Our Team

Kelle has 25+ years working with children and adults with Autism. She started working with children with Autism in 1988 for her senior project at The Greenhill School of Dallas. This lead her to Texas Christian University where she graduated with a B.S. in the Study of Exceptional Students in 1992. Kelle taught in Carrollton-Farmer's Branch ISD for 3 years where she was nominated for Teacher of the Year by the Down’s Syndrome and Autism Society of Texas. In 1995, Kelle started her graduate program with Syracuse University in Rome, Italy then went on to complete her M.Ed. in Behavioral Interventions from University of North Texas in 1996. She returned to CFBISD as a Crisis Interventionist, Behavior Resource Specialist and Autism Specialist from 1996-2000. 

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Jenn graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She continued on at UNO to attain her Master’s of Science degree in School Psychology in 2010. While in graduate school Jenn worked as an in-home behavior therapist. After moving to Austin in 2010, she was employed at a local school to serve children with autism in the special education department. She joined CTAC in 2011 and acquired her supervision hours while working as a therapist. Jenn earned her BCBA in 2013, and after being a supervisor since 2015, she was promoted to Assistant Clinical Director in 2020.

Aarti graduated from the University of Mumbai, India in 2001 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. In 2011, she completed her Master’s degree with a specialization in Applied Behavior Analysis from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She received her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in 2016. Aarti has more than 10 years of experience working with children diagnosed with autism and other developmental disabilities across different cultures. Aarti joined the CTAC team in 2013 and serves as our Director of Clinical Research and In-Home Program Supervisor.

Ben received his B.A. in Psychology from Purdue University in 2008 and his M.A. in ABA from Ball State University in 2010. Ben received his BCBA certification in 2011. He has been an instructor for the ABA program at Ball State University and is currently in the Ph.D. program in Special Education at Ball State University. Ben has been working in the field of ABA since 2003 under the supervision of Dr. Carl Sundberg, Dr. Patrick McGreevy, Dr. Mark Sundberg, Dr. John Esch, Dr. Barbera Esch, and Dr. Peter Gerhardt. He has experience working with all ages in home programs, schools and center-based therapy. Ben joined the CTAC team in 2014 as a BCBA Therapist, and is currently the Director of Community Outreach.

Andrea graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology in 2010. She continued on to graduate school at Florida State University's Applied Behavior Analysis program and received her Master's of Science degree in 2012. Since graduating and becoming a BCBA, she has worked in verbal behavior clinics and in homes, providing one on one ABA therapy as well as supervising other therapists. She joined the CTAC team in 2014 and became supervisor in 2016. She is now a Senior Supervisor.

Christy graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences and Psychology in 2014. She graduated from University of Texas at Austin with an M.Ed. in Special Education: Autism and Developmental Disabilities in 2015. Christy has experience working with children with Autism using the science of Applied Behavior Analysis in the in-home and center settings. She earned her BCBA in 2016 and moved to the Dallas area. In 2017, she moved back to Austin and joined the CTAC team.

Michelle received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Delaware. After graduation, she moved to Texas to attend graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin. In 2014, she received her M.Ed. in Autism and Developmental Disabilities. During her graduate studies, Michelle worked as a behavior therapist in a clinic setting, as well as in-home and in school. She became a BCBA in 2015 and joined the CTAC team in 2016.

Jessica graduated from University of Texas at Austin with a BS in Human Development and Family Sciences in 2010 and with a Master’s of Education in Autism and Developmental Disabilities in 2013. She earned her BCBA in 2016. Before joining CTAC, in 2014, she worked with children ages 18 months to 5 years in child development centers in Austin for 5 years. Jessica has now worked with children with autism and other developmental disabilities for over 6 years.  She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a Supervisor for our Buds Program.

Mariel received her B.I.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Texas at El Paso in 2011. She then moved to Austin, Texas to attend the University of Texas at Austin and received her M.Ed. in Special Education with a concentration in Learning Disabilities and Behavioral Disorders in 2012.  After graduation, she worked as a lead teacher at KIPP Austin Leadership Elementary for four years, obtaining experience in general education, inclusion, and special education settings.  She joined the CTAC team in August of 2017, as a BCBA Therapist, then became a Program Manager, and recently promoted to Assistant Supervisor in 2020.

