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                        | Home | Philosophy | Services Offered | Meet Our Clinicians | Join Our Team | Additional Resources | Contact |

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     Janice K. Doney                  Ginger R. Wilson                    Rebecca S. Raas                    Jennifer Woo

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         Sam Garcia                       Daisy Casteneda                    Stephanie Brush                 Marlena Jacobson







Janice K. Doney Ph.D., B.C.B.A.
Director of Clinical Services

Janice Doney is the co-founder and Clinical Director of The ABRITE Organization. Janice graduated with honors from Temple University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a minor in Biology. Janice recently completed her dissertation research, comparing habituation to auditory stimuli between children with autism and their typically developing siblings, the final requirement for her Ph.D. in psychology.

1Janice began working with children with autism nearly 10 years ago as an undergraduate student. After graduating from Temple University, Janice was admitted to the doctoral program at the University of Nevada-Reno (UNR). Over the next several years, Janice served a number of positions in the three divisions of the UNR Early Childhood Autism Project under the supervision of her mentor, Patrick M. Ghezzi. Her responsibilities in these positions included design and implementation of individualized educational and behavioral interventions as well as the training and supervision of undergraduate and graduate students working within the project. As the assistant director of the UNR Early Childhood Autism Outreach Program, Janice provided consultation and staff training in behavior analytic techniques to school districts serving children with autism and other developmental disabilities throughout Northern Nevada. In 2002, Janice received the Sidney and Janet Bijou Endowed Scholarship in Psychology, a grant which allows a doctoral student to conduct research in behavioral child development. In 2004, Janice left her post at the university and began consulting to school districts and families throughout Northern California. Janice has conducted research on parent and teacher training, self-stimulatory behavior, and basic learning processes with children with autism and this work has been published in peer-reviewed journals. She has presented her research at several state and national conferences.

View Dr. Doney's vitae. 

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Ginger R. Wilson Ph.D., B.C.B.A.
Director of Operations & Development

Ginger is the Director of Operations & Development and co-founder of The ABRITE Organization. Ginger received her Bachelors of Science in Psychology from South Dakota State University in 1999. Ginger graduated from the University of Nevada-Reno with a Masters of Arts in Psychology in 2002 and a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in 2005.1

Nearly a decade ago Ginger began with working with children with developmental delays, such as autism, as a psychology intern at Children's Care Hospital and School. After obtaining her undergraduate degree, Ginger began her graduate studies at the University of Nevada-Reno under the tutelage of Dr. Patrick M. Ghezzi. During her studies at UNR, Ginger held numerous positions in the UNR Early Childhood Autism Program, including the Associate Director of the Center-Based, Home-Based, and Outreach Programs. As the Associate Director of Outreach Services, Ginger led the development of a model classroom for integrating behavior analysis in to the classroom for a local school district. During her four years as the Assistant and Associate Director of the Home-Based Program, Ginger conducted parent, teacher, and staff training for the program while supervising the implementation of individualized educational plans and behavioral interventions.

Ginger's clinical interests continue to focus on behavior analytic interventions for families with children diagnosed with developmental delays, including methods to increase language acquisition and strategies to decrease undesirable competing behaviors. Her research focuses on behavioral excesses displayed by children with autism, parent, teacher, and staff training; and gambling behavior. Ginger has co-authored peer reviewed publications and book chapters, in addition she served as an editor on a recently published book on gambling behavior. She has presented at both the national and state levels of the Association of Behavior Analysis. Her presentations have included research examining both the applied and basic sciences, in addition to theoretical extensions.


View Dr. Wilson's vitae.

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Rebecca S. Raas M.A., B.C.B.A.
Case Director

Rebecca Raas is a Case Director with The ABRITE Organization. Rebecca graduated with honors from Sonoma State University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Rebecca graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a Masters of Arts in Psychology in 2008.

1Rebecca began working with children with developmental delays as an undergraduate student by assisting them at school and in the home with daily living skills. After obtaining her undergraduate degree, Rebecca began her graduate studies at California State University, Sacramento. While obtaining her master’s degree, Rebecca gained experience as a Clinical Assistant at The Kendall School, where she provided and supervised intensive behavior and language intervention in home-based and center-based therapy. During Rebecca’s internship, she conducted parent and staff training for The Kendall School and supervised the implementation of individualized educational plans and behavioral interventions. Rebecca recently sat for the Board Certified Behavior Analyst examination in 2008 and is now a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Rebecca’s clinical interests continue to focus on behavior analytic interventions for families with children on the autism spectrum or other developmental delays. Her research focuses on the examination of procedures to increase the variety and frequency of sound production in young children with language delays, as well as variables influencing self-control in children with autism.

