Meet Jeff Gaither, Autism New Jersey’s Operations Director. Jeff oversees both the day-to-day operations and the long-term strategy behind the agency’s information technology, human resources, and finance systems.
What brought you to Autism New Jersey, and how has your role grown?
I started in November 2019. I was working as an IT Helpdesk Manager and found the posting by chance on Indeed, read the description, and knew it was exactly the direction I wanted: more strategy and data, less troubleshooting computers. I loved nonprofit work and wanted to use my skills in a way that contributed to something meaningful.
Originally, the role focused on infrastructure and data analytics with a few other tasks peppered in. Back then, we had a very outdated IT environment. Everything was on physical servers. My initial priority was to innovate our technology infrastructure and move to the cloud. So, I introduced Microsoft Teams (a cloud-based workspace for real-time collaboration and communication, meetings, and file and app sharing). We pretty much launched Teams right before the pandemic hit. And then thankfully, we were all fully equipped to work from home when that became necessary.
As things stabilized, I started taking on HR tasks, then contract compliance, onboarding and offboarding, and broader operational responsibilities, including finance. The role has grown significantly, but everything still connects back to improving processes and building efficient systems.
How do you see your impact at Autism New Jersey?
I think of my work as creating efficiencies that help everyone else to do their jobs better. I follow a philosophy of operational excellence: constantly evaluating, improving, and retooling processes. I often describe my role as making sure everyone has the tools they need to do the good work they do. Even though I’m not public facing, nothing happens without the infrastructure, compliance, and systems behind the scenes. I’m not on the helpline or hosting family wellness sessions, but I help make those things possible.
One moment that always reminds me of our impact is the annual conference. Seeing nearly 1,500 people come together, parents, professionals, exhibitors, all benefiting from something our team builds from scratch every year. And we consistently produce an event that so many people get different things out of. You’ve got parents connecting with professionals. You’ve got professionals networking with other professionals. You’ve got exhibitors displaying their services geared toward helping people with autism. It’s just an amazing display of our power of connection.
Another example of my impact is our Law Enforcement Initiative, which has helped improve interactions between police officers and individuals with autism across New Jersey. A lot of behind-the-scenes steps were necessary, and that’s where my role was. I helped create a heat map to highlight the adoption of autism-friendly practices. I also organized a contact database, and I handled the logistics for a law enforcement summit.
Why are data so important for an organization like Autism New Jersey?
Data drives impact. They inform strategy, programming, and decision-making. Take our 2,000 helpline calls a year and our 97% caller satisfaction rating. That is a measure of our value to the community. The data we collect helps us understand the needs of our helpline callers. And data also help inform our future programming. Without that data collection and analysis, we wouldn’t have the insight necessary to guide our decisions. So, data really drive the agency’s overall strategy.
Data also support grants and other contractual obligations, our financials, and really everything we do.
How do you stay so calm while juggling so many responsibilities?
My job is to see the big picture in every situation; a thoughtful, analytical approach is probably the most important skill to develop for a strategic operations leader. Going back to my point about operational excellence, there will always be moments when things don’t go exactly according to plan. It’s my job to tackle those problems, learn from them, and improve the process for next time.
What is your life like outside of work?
I live in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, right across the river from Trenton. I’m pretty low‑key — a homebody. I am not a partier. I enjoy doing art projects, model building, and Legos. Legos are always fun. I also love the outdoors and spending time hiking at places like Tyler State Park in Newtown. It’s a huge state park that has trails, but it’s also got wilderness.
My favorite vacations are cruises. My husband, Armando, and I went on a 7-day Bahamas cruise for our honeymoon in 2025. I love cruises because you don’t have to worry about anything. You just get on the ship, and it takes you from place to place. I love the destinations. I just love going to islands. Our next one is an Eastern Caribbean cruise in January.