About Us
Our Beginnings
The La Crosse Autism Foundation was founded in late 2010/early 2011 by a group of parents who had children with autism. They decided that La Crosse needed more resources in the community for parents, children, youth and adults and formed the La Crosse Autism Foundation!
“Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Margaret Mead
Meet the Board
Chris Shuster
President
Chris Schuster is one of the founding board members of the La Crosse Area Autism Foundation. He became involved in the foundation after his twin boys were diagnosed with autism. A group of parents of children with autism decided that we needed more resources in the community for parents, children, youth and adults. He also work in University Police Services at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse as a detective and the Air National Guard. His three boys and daughter keep him busy with hockey games and sporting events but he enjoys the chaos with his loving and supportive wife, Kara.
Leah Ammann
Vice President
Leah Ammann, a long time technology recruiter and stay at home mom, donates her time to great causes in the La Crosse area. In addition to the La Crosse Autism Foundation, she is an active member and volunteer at the Clearwater Farms in Onalaska. Leah is originally from La Crescent, MN and moved back to the area to be closer to family. Leah is passionate about helping promote safety for children with autism, specifically in home safety, water safety, and school safety. She recently advocated for school signs outside of one of the key ABA centers in La Crosse, to slow down traffic during child drop offs and pick-ups. Leah spends most of her time with her son and daughter, husband (also on the board) and rescue puppies!​​​​​​​
Diane Block
Treasurer
Diane Block has been on the board since 2019. In 2021 she retired from the La Crosse School District as a special education teacher where she worked with a wide range of disabilities. She is now an instructor at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, in the School of Education working with our future special education teachers. She is very passionate about the education field and an advocate for ASD and inclusion within all settings. She and her husband, Rick have two daughters, Kathryn and Sophia.​​
Grant Mathu
Secretary
Grant Mathu joined the La Crosse Autism Foundation Board in 2024. He works full-time at Western Technical College and also serves as an elected local government representative. Currently, Grant is also working towards a graduate degree in UW-La Crosse's Student Affairs Administration program. Grant is passionate about education, advocacy, and service. He is very excited to be a member of the board!
Sky Ammann, Ph.D.
Board Member
Sky Ammann works remotely as the Director of Analytics for Workiva, a financial reporting software company headquartered in Ames, Iowa. He has also held analytics and data science roles over the past decade at various fortune 500 companies, including Northwestern Mutual, Johnson Controls and 3M. He recently moved to Onalaska with his family from the Twin Cities. With a young child on the spectrum, Sky is passionate about helping other parents get the resources they need for their autistic children as well as helping autistic children thrive with the resources and support their needs. Sky spends most of his free time with his wife, Leah (also on the board), son and daughter, and three German-Shepard-mixed rescue dogs.​
Ava Krause
Board Member
Ava Krause is a Senior at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse pursuing her double major in Elementary/Middle and Special Education. Ava has worked for the School District of La Crosse for three years and attended the La Crosse School District throughout her K-12 education. She currently serves as the President for DREAM (Disability Rights, Education, Activism, and Mentoring). Additionally, Ava has worked and volunteered with the Special Recreation Department in La Crosse over the past four years, helping with activities such as Camp Shriver and the Polar Plunge. Ava is passionate about inclusion for all abilities and is excited to be a member on the
La Crosse Autism Foundation Board.
Emily Fellenz
Board Member
Emily is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and currently works for a community-based program for children with exceptional needs. Emily developed a passion for inclusion of individuals on the spectrum while completing her undergraduate degree at UW-Madison, and has continued to pursue that passion over the past 10 years. Emily believes that the La Crosse community has so much to offer for families, and it is an important task to help them access what is available. Emily and her husband also have an active 1-year-old daughter who keeps them on their toes!
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"The La Crosse Autism Foundation is an exceptional organization and has been gracious in assisting our family. Our son, at the time of his diagnosis was non-communitive which was very frustrating for him, as well as us as parents. The La Crosse Autism Foundation kindly donated the funds to purchase an application on an electronic device to assist him with communicating through the use of pictures, these specific applications are very expensive. Our son immediately used the application and it promoted his language development significantly. He is now 8 years old and fully verbal. This gift not only relieved distress as parents but most importantly gave our son his voice. We are forever thankful to the La Crosse Autism Foundation and all they do for the community."
~ Amber and Nate Davis