Gina T. Chang, PhD, BCBA-D, CA PSY#26473 received her Ph.D in Applied Developmental Psychology from Claremont Graduate University with a concentration in developmental disabilities. She is a licensed psychologist and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Doctoral level with over 20 years of experience working with persons with autism and other developmental disabilities. Her expertise includes early intervention, parent education, adolescents with autism, school consultation, and staff development. Additionally, Dr. Chang has co-authored a chapter in Ameral, Dawson, Geschwind’s Autism Spectrum Disorders (2011).

Melanie has over 20 years’ operational management and leadership experience in the pediatric therapy and behavioral health industry. She originally started her journey in the field as an in-home behavior technician and went on to work as an ABA program manager, then later becoming a pediatric speech language pathologist specializing in Autism. Melanie draws on her first-hand knowledge of being a therapist in the trenches to drive operational decision making and excellence that best supports clinical teams and families. She co-founded Children’s Learning Connection in 2000, establishing one of the first interdisciplinary ABA programs in Orange County. She has overseen ALP offices across multiple states, and supported teams bringing best in class services to families in need across the country.

Kristine leads the training, research, clinical development, and client outcomes initiatives at Autism Learning Partners (ALP). She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with 15 years of experience in autism services, holds a master’s degree in exceptional student education from the University of West Florida, and is a doctoral student in the ABA program at Endicott College. She regularly presents organizational initiatives at regional and national conferences, focusing on such topics as values-guided practice management, innovations in service delivery, and scaling clinical quality. Recent peer-reviewed publications include a model to transition 1:1 ABA-based autism services to telehealth and a cultural responsiveness curriculum for behavior analysts; she recently co-authored a book chapter highlighting applications of Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) toward a compassion-focused model for social justice.

Jennifer began working in the field of ABA in 2003 and became very passionate about helping families and children with special needs. I received my Master’s in Counseling Psychology in 2006 and joined the PCFA team shortly after graduating. In 2009 I became a BCBA. Since 2006 I have been very fortunate to support and serve hundreds of families across Central and Northern California. “My passion for this field is fueled by families sharing their appreciation and success stories of their children attaining new goals and achieving heights they didn’t know were possible.” Jennifer oversees the clinical directors, program supervisors and direct staff in their work helping families in Northern CA, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington, and the Autism Learning Partners subsidiary, A is for Apple.

Marta has been in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis for over 20 years and has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst since 2010. She is passionate about leading teams and establishing a strong culture amongst the leadership teams.   Marta has worked with children and adolescents diagnosed with autism in schools, homes and in community settings.  Marta focuses on operational management and leading the agency in developing and implementing new clinical and operational initiatives, as well as driving standardization and collaboration with departmental leaders. “Changing and impacting the lives of those individuals diagnosed with autism and their families is an absolutely rewarding experience.  I am fortunate to be able to support families throughout their journey.”  Marta has led and supported Directors, Supervisors and Direct Service Staff in the Southern Los Angeles regions including the Downey Center for Autism.

Mary’s background in family therapy combined with her years of experience in Applied Behavior Analysis helps her appreciate the child’s role as part of a family system, which she utilizes to promote functional and sustainable change for her clients. Her current interests include social skills treatment, interdisciplinary collaboration, and CLC program development. Mary has advanced training and experience with Autism Spectrum Disorder, early childhood behavioral intervention, and social skills group intervention.“Working in the field of Behavior Analysis and serving families with children with special needs is an amazing privilege. I feel very fortunate to be surrounded by caring professionals and inspiring families”

Rahil received her Master’s degree in Psychology from the University of Pepperdine, and her B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. As a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst, Rahil has been in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis since 2002 working with children and adults with developmental disabilities in varying capacities. Rahil’s passion is improving the quality of life for families and ensuring that programs result in long term success. “I’m grateful in connecting families to our services and providing more resources and supports to our communities.” Rahil drives and implements strategic initiatives designed to support with lead generation, case growth, and expansion.

Kate has worked with individuals and families with autism for more than 10 years and has been with ALP since 2012. For the last year, she acted as the social skills program director as well as the lead BCBA for in-home services. She specializes in communication skills on a client level and program treatment integrity on a staffing level.

