Wendy Hamilton earned her Bachelor of Arts in theatre from Coe College (Cedar Rapids, IA) and her Master of Fine Arts in theatre management from Wayne State University (Detroit, MI). After living on the East Coast for several years, Wendy “boomeranged” back to Omaha in 2007 when her mother, aka “Moppy,” was diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Her family’s story has been featured in Autism Asperger’s Digest and in the book, Different, Not Less by Dr. Temple Grandin. She has presented and moderated at many state and national autism conferences as well as spoken at TEDxOmaha (The Story of Fred and Leroy: My Mom has Autism, 2014).

Wendy is a passionate disability advocate and is the current Chair of the Mayor’s Commission for Citizens with Disabilities. Additionally, she serves on the National Affiliate Leaders Committee for the Autism Society of America and is an avid supporter of the Autism Society of Nebraska.

Wendy has been named a Ten Outstanding Young Omahan (2013) and is a graduate of Leadership Omaha (Class 38) and the New Leaders Council-Omaha (2017).
She serves on the Boards of Directors for the Omaha Summer Arts Festival and Omaha Creative Institute. She is an active volunteer with TEDxOmaha, Temple Israel, and the Nebraska Ehlers Danlos Awareness and Support Group. She is the mom of twin sister greyhounds who are practically perfect except when they’re not, and a very fat cat.

The story of Fred and Leroy — my mom has autism | Wendy Hamilton | TEDxOmaha