Consultation and Autism-School Services Staff

 

Zbigniew Golonka, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is the Director of Adult Behavioral Services in Connecticut and a licensed psychologist. He is responsible for the quality of behavioral supports provided to the adults served by the agency. Dr. Golonka also provides behavioral consultation services to a number of Connecticut schools, agencies, and families and oversees a large staff that provides services to children on the spectrum. He is one of the founding member of the Institute’s collaborative Master’s Program with Fitchburg State College, a degree designed to provide students with a MA in Applied Behavior Analysis. He has taught courses in applied behavior analysis (ABA), supervised students to obtain applied behavioral competencies identified by the ABA board, taught research and supervised Master’s Projects. Dr. Golonka’s professional experiences include serving as a Behavioral Consultant for Columbus Medical Services, as the Clinical Supervisor at the Biobehavioral Unit at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, and as a Supervisor of the Neurobehavioral Stabilization Unit of Bancroft Neurohealth in New Jersey. He obtained his Ph.D in Educational Psychology from the University of Iowa.

Charles Newfield, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is the Director of Children’s Behavioral Services for The Institute in Connecticut and is a licensed psychologist. He currently provides behavioral consultation and classroom management services to over a dozen Connecticut school districts and oversees a large staff that provides services to children on the spectrum. He is one of the founding member of the Institute’s collaborative Master’s Program with Fitchburg State College, a degree designed to provide students with a MA in Applied Behavior Analysis. He has taught courses in applied behavior analysis (ABA), supervised students to obtain applied behavioral competencies identified by the ABA board, taught research and supervised Master’s Projects.Dr. Newfield has taught courses in applied behavior analysis (ABA), supervised students to obtain applied behavioral competencies identified by the ABA board, taught research and supervised Master’s Projects. Prior to joining The Institute, Dr. Newfield served as a Behavioral Consultant for the ACES school programs in Connecticut and for several Developmental Disabilities Centers in New York. Dr. Newfield obtained his Ph.D in Experimental Psychology from Adelphi University. His professional interests include program development and functional assessment in schools.

Barry Morgenstern, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is the Director of Research in Connecticut. His responsibilities include designing and implementing applied research projects related to ABA, effective teaching strategies and efficient and successful methods of staff training. He also provides behavioral and educational consultation in classrooms in several schools. Dr. Morgenstern has extensive experience working for and with school systems implementing intensive ABA services for children with autism and is the former Executive Director of the Bay School in California, a school for young children with autism. Dr. Morgenstern formerly held the position of Assistant Professor at Mercy College, teaching courses in special education and applied behavior analysis. Dr. Morgenstern received his Ph.D. in Special Education and Applied Behavior Analysis at Ohio State. His research interests include motivational operations and effective methods of staff training.

David Gallaway, Psy.D., BCBA-D, is a licensed clinical psychologist and one of the Institute’s Autism Program Directors in Connecticut. He is responsible for the overall coordination of a school based program serving young children with autism spectrum disorder in an inner-city Connecticut school. Dr. Gallaway previously worked as a Behavioral Consultant at South Shore Mental Health in Plymouth, MA, providing applied behavioral and consultative services to individuals, families, schools, and agencies in southeastern Massachusetts. Dr. Gallaway completed his undergraduate work at the University of Connecticut and received his Psy.D. from the University of Hartford.

Liz Lyons Sellinger, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is a licensed psychologist, certified special education teacher and one of the Institute's Program Directors in the state of Connecticut. Dr. Sellinger provides behavioral and academic consultation to local school districts at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of intervention. She received her PhD from the University of Southern Mississippi in the area of school psychology with an emphasis in applied behavior analysis. Prior to joining the Institute, Dr. Sellinger provided school consultation services (including school wide positive behavior supports) to a number of schools in the state of Mississippi. In addition, she completed her pre-doctoral internship at the May Institute with a focus in children with autism and children with traumatic brain injury. Her areas of interest include functional assessment of social and academic behaviors, evidence based teaching methodologies (e.g., Direct Instruction, Precision Teaching), and staff training in Applied Behavior Analysis.

Lauren Swensen Meade, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is a Clinical Coordinator and obtained her doctorate in Developmental Psychology from the University of Connecticut, with a focus in language development in children with autism. Her responsibilities include curriculum development, behavior assessments, development of individualized behavior intervention plans, and staff training in ABA for both school based and home programs. Her research interests include the expansion of language and play skills.

Danielle Adams, M.Ed., BCBA, is a Clinical Coordinator - Autism Program. Ms. Adams is responsible for curriculum development, staff and parent training in ABA methodology for both school and home programs. She received her Master’s in Education with a focus in Behavior Analysis from a cooperative training program between The Institute and Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts. Ms. Adams' research interests include staff training in applied behavior analysis.

Nichole Collins, M.S., BCBA, is a Clinical Coordinator - Autism Program. Currently she is responsible for coordinating school-based behavior and curriculum programs for a number of Connecticut school districts. Her previous professional experience includes being a behavioral specialist, case manager, and teacher at The New England Center for Children, where she developed and implemented curriculum and behavior intervention programs in residential and school settings for behaviorally challenged adolescents. She received her Master’s Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Northeastern University in 2006. Ms. Collin’s research interests includes teaching self-management strategies to students in school-based programs.

Trina Sarah Dizon, M.A., BCBA, received a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Binghamton University, where she studied applied behavior analysis at the Children's Unit for Treatment and Evaluation. Later she received a Master of Arts degree in Psychology from Queens College. Mrs. Dizon is also a board certified behavior analyst (BCBA). Formerly a tutor with the Institute for Child Development and a community training specialist with the Young Adult Institute, Mrs. Dizon has experience providing direct service to children and adults with developmental disabilities. With IPPI, she is a clinician for the school-based autism and behavioral programs, completes functional behavioral assessments, and develops and implements behavioral and academic programs.

Tracey Easton, M.S., BCBA ,is a Clinical Coordinator - Autism Program. She is responsible for curriculum development, functional assessments, behavior intervention plan, as well as staff and parent training in applied behavior analysis. She obtained her Master’s in Special Education with a focus in Behavior Analysis from a cooperative training program between The Institute and Johnson State College in Vermont. Tracey is currently conducting research on the effectiveness of group contingencies for increasing pro-social behaviors.

Rachel Fazio, M.A., BCBA, is a Clinical Coordinator for the Autism Program. On a daily basis she is responsible for the development and implementation of Individualized Education Programs, development of academic and discrete trial instruction, and development of behavioral programming and consultation with school staff. Ms. Fazio began her career as an ABA therapist in the school programs after receiving her Master's degree and K-6 certification in Elementary Education from the University of Bridgeport. As she continued to build her career with IPPI, she pursued her BCBA while gaining experience in different school settings.

Patricia Fitzsimons-Austin, M.S., BCBA, is a Program Director. Patricia has over 18 years experience applying the principles of behavior to special needs populations including children and adults with developmental disabilities and children with significant problem behavior and psychiatric diagnoses. She has authored or co-authored a variety of local and national presentations on the subjects of parent training, staff training, and teaching children with autism. Patty co-authored Parenting Tools for Positive Behavior Change, a 30-hour competency-based parenting curriculum. She has worked in the foster care systems in Florida and Connecticut and was the Director of Behavior Analysis Services at Connecticut Center for Child Development. She received her Master of Science degree in Behavior Analysis from University of North Texas. In 2007, she was named Outstanding Alumnus from University of North Texas’ Department of Behavior Analysis. Her current interests include research and practice in parent training, and in effective teaching and generalization of communication, social, and play skills in children with autism.

Tammy Jackson, M.A., BCBA, Tammy is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She received her Master's degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Westfield State College. Her work experiences include, providing behavioral supports to adults with developmental disabilities and infants and toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder through direct home-based therapy as well as parent and staff trainings.

Bethany Perra, M.Ed., BCBA, Clinical Coordinator - Autism Program. She holds a Master’s in Education with a focus in Behavior Analysis from a cooperative training program between The Institute and Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts. Bethany is responsible for curriculum development, FBAs, behavior assessments, the development of individualized behavior intervention plans, staff and parent training in ABA for school based programs and coordinating services across the school and home settings. Her research interests include verbal behavior and the use of Direct Instruction with children on the spectrum.

Mary Polino-Testone, M.Ed., is a Clinical Coordinator - Autism Program. Formerly a residential counselor with Wayside Youth and Family Services, Ms. Polino-Testone has experience providing direct services, 1 to 1 counseling, and group counseling to adolescents with psychiatric and family problems. In her current position, she coordinates a school-based autism program, provides 1:1 discrete trial instruction, develops behavioral and academic programs, and provides consultation services.

Erica Quinn, M.S., BCBA, is a Program Director - Autism Program. She is responsible for coordinating school-based autism services for numerous children across several schools. Ms. Quinn has many years experience in providing educational service based on applied behavior analysis and is the current president of the Connecticut Association for Applied Behavior Analysis. She received her Masters in Applied Behavior Analysis from Northeastern while working as a case manager/teacher in a home-based program at the New England Center for Children.

Christine Rebelo, M.S., BCBA, Clinical Coordinator - Autism Program. She holds a Master's in Education with a focus in Behavior Analysis from a cooperative training program between The Institute and Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts. Christine is responsible for curriculum development, FBAs, behavior assessments, the development of individualized behavior intervention plans, staff and parent training in ABA for school based programs and coordinating services across the school and home settings.

Allison Roe, M.S., BCBA, is a Clinical Coordinator - Autism Program.  Her responsibilities include development and implementation of IEPs, development of academic and discrete trial instruction, implementation and modification of general education curricula, development of behavioral programming and consultation with school staff.  Previously, Ms. Roe has held positions as a teacher in a residential program at The New England Center For Children and an Inclusion Facilitator at a public school in Massachusetts.  Ms. Roe holds a Master's Degree in Special Education.

Adrianna Zambrzycka, MA, LCSW, BCBA, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and one of the Institute's Clinical Coordinators providing behavioral and educational consultation to students across different districts throughout the state of Connecticut.  She is responsible for completion of functional assessments, development of behavior intervention plans, and conducting staff and parent training.  Ms. Zambrzycka obtained her Master's degree in Social Work from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work.  Her experience and current interests include research and practice related to early intervention and prevention of interfering behaviors in typically developing children who display emotional and behavioral problems.  Ms. Zambrzycka helped initiate a New Haven project focused on early intervention, which is currently in its third year.

Kathryn Cyr, BCaBA, Clinical Coordinator. Kathryn received her Initial Educator Certificate and a BS in Elementary Education from Southern Connecticut State University. She also has a Graduate Academic Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis from the University of North Texas. She is pursuing an M.Ed. with a specialization in Reading. Her responsibilities include curriculum development, behavior assessments, development of individualized behavior intervention plans, and staff training in ABA. Kathryn's research interests include the use of Precision Teaching and Direct Instruction for teaching children with autism.

Kara Hann, M.A., is a Consultant and received a Masters in Teaching from Sacred Heart University. She graduated with a B.A in Psychology with a Minor in Social Work from Providence College. Kara brings with her more than 12 years of practical hands-on experience in the deliver of ABA services to children on the autism spectrum including program design, curriculum development, and supervision.