Meet Our Senior Staff
Actum Senior Staff have extensive experience in the fields of Applied Behavior Analysis, Autism, Supervision, Education, and Consultation. More than technicians, they are clinicians and expert professionals.
Mitchell Taubman, Ph.D
Licensed Psychologist
Executive Director
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Mitchell Taubman worked with Dr. Lovaas as an undergraduate at UCLA in the early 1970s. He treated children with autism, ADHD and other disorders. He then attended the University of Kansas, studying with such founders of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) as Dr. Donald Baer, Dr. Todd Risely, Dr. James Sherman, and his doctoral advisor, Dr. Montrose Wolf.
After completing his Ph.D., Dr. Taubman returned to UCLA and served as adjunct assistant professor of psychology and as co-principal investigator with Dr. Lovaas on a federal grant directed at autism treatment. One of his special interests is Teaching Interactions which he brought from the Kansas model to autism treatment. After his post-doctoral work, Dr. Taubman obtained his license as a clinical psychologist and served as clinical director of Straight Talk, a program providing residential and day treatment services to adults with autism and other developmental disabilities. Subsequently he served as Co-Director of Autism Partnership, where he provided treatment oversight, training, expert testimony, and consultation around the world. Dr. Taubman is the co-author of over 50 research articles published in peer reviewed journals. He has also co-written several books including: It’s Time for School! Building Quality ABA Educational Programs For Students With Autism Spectrum Disorders; Sense And Nonsense In The Behavioral Treatment of Autism: It Has To Be Said; and Crafting Connections: Contemporary Applied Behavior Analysis for Enriching the Social Lives of Persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Alyne Kassardjian M.S., BCBA
Clinical Associate, Consultant
Alyne Kassardjian is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 13 years of experience working in the field of autism and behavior analysis. She began and spent the majority of her career working with a non-public agency, Autism Partnership. There she consulted with school districts all over the United States, as well as coordinated programs for children in their homes, schools, clinic, and the community. Currently, Alyne contracts privately with school districts consulting to teachers and special education staff, as well as to individual families. Alyne is a published author in more then 15 scientific studies featured in peer-reviewed journals in the area of autism and applied behavior analysis.
Stephanie Dale M.S., BCBA
Training Associate, Consultant
Stephanie Dale has a Masters of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 16 years experience working in the field of autism and ABA. She began her career at a private agency, Autism Partnership. There she consulted with school districts as well as coordinated programs for children in their homes, schools, clinic and in the community. Currently, Stephanie contracts privately with school districts consulting to their behavior teams and special education programs.
Andrea Brown, M.A., P.P.S., BCBA
Assessments and Evaluations, Consultant
Andrea Brown has been working in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis since 2002. She is a School Psychologist as well as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Andrea began in ABA while pursuing her undergraduate degree in psychology from University of California, Davis. In the following years, while continuing to work in the field of ABA, Andrea received her Masters Degree in clinical psychology from California State University, Fullerton and later her Pupil Personnel Credential in School Psychology. Andrea has worked in both clinic and school settings conducting assessments and developing programs for children and adolescents with autism and other disabilities, participating in the Special Education process as a part of an IEP team, and providing training to parents and staff
Maya Bettencourt MSW, BCBA
Consultant
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Maya Bettencourt has been working in the field of Special Education for over 12 years with an emphasis in behavior analysis. She earned her Master’s degree in Social Work from San Diego State University in 2005 and is also a credentialed School Psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She has spent the majority of her career in the public school system conducting assessments, developing individualized and class-wide programs, and providing training to parents and staff of children ranging in age from birth to 22 years old. Throughout her career, Maya has served on countless IEP teams with the aim of incorporating Applied Behavior Analysis into educational programming for students with autism and other disabilities.
Brandy Marquardt M.Ed.,BCBA
Consultant
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Brandy Marquardt has her Master’s degree in Special Education with an emphasis in ABA in addition to her undergraduate degree in Psychology and Child Development. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over ten years of experience working in schools, homes, day programs, and group home settings. She has extensively provided direct ABA intervention to individuals with developmental disabilities. Additionally, she has a wealth of experience conducting assessments, developing programs, overseeing behavioral treatment, and training service providers and other staff on the effective implementation of behavioral strategies for those with autism and other developmental disabilities, from early intervention through adulthood.
Aditt Alcalay M.S.,BCBA
Assessments, Consultant
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Aditt Alcalay has been working in the field of Autism for 15 years. She has a Masters of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Her career started at a private company, Autism Partnership, where she provided direct behavior intervention, supervised client cases, led social skills groups, trained staff, and consulted for school districts. Aditt has published several articles in peer reviewed journals and has presented at national and international conferences.
Cameron Cipolla B.A.
Administrative Manager
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Cameron Cipolla graduated with honors from Belmont University in 2019 and has been living in her hometown of Los Angeles ever since. She has a background in music performance and music business, and she currently works in the performance arena of the entertainment industry in addition to the administrative work she does for Actum.