating for 8 guests

• Company logo on event-specific communication and signage

• Company logo recognition on the program

• Company logo on Chamber’s website and in all email communication

Inspire Sponsor (Half Table) - $225

• Reserved seating for 4 guests

• Company logo on event-specific communication and signage

• Company logo recognition on the program

• Company logo on Chamber’s website and in all email communication

Impact Sponsor - $120

• Reserved seating for 2 guests

• Business name on event-specific communication, signage and program

• Business name on Chamber’s website and in all email communications

To become a corporate event sponsor, contact Jasmine Hoveyda, Director of Programs & Events, [email protected].

General Admission Tickets:

Registration is available online for General Admission

WLC Member - $25

Chamber Shareholder Tickets - $30

Non-Chamber Shareholder Tickets - $40

About the Lexington Chamber & Visitors Center: