About our Behavior Analysts
The Behavior Therapy and Learning Center (Behavior TLC) is operated and owned by two dedicated and caring Board Certified Behavior Analysts. We are passionate about providing services of Applied Behavior Analysis for our clients. At Behavior TLC, we work with individuals with autism and other intellectual or developmental disabilities, as well as their families.
We are located in the Greater Houston area, with offices in Northwest Houston and Clear Lake, Texas. Our services include after school social skills programs, a clinic-based day program, school consultation, parent and teacher training and an Applied Behavior Analysis private school, Grand Oak Academy, where we provide a full academic curriculum along with individualized goals with daily progress tracking on academics, social skills and behavior.
Our day program and social skills programs offer a ratio of one therapist to each student; and Grand Oak Academy holds a ratio of one teacher to three students, which makes for an optimal learning environment. Read more about our behavior analysts below!
All of our therapists are licensed Behavior Analysts through the Behavior Analysis Certification Board.
- Training Experience: All therapists no matter their level of experience, go through a detailed and comprehensive training curriculum upon hire. Monthly evaluation continues throughout their employment, in addition to their academic requirements.
- Retention: We only hire therapists with a commitment to the field of ABA. All of our staff are devoted to our clinic for at least 1 calendar year. For this reason, Behavior TLC maintains a very low turnover rate.
Jennifer C. Strickland, MA, BCBA, LBA
Owner
Jennifer Strickland is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst from Houston, Texas. Jennifer received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. She then attended the University of Houston-Clear Lake where she received her Master’s degree in Psychology as well as her certification in Applied Behavior Analysis.
Jennifer has treatment experience in home based ABA programs, clinical day schools, non-profit and county organized consultation services, and public schools. Jennifer has worked with the Texas young Autism Project, Aim High Academy, MHMRA’s ABA-SkIP, and Clear Creek ISD. She has extensive experience and training in direct ABA services with children and with parent training. She has lead large group trainings, symposiums and workshops. Jennifer has experience managing direct care staff, and running day program clinics.
jstrickland@162.241.204.157
John Pugh, MA, BCBA, LBA
Owner
John Pugh is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst living in League City, Texas. He began his career in 1998 working as a camp counselor for children with special needs. Since that time, John has received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Missouri Southern State University. Master of Arts in Behavior Analysis from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
John’s experience has included day and residential summer camps for children and adults with disabilities. He has provided in home behavior training to children and their families. John has provided behavior analysis in clinical settings, and conducted ABA workshops. He has also provided behavior analytic services to several school districts. John has received specific training in the treatment of severe behavior disorders from Munroe-Myer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
jpugh@162.241.204.157
Jennifer Perry, MA, BCBA, LBA
Clinic Director
Jennifer Perry is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Prior to working for Behavior TLC Jennifer worked as a BCBA at Village Learning and Achievement Center and Texana Children’s Center for Autism. She’s worked with Pearland ISD, Pasadena ISD, Texas Young Autism project, MHMRA ABA SkIP (currently known as the Harris Center), and University of Houston – Clear Lake ABA SkIP (currently known as CADD) while in graduate school.
Jennifer received her Bachelor of Science degree from Louisiana State University in psychology. She received her Master of Arts degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from the University of Houston Clear Lake. Jennifer has experience working in a variety of settings including day treatment, public and private schools, residential, and in home.
jperry@162.241.204.157
Lourdes Barrachina-Lemus, MA, BCBA, LBA
Clinic Director
Lourdes Barrachina-Lemus is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst from El Salvador. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Houston. Then, she went on to receive her masters degree in Behavior Analysis from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Lourdes began her career at MHMRA in Houston, Texas. There, she gained experience in individualized ABA therapy in a day program setting. She also handled In-home services and parent training as well. After graduation, Lourdes went back home to El Salvador and worked in private practice for five years. She gained experience in supervision and training during that time. Lourdes came back to Texas in 2014 to work for Behavior TLC. She is now the BCBA and case manager for the majority of clients at the Clear Lake office.
lbarrachina@162.241.204.157
Carla Cramer
Office Manager
Carla Cramer has been a part of the Behavior TLC administrative team since 2014, coming to us from Northwest Ohio. She has worked her way up from Administrative Assistant to Office Manager, overseeing both company’s locations. Carla has a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a Minor in Counseling from the University of Toledo.
Carla worked for a year with an insurance company in Ohio before moving with her family to Houston, Texas. Carla has always had a passion for helping children and people and has found that she can do both while working for Behavior TLC.
Danielle Dupuis, MA, BCBA, LBA
Behavior Analyst
Danielle Dupuis is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst from Lafayette, Louisiana. She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Following this, she earned her Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis at the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
Danielle gained experience as a therapist in the Applied Behavior Analysis-Skills Early Intervention Program (ABA-SkIP) at the Center of Autism and Developmental Delays creating interventions for children with autism. S Danielle also worked alongside teachers as a behavioral consultant in Clear Creek Independent School District to assist teachers in managing problem behaviors.
Julia McCarter, MA, BCBA, LBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Julia McCarter is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA) with Behavior TLC and Grand Oak Academy. Julia grew up in Iowa and later moved to Texas, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Trinity University. She attended the University of Houston-Clear Lake for graduate school and received an Master of Arts in behavior analysis. Julia has spent several years working as a behavior analyst in Houston area ABA clinics and joined the BTLC team in July of 2018.
