Q1 — What does founding membership include?

A standing place in a small, intergenerational community of senior leaders raising children with autism. The annual weekend in Vail. Year-round Brain Trust sessions with researchers, clinicians, and operators. Introductions across the cohort and to advisors who would otherwise be a cold email. Regional gatherings in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago.

Q2 — How is L3 different from a Facebook group, parent community, or autism nonprofit?

L3 is not a support group, an advocacy organization, or a referral network — all of which already exist and do important work. L3 is a small private community of senior leaders, built around two questions: how the child has shaped you as a leader, and what you are going to do about it.

Q3 — What if I cannot attend Vail this year?

Cohort members who cannot attend the retreat in a given year remain full members. The year-round programming continues, and you are welcome at the next retreat.

Q4 — Will I know anyone in the room?

You will likely not know anyone, the first morning. None will be strangers, by Sunday.

Q5 — What if my spouse or partner is reluctant to talk about this in a group?

Many are, at first. The room is built for honest conversation, not performance. Nothing is required of anyone beyond showing up. Most partners will likely find by mid-Saturday that the group is more familiar than they expected.

Q6 — How is this different from YPO or Vistage?

YPO, Vistage, and similar peer organizations are excellent for the business decisions of running a company. L3 is built for two questions those organizations do not address: how the child has reshaped you as a leader, and what you are going to do about it.

Q7 — What is the fee, and where does it go?

The annual fee for the founding table is $5,000 to $15,000 per couple, on a sliding scale. We ask each member to choose a contribution that reflects both their capacity and what membership is worth to them. Those who can contribute at the higher end help underwrite the room for everyone. The fee covers the retreat, the guest speakers, the Brain Trust, and the follow-on gatherings through the year — not to maximize profit. If hardship is a barrier, tell us. No one is excluded for that reason.

Q8 — What happens after Vail?

The founding weekend is the beginning, not the end. Year-round programming continues with monthly expert sessions, regional gatherings in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago, and the pairings each member carries through the year.

Q9 — What does “one outward act” actually mean?

Whatever you decide it means. For some members it is a benefits change at their company — coverage their employees did not have before. For some it is a hire, a board seat, an op-ed, or a check written. For others it is quieter — a conversation with their other children, a different shape to their weekends, time spent in a way they had not before. For some it may be a new mindset or a new outlook on life. No member is asked to do everything. Every member is asked to do something.

Q10 — Can I bring a colleague instead of my partner?

L3 is built around the couple — or the parent, alone, if a partner is not part of the picture. The work touches marriage, legacy, happiness, and family decisions that a colleague cannot engage with usefully. If a partner cannot attend in a given year, the member is welcome to come alone.

Q11 — What if I am not married, or my partner is not the child’s other parent?

L3 is built for parents raising a child with autism, in whatever family structure that is. Single parents, divorced parents, blended families, and partners at different stages in life are all welcome and present in the room.

Q12 — How private is this?

Strictly. The membership list is not published. Conversations in the room are off the record. Photographs require permission. Members do not share stories outside the community without explicit permission.

Q13 — What is the selection process?

The founding table is by invitation. Each founding member has a conversation with the founder before joining. The criteria are simple: a senior leader, raising a child with autism or a serious neurodevelopmental difference, willing to be in a room that asks for honesty – even vulnerability.