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Our Team
Jennifer Kourassanis-Velasquez, PhD, BCBA-D, NYS LIcensed Behavior Analyst
Co-Director/Co-Founder
Jennifer is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctorate. She earned her Doctorate at the Graduate Center of NY and obtained her Masters in Philosophy and Applied Behavior Analysis at CUNY, Queens College. She has over a decade of clinical experience in the field of behavior analysis. Jennifer has published research focused on the use of video modeling in teaching children with autism social skills and another study teaching typically developing peers how to facilitate social interactions in children with autism. Jennifer is a behavior consultant for several Nassau school districts where she restructures classrooms, provides staff training, conducts functional behavior analyses, and designs individualized behavior intervention plans. Jennifer is also an adjunct assistant professor at The Chicago School of Psychology and CUNY, Queens College. She is most devoted to designing curriculum and training the future professionals of behavior analysis.
Christine Vanni, M.A.T., BCBA, NYS Licensed Behavior Analyst
Co-Director/Co-Founder
Christine is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with over 8 years of experience in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. She has received her New York State licensure in 2015 and is a certified NYS teacher. She holds her Masters in Elementary Education and advanced certification in Special Education and Applied Behavior Analysis from CUNY, Queens College. Christine is an adjunct Professor with The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She is knowledgeable in various aspects relating to autism and developmental disabilities and has a passion for providing intervention to assist children in achieving their full potential. Christine has experience in teaching a broad range of skills such as parent training, teaching language/functional communication skills, academic skills, social skills, self-help skills, staff training, and increasing positive behaviors. She also provides BCBA supervision to current students who are pursuing BACB certification
Alysha Rafeeq, B.A.
Assistant Regional Area and Clinical Director
Alysha earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at CUNY, Queens College and is currently pursuing her Doctorate in Psychology (Behavior Analysis). In addition to being the clinical director at Kids Learning Loft, she is also an adjunct lecturer at Queens College. Alysha began her experience in the field of behavior analysis in working with children with Down syndrome. This work inspired Alysha and solidified her decision to continue helping children with developmental, intellectual, and/or learning disabilities. She has been in the field of behavior analysis for approximately 6 years and during that time has conducted research focusing on improving auditory short-term memory and communication skills in young children with Down syndrome. Additionally, Alysha has conducted studies on decreasing instances of noncompliance and improving task persistence in both children with Down syndrome and autism. She not only loves working with children, but also loves being a clinical supervisor and helping clinicians improve their skill sets, while also helping them implement appropriate treatment plans with fidelity and compassion.
Christina Schimmel, M.S., BCBA, NYS Licensed Behavior Analyst
Clinical and Quality Assurance Director
Christina earned her B.A. in Elementary/Special Education with a minor in English at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, NY. She received her M.S. in Literacy at Adelphi University in Garden City, NY. Christina volunteered at the Nassau-Suffolk Services for Autism and the National Down Syndrome Association when she was a student in High School which gave her many years of working with students with special needs in the field of special education. She began her experience in the field of behavior analysis with Kids Learning Loft seven years ago. She started with the company starting as a therapist to assist during weekend social skills groups and decided to start the coursework for her BCBA. She fell in love with the clients and applied behavior analysis. Christina received an advanced certification in Behavioral Interventions in Autism at University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She spent countless hours on her coursework studies, applying techniques and strategies within her fieldwork, and studying for the BCBA examination. Now that she is a BCBA, she continues to grow as an intricate part of our supervision team. She is a passionate, dedicated, hard worker in the field of applied behavior analysis and extremely enjoys being a BCBA.
Rosemarie Spisto, B.S.
Client and Service Coordinator
Rosemarie holds a B.S. in Marketing with a minor in Business. Rose has spent the majority of her career in the Advertising and Marketing world servicing “Big Pharma” Clients. After her son’s diagnoses on the Autism Spectrum she switched her focus to her child, seeking out the best therapies to help him. Wanting to get more involved in the special needs community, Rose started her own support group, volunteered for organizations, and assisted businesses that cared for our community with expanding across Long Island. Being able to support businesses that caterer to our community brings both her love and passion together. Her passion and own experience is what make her a great resource for our families.