Megan graduated from Ball State University with a Bachelors in General Studies with an emphasis in Child Development  and Family Consumer Sciences in 2009. Megan earned her Masters degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Ball State University in 2015. Megan has previous experience conducting in home and clinic based therapy. She is the Lead Therapist for the Academy program at CTAC. Megan is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Noah Akey graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies in 2016. He has two years of experience working as an RBT, at clinics in Phoenix and in Austin. He has provided behavioral health therapy to children, teenagers, and adults in clinic, home, and school settings.  Noah joined the CTAC team in 2021.  In his free time, Noah enjoys learning languages, math, dancing, fighting games, and reading.

Arundhuti graduated from The University of Houston in 2020 with M.Ed. in Special Populations and is working towards taking her BCBA exam. She has 3 years of experience teaching children using drama techniques and has recently joined the CTAC team. In her free time, she likes to hike with her family, read, paint and create DIY projects.

Samantha graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Applied Learning and Development. She has been with CTAC for 3 years working in family's homes and at the center. Before coming to CTAC, she worked as a therapist in Brooklyn, NY at a school for children with autism. Samantha is a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst.

Christine is a Dallas native and in 2016, received her bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts with a minor in Shakespeare Studies from Southern Utah University. She moved to Salt Lake City, Utah where she began working in a group home with individuals who have autism and other developmental disabilities. In 2019, she began working at an after school program with children who have an autism diagnosis and became a Registered Behavior Technician serving youth ranging from 6 to 20 years old. She moved to Austin in 2020 and has been working for CTAC since that time. Her goal is to study to become a BCBA. When she’s not at CTAC, Christine is usually deciding between going for a drive with her dog, watching movies, or rereading the Harry Potter series.

Becky Castillo graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a B.S. in Kinesiology. In December 2019 she graduated from Texas State University with her M.Ed., in Special Education with a concentration in applied behavior analysis. During her graduate studies, she worked with children and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other disabilities. She joined CTAC in 2019, and while working here, Becky became a BACBA in 2020. Becky has a boxer/Labrador mix, enjoys spending time with family, and finding new books to read.

Julia Chun is from Dallas, TX. She received her Bachelors' degree in Psychology & Criminology from the University of Houston in 2017.  After graduation, she moved back to Dallas, where she worked in an ABA school for a year. She moved to Austin, TX to pursue her Masters' at Texas State, and will be graduating December 2019. She expects to take her BCBA exam in 2020. Julia's dream has always been to work with individuals with special needs and so she says she is living her dream here at CTAC!

Diana received her Bachelors of Arts in Psychology at California State University in 2018.  She then continued to pursue her Master's in ABA at National University, California and graduated in 2020. Diana has over 5 years' experience working with clients with autism.  She is a Registered Behavior Technician and currently studying to take her BCBA exam. Diana moved to Texas and joined our team in 2021.  On her free time, Diana likes to go to country concerts and spend the day at the beach. 

Samantha graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Special Education in 2014. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a M.Ed. in Special Education: Autism and Developmental Disabilities in 2015. Samantha joined the CTAC team in 2016, and received her BCBA in 2017. In 2021, she completed the Doctoral program for Special Education at the University of Texas at Austin.

Shelby Gordon graduated in 2016 from the University of Louisiana with a B.S. in Psychology. During her graduate studies, she worked with children and young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other disabilities. In 2019, she graduated with her M.Ed. in Special Education: Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis from Texas State University. She plans on taking the BCBA exam in 2020. Shelby loves to sing, play the guitar and hiking.

Valentina is originally from Caracas, Venezuela. After moving to the US in 2011, she attended Tulane University and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and French. While volunteering as a research assistant at a developmental lab, she found her love for working with kids. In 2016 she joined the behavior analytic field as an Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) and now has 4 years of experience working with children diagnosed with autism in both the in-home and clinical settings. She joined CTAC in October 2020.  In 2021, she completed the Master’s program at Capella University, and passed her BCBA exam. Valentina is our newest Program Manager.

Joe graduated from Saint Thomas Aquinas College, Sparkill, New York, with a B.A. in Communications in 2008. From news rooms to marketing, his path lead him to start working in special education for three years in New York. He moved to Austin in 2018 and worked at Williams Community School for 2 years, becoming a registered behavioral technician during that time. Currently, he aspires to start his Master's program, so he can pursue becoming a BCBA. He joined the CTAC team in March of 2020.  When he is not at work, Joe enjoys spending time with family and friends. He also plays in hockey leagues around Austin.

Mallory Lamparter graduated from the University of Arizona, Tucson, in 2018 with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and a minor in Public Health. She moved to Austin, TX in the summer of 2019 to work with CTAC. She is a Registered Behavior Technician and has been working with children with autism and special needs for 3 years. She is currently applying to graduate schools to pursue her BCBA. 

Brittany received her B.A. in Psychology in 2012, from The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). She then completed her Masters in Special Education in 2018, also at UTSA. Before joining CTAC, she worked as an American Sign Language interpreter. Brittany previously collaborated on the TEA Services to Students with Autism grant where she conducted Stimulus Control Ratio Equation (SCoRE), verbal behavior assessments and provided training and interventions to PPCD students and their teachers across South Texas. She is a BCBA Therapist for our Academy Program at CTAC.  Brittany has a chiweenie named Nyla and enjoys binge watching Netflix, riding Peloton, and practicing Lagree. 

Tabatha is a Laredo, TX native with a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Texas A&M Corpus Christi. After graduating, in 2016, Tabatha moved out of state to Leominster, Massachusetts. It was there where she was introduced to ABA Therapy. She worked at Beacon ABA Services providing in-home and center based services for three years, until she decided to move back to her home state to pursue higher education in Behavior Analysis. She plans on becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in the near future. In her spare time Tabatha enjoys listening to podcasts, reading books, and exploring the city of Austin. 

Hannah graduated from Southwestern University with a B.A. in Psychology in 2017. She became an RBT in 2018 and joined the CTAC team in 2019. She then pursued her graduate degree at Ball State University and received her Master of Arts in Applied Behavior Analysis program in 2020. She is working towards sitting for her BCBA exam!

Leslie Onofre graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Applied Learning and Development with a concentration in Special Education in 2020. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Autism and Developmental Disabilities at UT, and will be graduating in August 2021. Leslie’s goal is to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and to continue to work with individuals with autism and developmental disabilities. In her free time, she enjoys watching shows on Netflix and going hiking.

Alecia graduated from the University of Miami with a B.A. in Psychology and a B.A. in Studio Arts in 2013. She lived in Miami, FL for 3 years after graduation and worked for a private clinic credentialed as an Registered Behavioral Technician (RBT) in various settings including clinic-based, in-home, and in school. After completing coursework through Florida Institute of Technology (FIT), she passed her BCaBA exam in 2015. She moved to Austin for graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin and received her Master’s of Education in Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) in 2018. She joined the CTAC team in September of 2017, and has now been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) since 2018. In February 2020, Alecia was promoted to Program Manager.

Michael Sampson has been working with kids with disabilities since 2015, where he worked at a weekend respite program made specially for kids with disabilities. After this great introduction, his experience only flourished, and went on to work at summer camps for kids with severe disabilities, and as a teacher at an ABA school for kids with autism since 2017, in New England. He graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and Criminology from Stonehill College, North Easton, Massachusetts, in 2017. While working with kids with autism and other disabilities, he decided to pursue his Masters in Severe Special Education at Boston College, Newton, Massachusetts, and graduated in May 2020.  He recently moved to Austin to join the CTAC team, and plans to pursue his BCBA Certification.  He moved to Austin to escape the brutal New England winters. When not at work, he likes to run, spend time with friends and explore the city Austin. 

Neyda Sanchez graduated from the University of California (UCLA), with a B.A. in Psychology and Minored in Disability & Education Studies in 2019.  She has worked with children with autism in educational settings and has conducted research on ABA. After graduation, Neyda moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas for her Master's program. She graduated with a Master's in Special Education with a concentration in Autism and Developmental Disabilities in 2020. Neyda joined CTAC the fall of 2019 and is preparing to sit for her BCBA exam in 2021.

Mikhaila Westerfield is originally from Davenport, Iowa. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2018, from St. Ambrose University. Mikhaila started her career working with the adult population with developmental and mental disabilities. She switched to the ASD population in 2020 while living in New Jersey. Mikhaila moved to Texas and started work at CTAC March of 2021. Mikhaila’s future goal is to become a Board Certified Behavioral Analyst in the near future. Mikhaila loves to sing, read, and write in her free time.