Kristi Baysinger, M.A. received her Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology from California State University, Sacramento and her Masters of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of the Pacific. While an undergraduate, Ms. Baysinger began providing behavioral services to children with autism in in-home intervention programs.

Ms. Baysinger has experience designing and applying a range of behavioral interventions with both typically-developing preschool children as well as those with autism spectrum disorders. Ms. Baysinger has presented research projects at poster sessions at both the California Association for Behavior Analysis and Western Psychological Association. Her graduate thesis focused upon improving reading comprehension and self-efficacy related to reading competence in elementary school-age children. In addition to her work with children, Ms. Baysinger has worked with adults diagnosed with schizophrenia in a residential setting.

Ms. Baysinger has worked with 25 children with autism spectrum disorders ranging in age from 8 months to 8 years of age. She has almost 8000 hours of experience providing direct service and clinical supervision for children with autism spectrum disorders.

Brigitte Elder Ph.D. received her Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology from University of California, LA and her Masters and Doctoral degrees in Developmental Psychology at University of California, Davis. While an undergraduate, she worked at the UCLA Clinic for the Behavioral Treatment of Children under the direction of Dr. Ivar Lovaas and Dr. Jacquie Wynn. After completing her undergraduate degree, Ms. Elder continued her involvement by providing consultant services to children with autism spectrum disorders.

From 1994-1998 was supervised by Dr. Lovaas and his colleagues while a consultant to early intervention home-based programs in the Bay Area and throughout the United States. While at University of California, Davis she studied with Drs. Linda Acredolo and Susan Goodwyn. Her dissertation extended the work of these two nationally known researchers, whose work is summarized in the book Baby Signs, by examining the relationship between early language acquisition and later educational achievement levels for her doctoral dissertation. She has more than 10,000 hours of experience supervising programs for 25+ children with autism spectrum disorders.

Carrie Ellsworth, M.A. received her Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology from University of the Pacific and her Masters of Arts in Psychology from the University of Nevada at Reno. While an undergraduate she began working as an Instructional Assistant for children diagnosed with autism who were receiving home-based, applied behavior analytic intervention. This experience helped guide Ms. Ellsworth’s decision regarding her pursuit of graduate training in applied behavior analysis. While at the University of Nevada, she gained clinical experience working in the Autism Clinic directed by Pat Ghezzi, Ph.D. She has presented at the California Association for Behavior Analysis.

Melanie Machado, M.S., BCBA received her Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology from San Diego State University and her Masters of Science degree. in Psychology (Behavior Analysis Concentration) from California State University, Stanislaus. She is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Prior to joining our staff, Ms. Machado provided behavior intervention services to Valley Mountain Regional Center clients and their families. Ms. Machado is a past Coordinator for the Center for Direct Instruction at California State University, Stanislaus, where she coached teacher credential candidates in the design and application of instructional strategies for high-risk learners. In addition to her work with children with developmental delays and learning disabilities, Ms. Machado has worked with adolescents with severe emotional disturbances. Currently, she has more than 12,000 hours of experience supervising programs for more than 30 children with autism spectrum disorders.

Cynthia Owens, M.S., BCBA received her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Psychology (Behavior Analysis Concentration) at California State University, Stanislaus. She is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Ms. Owens completed her practica at the Stanislaus County Infant Referral Program and the CSU, Stanislaus Center for Direct Instruction. Her thesis research analyzed the long-term effects of academic delays, especially difficulties in reading. Prior to joining our staff, Ms. Owens provided behavior intervention services to children and adults with developmental disabilities through Valley Mountain Regional Center. Ms. Owens has more than 11,000 hours of experience directing programming for children across a range of skill levels. Ms. Owens has more than 6000 hours directing treatment programs for 15+ children with autism spectrum disorders.

Christen Rae, M.A., BCBA received her Bachelor of Science and Masters of Arts Degree in Psychology from Western Michigan University. Her graduate degree from Western Michigan included a concentration in Applied Behavior Analysis with a dual emphasis in Organizational Behavior Management and Autism. Ms. Rae is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

As part of her practica work for both of her degree programs, Ms. Rae worked with children with autism spectrum disorders aged 2-6 years of age under the advisement of Richard W. Malott, Ph. D. Prior to joining our staff, Ms. Rae served as a consultant to both special and general education teachers for cases involving children being mainstreamed into general education classrooms. She also has experiencing developing in-home programs that target academic success in concurrent school settings. Currently, Ms. Rae has provided direct treatment and supervision for more than 25 children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders.

Ms. Rae has presented on organizational management at conferences such as the Behavior Analysis Association of Michigan (BAAM), the Mid-American Association for Behavior Analysis (MABA), and the Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA).