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@BehaviorTLC.com
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@BehaviorTLC.com
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@behaviortlc.com
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-Lemus@BehaviorTLC.com
Alexandra Kehlenbeck, MA SpEd, BCBA, LBA
Director of In-Home Services
Alex 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 and 22 and across settings that 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. She is now the Director of In-Home Services.
Danielle Dupuis, MA, BCBA, LBA
Assistant Director
Danielle Dupuis is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst from Lafayette, Louisiana. She received her Bachelor 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 providing services to learners of all ages in different settings and clinics. 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. Danielle also worked alongside teachers as a behavioral consultant in Clear Creek Independent School District to assist teachers in managing challenging behaviors. She joined the Behavior TLC as a BCBA family in 2017 and is thrilled to continue serving clients as an Assistant Director.
Lissette Billingsley, MA, BCBA, LBA
Assistant Director – Clear Lake
Lissette is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst from Houston, TX. She also holds a teaching certification in Early Childhood through 6th-grade education and a Special Education certification in Early Childhood through 12th grade. Lissette started her career teaching in 2012 and has 6 years of teaching experience. She taught all subject areas, facilitated social inclusion clubs at her campus, and was awarded First Year Teacher of the Year in 2014. She earned her Master’s degree in Special Education with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis from Sam Houston State University in 2018.
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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.
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.
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.
Adriana Marsiglia, MA, BCBA, LBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Adriana Marsiglia is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst from Venezuela. She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis at the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
Adriana Marsiglia gained experience as a therapist in the Severe Behavior Disorders Research Clinic (SBDRC), Applied Behavior Analysis-Skills Early Intervention Program (ABA-SkIP), Connecting The Dots (CTD) and the Verbal Behavior Clinic (VBC) at the Center of Autism and Developmental Delays. Her focus pertained to assessing and treating problem behavior, teaching communication skills, toilet training, along with an emphasis on caregiver training in the clinic, home, and community setting.
She also gained experience training teachers in the Pasadena Independent School District where she helped create, implement and train on interventions that would help reduce challenging behavior in the classroom and increase student’s independence skills.
Chris Roath, MA, BCBA, LBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Chris Roath is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst from Shreveport, Louisiana. He completed his undergraduate coursework at Louisiana State University and the University of Houston-Downtown before earning his Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.
Chris entered the field of ABA in 2008 as an undergraduate research assistant in a behavior analysis lab at LSU. During his graduate school training, Chris gained experience in the areas of early intervention, verbal behavior, feeding disorders, and severe maladaptive behavior. Since obtaining his BCBA certification in 2014, Chris has designed and implemented interventions in clinic, school, home, and community settings.
Patricia Turnmire MA, BCBA, LBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Patricia Turnmire has worked in the field of behavior for over 25 years. She began her career in the zoo and aquarium industry creating behavioral plans for animals across different taxa. In 2013, Patricia shifted the focus from the behavior of animals to people with developmental disabilities. She earned her Master of Arts in Applied Behavior Analysis from the University of Houston Clear Lake in 2016.
Prior to joining Behavior TLC and Grand Oak Academy in 2021, she worked with people with an autism diagnosis and other developmental disabilities in the home, clinic, school, and residential settings.
Mya Jackson, MS, BCBA, LBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Mya is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst from Coral Springs, Florida, who recently moved to Houston, Texas with her family of four in 2020. Mya received her Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences with a minor in Health Services Administration from the University of Central Florida in 2012 and her Bachelor of Science in Communication, Science, and Disorders from the University of South Florida in 2015. Mya then went on to receive her Master of Science in Developmental Disorders with a concentration in Applied Behavior Analysis from Nova Southeastern University in 2019.
Mya’s career began over 6 years as RBT, which quickly turned into becoming a BCBA. Mya has experience working in clinics, at home, and in school settings. Mya loves to work with early learners and works on skills such as communication, toilet training, decreasing challenging behaviors, and decreasing food sensitivity.
Amy Babanto, MS, BCBA, LBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Amy is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA) from Houston, TX. She received her Bachelor of Science from The University of Texas at Austin in Human Development and Family Sciences. She received her Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis from St. Cloud State University.
Amy has 8 years of ABA experience in clinical, educational, and in-home settings. Prior to Behavior TLC, Amy gained experience as a case manager implementing individualized programs at a day program and group homes for adults diagnosed with developmental delays. She currently serves at Grand Oak Academy as a BCBA.
Amanda King, BCBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Amanda King is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in Houston, TX. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Georgia in 2015 and moved to Houston, where she began working as a behavior technician at Behavior TLC. It was at this point that she knew she wanted to pursue a career in Applied Behavior Analysis!
In 2018, Amanda became a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst, and in 2021, she graduated from the University of Houston-Clear Lake with her Master’s degree in Behavior Analysis. In 2022, Amanda had the wonderful opportunity to return to Behavior TLC and she now provides services at Grand Oak Academy. Some of her passions include verbal behavior, school-readiness skills, social skills, caregiver training, and diversity and inclusion.
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
Regional Office Administrator
Jenni Hammons is the Regional Office Administrator for the Behavior TLC Northwest office as well as our In-Home Program. 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 Harry Potter fan, and loves her dogs Baloo and Willow.
For the last 13 years, Jenni has worked with companies that serve children and adults with developmental disabilities. Jenni’s compassion for being an advocate for this population shows in her belief in being the voice for those that aren’t able to communicate. She has been a part of BTLC for 5 years and is here to help our families with scheduling and all enrollment questions.
Chelsea Dixon
Administrative Assistant
Chelsea was born in Houston, Texas; joined the Behavior TLC family in January of 2021 as an Administrative Assistant. She comes from a diverse background of administrative and management experience of over 13 years, varying in fields such as luxury spas and landscaping.
With every year of experience in this ever-changing field, Chelsea finds herself wanting to learn more about it. When she first joined the BTLC family, she thought she would just be doing administrative work. Now she walks in every day ready to advocate for our special population and their families. In her free time, Chelsea supports our furry friends by volunteering at her local animal rescue and spending time with family.