Directors
Katie Allen M.S. BCBA
Katie Allen, M.S., BCBA, is a master’s level Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) since 2005. Her Master of Science degree in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) was obtained through Northeastern University, Boston MA. Katie spent three years at the New England Center for Children, a leading day and residential program for Autistic children in the United States. Upon completion of her master’s degree she spent one year working in a public school setting implementing ABA both in and out of the classroom. She moved to Vancouver in 2006 to design and implement individualized home based ABA programs for children with developmental differences. Her focus in training and practice has been working with individuals who exhibit severe challenging behaviour including self-injurious behaviour, aggression, and property destruction within the contexts of home, school, community and residential treatment. Katie has been active as a board member of BC-ABA for four years in the roles of President, Member at Large and Secretary. Since 2019 Katie has been working within the Provincial Health Services Authority at BC Children's Hospital with the Self-injurious Behavior Clinic alongside a multi-disciplinary team working to assess and treat children who engage in self-injurious behavior across the province. She has presented research at both local and international venues, and spoke on invitation to a variety of organizations including parent groups, BC Children’s Hospital, Fraser Health, and school districts. Katie uses data analysis to assess the effect of challenging behaviours on their environment, providing research opportunities to interns and staff in residential treatment facilities and private home-based intervention. Her research interests include self-injurious behavior, functional analysis, and errorless learning strategies.
Kathryn Theroux M.S. BCBA, RCC
Kathryn Theroux, MS, BCBA, RCC, is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Registered Clinical Counsellor who holds a Master of Science in Applied Psychology from Long Island University. Kathryn provides behaviour consultation and counselling to neurodiverse youth and their families and supervises graduate students in counselling and ABA. She began her career in Applied Behavior Analysis at the New England Center for Children, in Southboro, Massachusetts. Her counselling practice draws from contextual behavioral science (contemporary CBT, ACT, and DBT) to support clients of all ages. Kathryn is a frequent speaker at community organizations and an instructor in the ABA Support Worker program at Surrey Community College.
Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA)
Kathryn Edmondson M.S. BCBA
Kathryn Edmondson is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who obtained her Master of Science Degree in Applied Behaviour Analysis and Autism from the Sage Colleges (New York). In her 17+ years in the field, Kathryn has served child and adult clients with autism and related disorders across home, community and residential settings. Her present focus is on treatment of severe behavioural challenges, but she continues to support learners with a broad spectrum of strengths and needs. Before starting her independent practice, Kathryn worked as a behaviour consultant at posAbilities and ABLE Developmental Clinic, Inc. She has presented on such topics as applying ABA principles to teach individuals with Down Syndrome, supporting adult learners with severely challenging behaviours, and ethical considerations when working in residential settings. Kathryn also enjoys supervising individuals working towards certification as behaviour analysts or assistant behaviour analysts.
Aimee Doherty M.S. BCBA
Aimee began her career working in respite services in Ireland with children, teenagers, and adults who had behavioural and developmental challenges, while she completed her undergraduate degree in Psychology.
In 2008, she moved to the USA on an internship opportunity to work with teenagers and young adults in a residential treatment program that utilized Applied Behaviour Analysis where she spent almost two years working directly with clients implementing behaviour plans and facilitating the day to day running of their program.
Upon returning to Ireland, Aimee decided to peruse her Masters in Applied Behaviour Analysis through Bangor University, Wales. She continued to work in the field of autism throughout her studies, working in school and home based programs.
She has been in Vancouver since 2013, working in schools, private homes and in residential teaching homes. She attained her certification as a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst in 2015 and currently specializes in working with teenagers and young adults with severe behaviour challenges, an area that she is truly passionate about.
Mary Penrice-Edmondson M.S. BCBA
Mary completed her Master of Science in Applied Behaviour Analysis and Autism at the Sage Colleges in Troy, New York, and has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst since 2019.
Mary grew up in Ontario and had originally started her career as a child and youth worker working with child and youth who had challenging behaviours within the school system. Mary had moved to BC in 1999 and has since been a resident of BC for over 20 years now. Since being in BC, Mary has been working in the field of developmental disabilities and autism and she has served a wide range of clients with a variety of diverse abilities. Presently, Mary’s practice focuses on supporting individuals who exhibit severe aggression and self-injury; she has extensive experience working collaboratively as part of a team of professionals to support individuals in residential settings, home, school and community settings.
Leon Choo M.S. BCBA
Leon Choo completed his Master of Science in Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) from Russell Sage College and has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) since 2019.
Leon began his career working as a behavior interventionist for home based ABA teams in 2009, while completing his undergraduate degree in Behavioral Neuroscience Psychology from Simon Fraser University. Since then, he has continued in the field and served a wide range of clients with a variety of developmental disabilities. Leon has since attained his BCBA certification, RASP category A, and has experience with toilet training, Practical Functional Assessments and Skills Based Training. Presently, his practice focuses on supporting individuals who exhibit anxiety, communication and social skill deficits in the home, school, community and residential settings.
Ro Pender M.S. BCBA
Roisin (Ro) Pender
Ro Pender has an undergraduate degree in education from Dublin City University. She completed a Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis through Queens University Belfast. Ro became a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) in 2020.
Ro is originally from Ireland and moved to Vancouver in 2011. After moving to BC, Ro began working as a behavior interventionist in residential teaching homes which implement Applied
Behavior Analysis for behavior intervention and teaching procedures. In 2016 Ro returned to Ireland to pursue a master’s degree. After completing the coursework Ro returned to BC to
continue working in residential treatment settings where she carried out research for her master’s thesis and accrued 1,500 supervised experience hours. Ro’s practice includes supporting individuals with severe aggression and self-injury, she has experience working collaboratively on various teams which include a myriad of professionals working together to support individuals. Ro has experience in teaching academic, vocational and life skills to a variety of individuals, in residential and home school settings.
Allison DePalma MA BCBA
Allison DePalma is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who obtained her Master of Arts from the University of South Florida 2020. She began her career as a certified registered behavior technician in 2016 working with autistic individuals who experienced severe behavioral challenges, specifically aggression, self-injury, and communication deficits. Although this is her primary realm of treatment, Allison has experience providing treatment to those with an extensive range of needs between the ages of two and 22.
Allison relates much of her work to living with an autistic sibling. This personal experience has resulted in Allison being exceptionally passionate about empowering families through the ABA process. Allison emphasizes the importance of working as a team, and provides collaborative treatment to both clients and caregivers. Through this synergistic approach, Allison seeks to improve the independence of those she serves, as well as instill confidence in her families that learning goals can be achieved.
Jillian Newman M.Ed BCBA
Jillian Newman is a BCBA with a Master of Education in Special Education from the University of British Columbia.
Jillian has worked with children in various roles throughout her life and has been supporting disabled individuals of various ages for over 10 years. She took more interest in applied behaviour analysis while doing respite care and employment support. Jillian began studying ABA and working as a behaviour interventionist in 2015 while completing her undergraduate degree in psychology at Simon Fraser University. She also obtained BCaBA certification in 2019 prior to attending graduate school.
Jillian has completed the introductory workshop for the Early Start Denver Model, and has experience providing support to autistic toddlers, children, and youth. She currently focuses on implementing home-based intervention for school-aged children and youth with ASD and ADHD through direct support, parent consultation, and staff training. Areas of focus include executive functioning, social emotional learning, communication, and daily living skills, as well as distressed behaviour including severe aggression and self-injury.
Jillian practices with a trauma informed and relationship-based approach, and she brings much creativity, compassion, and enthusiasm to her work.