Community Leader Gary Price Champions New Autism School

Public setbacks and personal losses have fueled Gary Price’s mission to champion the plight of children with unique abilities and their families, including as vice chair of a new Southwest Florida charter school for autistic children scheduled to open in August.

Gary Price’s Naples mayoral election defeat by a mere 22 votes in March was a well-publicized setback, but less well-known was the personal tragedy that struck his family two weeks earlier: the death of his autistic son Garrett, 28.

These public and private life-altering events have since fueled Price’s efforts on behalf of children with unique abilities and their families as the vice-chair of the soon-to-open Autism Collier Charter School in Naples. In addition, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently reappointed Price to the Florida Achieving a Better Life Experience board of directors. The Florida ABLE board oversees a program of tax-free savings accounts for individuals with disabilities.

“What’s amazing about these opportunities is they bring together what Kim and I were blessed to do for Garrett for 28 years,” says Price. The new school will alleviate the challenges families such as the Prices faced to find the right learning opportunities for their autistic children and help them lead productive lives into adulthood.

Already, 219 families from across Southwest Florida have submitted a student-interest form to be admitted to the K-to-12 school when it opens in August in Collier County, says Jen Mitchell, former chair of Collier County Public Schools and now board chair of the new Autism Collier Charter School. What’s more, the school has received employment-interest forms from 76 teachers to work there, an encouraging sign in an environment of teacher shortages.

Losing the mayoral election was an unexpected benefit. “If I had been elected mayor, there’s no way I’d have the time to commit to this. Losing the election opened up an opportunity,” says Price, partner and cofounder of Fifth Avenue Family Office, a wealth-management firm in Naples.

To be sure, the memory of his son Garrett and what his family had to endure to help him enjoy life with dignity has been a driving force. Garrett was the recipient of a double-lung transplant at eight weeks of age with a five-year life expectancy. Garrett was a student of Lorenzo Walker’s Project Explore, which provides on the job learning experiences for disabled adults, and a STAR participant through the STARability Foundation, a local organization transforming the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In addition to his personal experience raising Garrett, Price brings financial acumen as the co-founder of Naples’ leading wealth-management firm as well as political experience from three terms he served on the Naples City Council. “Gary operates at such a high level, and he’s so involved,” says Mitchell, who cited Price’s financial acumen, generosity and political savvy to help the school win approval for the charter on Oct. 8 from the Collier County Public Schools. “He’s warm, he’s engaging and he’s so passionate about the cause.”

Through the new school, Price says he’s particularly keen to find ways to help parents of autistic children. He cites evidence of higher divorce rates among parents of autistic children resulting from the additional stresses the disability imposes on daily life. “My passion is preserving families,” says Price, adding: “I want to create a dad’s group to be a resource because there’s not a lot for dads. I want to create an environment where it is ok for fathers to talk about their children with autism, and the challenges they face together.”

Price also brings statewide recognition on behalf of families of individuals with disabilities, in particular with his recent reappointment by the governor to the Florida ABLE board. “It’s always great to have the perfect public servant in the right place at the right time. Gary is a friend to everyone he meets and his work on the ABLE Board is now in the name of an angel we all know,” says Florida Rep. Chip LaMarca.