Tyler Liberatore, MA, BCBA, LBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Tyler Liberatore is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), originally from Boston, Massachusetts. He is a graduate from Schriener University with a Bachelor of Science in Bio Chemistry. He then went on to achieve a Masters in Special Education/ABA from The University of Texas at San Antonio. Over his last 3 years at BTLC he’s grown from a Registered Behavior Technician, to teacher at GOA to now being a BCBA!
Prior to being with Behavior TLC, Tyler spent 7 years as a private caregiver for an adult with special needs. While working toward his Bachelor degree, Tyler spent summers working as a counselor at Camp C.A.M.P. in Comfort, Texas, a camp for children and adults with severe disabilities. Tyler has had many years of teaching and coaching children through his varied experiences. Tyler has also recently had the opportunity to serve as an accreditation Review Team member with AdvancED.
Ashley Massey, MA, BCBA, LBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Ashley is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA) living in Houston Texas. She is a Colorado transplant, who earned her Bachelor ’s degree in Psychology from Baylor. She continued her education at UHCL, earning her Masters in Applied Behavior Analysis.
Ashley has over 10 years of experience working with an extremely diverse population of individuals ranging from very young toddlers to young adults. Her treatment experience involves providing services in multiple settings, such as comprehensive clinical day treatment settings, focused treatment settings, private schools, public schools, and in-home therapy. Ashley’s previous experience includes a robust skillset implementing interventions that focus on speech, verbal behavior, social skills, and parent trainings. She previously helped develop and manage a social skills program and a Medicaid-funded focused therapy program. Ashley has been working as a BCBA/LBA at Behavior TLC’s Clear Lake clinic since January of 2017.
Thi Nguyen, M.Ed, BCBA, LBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Thi Nguyen is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) from Houston, Texas. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Special Education from the University of Houston and her Master’s in Special Education with an emphasis in Autism and Developmental Disabilities from the University of Texas.
Prior to joining the Behavior TLC family, Thi was a special education teacher in Alief Independent School District for 3 years and a special education teacher for 2 years in a specialty school for individuals with disabilities. She has experience in training teachers and paraprofessionals on implementing Applied Behavior Analysis in a wide variety of classroom settings. In addition to that, Thi also has experience in creating and implementing individualized programs for clients serviced in their homes and community.
Alexandra Kehlenbeck, BCBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Alex Kehlenbeck is originally from Long Island New York where she graduated from St. Joseph’s College and obtained her general education and special education teacher certificates. When she moved to Texas in 2009, Alex initially began her special education career as a teacher, but quickly made a career change to ABA and began working at Including Kids Inc. in Humble. Her 10 year career with InKids took her from direct care therapist to BCBA supervisor and afforded her opportunities to work with clients between the ages of 5-22 and across settings which included school inclusion, vocational training, and community outings. Alex and her family moved to the Cypress area in 2018 and she joined the Behavior TLC team.
Shakelia Ausbie, BCBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Shakelia Ausbie is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA) who grew up in Houston, TX. Shakelia earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from University of Houston-Downtown and later pursued her Master of Science in Psychology with emphasis in Educational Psychology and Applied Behavior Analysis from Capella University.
Shakelia devoted her time as a Student Analyst/Behavioral Specialist working in the field of ABA for almost 8 years; working with several clinics and in-home based ABA providers throughout Houston before joining BTLC in 2017 and later becoming a BCBA in 2019. Shakelia has a desire for working with a diverse group of children and individuals affected by the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other disabilities. Her mission is to expand knowledge, independence, and life skills of every person she encounters.
Emily Faust, BCBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Emily Faust is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst originally from New Orleans, Louisiana. Emily and her husband moved to Houston, Texas in April, 2020 and she is excited to be a part of the Behavior TLC team! Emily received her undergraduate degree in Educational Services and Psychology from Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama, and received her Master’s degree in Psychology with a concentration in Applied Behavior Analysis from Capella University.
Emily has 8 years of experience participating in as well as overseeing the treatment of individuals on the autism spectrum in multiple settings such as clinical treatment settings, home based settings, summer camps, and private and public schools. She has worked with individuals of all ages and functioning abilities ranging from 18 months to 18 years of age. Her experience as a BCBA includes creating programs that focus on social skills, verbal behavior, school readiness goals, as well as daily living and vocational skills. She has also created a variety of programs that aid in decreasing maladaptive behaviors while teaching functional replacement behaviors that are of social significance. One of her favorite areas of working in the field of ABA is training parents/caregivers and other staff on the techniques and implementation of ABA.
Larkin Banister
Billing Coordinator
Larkin Banister is Behavior TLC’s Billing Coordinator from Houston, Texas. She comes from a background of administrative and management experience of over 10 years. She joined the Behavior TLC family in July of 2017 as an administrative assistant and quickly realized her passion was in billing and claims.
Larkin is a mom to two children, with her oldest being on the autism spectrum. Being an advocate for her son gives her the compassion necessary to help our parents navigate the world of ABA billing and insurance, as well as providing our staff with a better understanding of what raising a child with special needs is like, beyond our clinic hours.
Jenni Hammons
Northwest Administrative Assistant
Jenni Hammons is an Administrative Assistant for the Behavior TLC Northwest office. She is originally from Orange County, California and moved to Northwest Houston with her husband, Evan, in 2016. Jenni loves to sing, is a huge Disney fan, and loves her dogs Baloo and Willow.
For the last 10 years Jenni has worked with companies who serve children and adults with developmental disabilities. Jenni’s compassion for being an advocate for this population, shows in her belief of being the voice for those that aren’t able to communicate. She has been a part of BTLC for 3 years and is here to help our families with scheduling, billing, and all enrollment questions.