Almost all of the families that have contacted Autism ETC since September 2020 have experienced a meeting by phone with Jeni Donoho, Autism ETC’s Client Services Director.  Jeni shares her story of how she came to Autism ETC: “I grew up in Southern California and attended California Baptist University, where I received my degree in liberal studies and early childhood development.  After college, I began working as an in-home behavior therapist from 2008 – 2013.  I transitioned into administrative work with Easter Seals of South California, working in their scheduling department.  As I grew in this position, I served as an administrative assistant to the Director of Intake & Scheduling and eventually became the scheduling trainer.”

Jeni continues her story, “My husband and I had decided to come to Tennessee for a long weekend and extended our trip for over a week.  We traveled all over the state and fell in love with Columbia, Tennessee.  After visiting Tennessee, I began looking at job opportunities and saw the video of the Music Valley clinic’s grand opening on Instagram.  I reached out to Rhonda Manous, the center’s Executive Director, to inquire about employment opportunities.  I was interested in an administrative position doing scheduling.  At that time, the clinical managers at each location handled all client scheduling.  I met with Rhonda, and I was hired as the first person to schedule client services in September 2020.  I did the scheduling for both clinics; however, Autism ETC soon added the Glendale, Arizona, and Clarksville, Harnett County, North Carolina, locations, which meant that scheduling grew to the point that Alex Mendez, someone whom I had worked with at Easter Seals, was offered the opportunity to join what would now become the scheduling department.  During this period, I also took on the role of intake and onboarding of new clients.  In 2023, we added more people to the scheduling team.  In April 2024, I became the Client Services Director, working on intake and onboarding full-time, along with Cindy Jam, allowing the scheduling department to continue growing under the guidance of Alex. Both Cindy and I manage Autism ETC’s waiting list and contact families who have reached out to the center for services.  In 2025, we logged in 6,770 phone calls with families!”  

When asked what the best thing about working at Autism ETC is, Jeni responded, “Getting the phone calls from the families after they have started services and hearing them share the victories they have seen with their children and the positive impact Autism ETC has made with their family.”

Jeni would like to share this advice with families who are concerned about their child being on the spectrum: “Seek out getting a diagnostic evaluation as soon as possible.  Do not delay.  Having the evaluation completed is the stepping stone to services for your child and help for your family.  Don’t be intimidated about the length of a waiting list, and communicate often with the providers where your child is on a wait list.”  

Autism ETC is proud to have Jeni on our team, making an impact on children and families affected by autism.