Ali and Andrew

The Love, Andrew Autism Foundation is proud to announce the addition of Alessandra Gesiotto, Miss Ohio High School America, as Teen Ambassador for the organization. Gesiotto’s responsibilities include promoting autism awareness in the younger generation, promoting inclusion and acceptance of children with autism in school and everyday life, assisting with fundraising, promoting the Love, Andrew Autism Foundation statewide and nationally through social media and other channels.

“We are so pleased to have Ali as part of the team,” said Christina Morello, president of the Love, Andrew Autism Foundation board of directors. “Her empathetic nature, combined with her drive to succeed in all of her efforts make her the perfect teen role model for our organization.”

Gesiotto, a junior at Jackson High School, is no stranger to community service. The 17-year-old is a member of the F.U.S.E. (Friends Unite Students Everywhere) Club, which organizes inclusive social events for typical teens and their peers with special needs. Gesiotto, who was born with a heart defect, participates the yearly heart walk for the American Heart Association. She has worked with her family to raised more than 25,000 dollars in one night for the Wounded Warrior Project, and she has participated in and helped organize the Love, Andrew fashion show, Light Up the Runway for Autism.

“I am honored and delighted to be chosen as Teen Ambassador for the Love, Andrew Autism Foundation,” said Gesiotto. “It’s because of Andrew. His genuine outlook on life and ability to be himself in all situations is a message that needs to be shared with today’s teenagers.”

Gesiotto currently holds the title of Miss Ohio High School America, and will be competing for Miss Ohio Teen USA on November 7, 2015, in Springfield, OH. If she wins, Gesiotto plans to adopt the Love, Andrew Autism Foundation as her platform during her reign.