“At ALP, we are so lucky to be able to do the work that we do. It’s a privilege for a family to let you into their lives and onto their team. I’m excited to have the opportunity to take on this role and continue building an amazing group of ABA professionals to support our families.”

Martina Barnhart received her master’s degree in special education from National University and is a certified Behavior Analyst. She began her career in ABA over 20 years ago, as an undergrad at UCLA, where she worked with children and adolescents with autism and other developmental disabilities and their family, by delivering behavior intervention services, parent training and developing and providing clinical oversight of ABA programs and staff training. In her role, she is responsible for providing leadership and oversight of clinical service delivery by supporting clinical directors, program supervisors and behavior technicians in their work with families.“Each day is a new beginning filled with possibilities.  I am inspired by the courage and dedication I see in our families, staff and most importantly our clients.  I feel blessed each day we celebrate a success and feel grateful to be a part it.”

Denise Buenrostro has been working in the field of ABA for the last 10 years. She began working with children at the tender age of 12 babysitting and volunteering in classrooms. Denise attained her Bachelor’s in Social Welfare from Cal State Northridge. Her educational journey continued on at the University of Southern California where she earned her Master’s in Social Work. A few years later, she became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in 2013. Denise’s training and expertise includes working with the family as a unit and implementing strengths based approach coupled with ABA techniques. Denise has been a partner since 2013 working as the Clinical Director in the Inland Empire. “My philosophy includes finding the positive in every person and situation and helping others in any way I possibly can. I lead by example and am fueled by my passion for the field. I consider myself extremely lucky to have been given this opportunity and treasure it daily.”

Elizabeth “Lizzy” Landers is from Decatur, GA. She received her Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Kennesaw State University and her Masters of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis and Educational Psychology from Georgia State University. Prior to moving to California to begin her time with ALP Lizzy ran a research classroom for Emory Autism Center’s Early Emory program (formally the Walden School). Lizzy began her service with Autism Learning Partners (ALP) as a Clinician and then Director at our affiliate organization, Children’s Learning Connection (a pediatric interdisciplinary program for young children with Autism) in Southern California. In December of 2018 Lizzy relocated back to the metro Atlanta area to launch ABA services in GA – her journey has been full circle. Today, Lizzy is responsible for stewardship of ALP services in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, and Colorado.

Celina Lopez has been actively working in the field of ABA and special education for over 12 years. Celina specializes in providing individualized ABA treatments to families and individuals with Autism and other learning disabilities.“I wake up every day thankful for the opportunity to make a positive and lasting change in someone’s life.  I am passionate about providing a better quality of life for my families.”Celina oversees the clinical directors, program supervisors and direct staff in their work helping families  in the North Los Angeles region.

Rachael has a Bachelors Degree in psychology from Medialle College and a Masters Degree in applied behavior analysis from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She has experience with working with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and developmental disabilities across the lifespan. She has worked in a variety of settings in family homes, group homes, school and community settings. Rachael has experience implementing verbal behavior programs, daily living skill programs, and challenging behavior programs. Rachael likes to work with a team approach and collaborate with all members of a team, including the family as a whole, school personnel, and other providers.

Sandhya is passionate about providing effective, creative and relevant programming. She has a background in creating programs for children aged 18 mos – 21 years old. Sandhya also has experience in center based programming to teach children readiness skills to be successful in classroom environments. Sandhya started in the ABA field as a direct service provider and has a keen interest in up and coming research related to the behavioral field.” Working in this field doesn’t feel like work. Analyzing behavior is a puzzle and the more creative you try to be, the more effective the solution is. I also have the pleasure to meet the most amazing children and be humbled by their extremely committed and loving families ” 

Sarah Torgrimson is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has worked in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis since 2004 years in a variety of settings including home, school, and community. Sarah began doing 1:1 intervention while in college at the University of California, Irvine after working at a summer camp and having a child in her group who was diagnosed with Autism. After completing her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, Sarah started working at Children’s Learning Connection doing therapy and fell in love with the philosophy and model. While continuing to work at CLC, Sarah attended Chapman University where she obtained her Masters in Psychology and utilized other types of behavioral therapies for a wider variety of mental health disorders in adults, but in the end, working with children is her passion.