View Rebecca Raas's vitae. 

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Jennifer Woo B.A.
Lead Early Childhood Interventionist

Jennifer Woo is a Lead Early Child Interventionist for The ABRITE Organization. Jennifer has worked with The ABRITE Organization since September of 2006 and was promoted to Lead ECI in March of 2007. Jennifer graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. 1

Jennifer's interest in developmental psychology and child development began when she was an undergraduate student and worked as a research assistant in the UCSC Infant Development Lab. Jennifer spent over two years assisting in research projects related to child development, particularly focusing on infants' cognitive skills, in particular attention and memory. During her time with ABRITE, Jennifer has continued to improve her education and skill set by participating in all advanced trainings and serving as the session trainer for all new ECIs.

Jennifer also advanced her education by serving as the Lead Research Assistant on all ongoing research projects conducted by the senior staff of ABRITE. Jennifer’s research interests include the examination of instructional methodologies to promote language acquisition and more global examinations of treatment intensity and respective outcomes for different types of learners. In addition, Jennifer is committed to the science of behavior analysis and as such has participated in the presentation of ABRITE research at the California Association of Behavior Analysis (Cal ABA) conference.

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Sam Garcia B.A.
Lead Early Childhood Interventionist

Sam Garcia began working with The ABRITE Organization as an Early Childhood Interventionist (ECI) in May 2007 and was promoted to a Lead ECI in February 2008. Sam completed his undergraduate studies at the University of California Santa Cruz with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a minor in education in 2007. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Teaching with a specialization in Applied Behavior Analysis through National University and is projected to graduate in 2010.

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Sam has served in a variety of positions within the education field, including serving as a teacher’s assistant (TA) for local school districts. In this position, he supported teachers in K-12 classrooms, including assisting those learners who required special education services. Beyond classroom instruction, Sam has also worked diligently to gain skills within individualized instruction and to advance his knowledge of educational methodologies that are necessary for children in need of specialized instruction.

Sam has dedicated his career to this aim for over the last four years during which he has been providing behavior analytic services for persons with developmental delays in both the Los Angeles and Santa Cruz areas. During this time, Sam’s passion for working with all types of learners began as he evidenced the growth that was achieved when a child participated in early behavioral intervention. Based on these diverse experiences within the education field, Sam’s conviction to assisting in the education of children solidified and has since driven his entire education and career.


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Daisy Casteneda
Lead Early Childhood Interventionist


Daisy Castaneda is a Lead Early Childhood Interventionist with The ABRITE Organization.
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Daisy began working with The ABRITE Organization as an Early Childhood Interventionist (ECI) in August of 2007 and was promoted to a Lead ECI in February of 2009. Daisy’s initial interests in education stemmed from her work with adults with developmental delays. Daisy has been working with the developmentally delayed population since 2005 when she served as a companion to developmentally disabled adults at a community organization. During this time, Daisy specialized in improving the lives of those with developmental delays by strengthening each client’s daily living skills and providing ongoing social, physical, and emotional support both at home and in the community.

In 2007, Daisy joined The ABRITE Organization, where she has been providing home-based intervention for monolingual English and Spanish speaking children in need of early intervention services. This work with ABRITE allows Daisy to practice her passion of education by providing assistance to all types of learners by implementing educational methodologies to advance the skills of each and every child. Daisy shares the philosophy with ABRITE that families are an integral part of the intervention process and she emphasizes the importance of making personal connections with each family she works with. Currently, Daisy is surveying Occupational Therapy programs in order to further expand the skill asset given to her by The ABRITE Organization.

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Stephanie Brush B.A.
Lead Early Childhood Interventionist

Stephanie began working with The ABRITE Organization as an Early Childhood Interventionist (ECI) in November of 2007 and was promoted to a Lead ECI in January of 2009. Stephanie received her Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in Early Education through the Liberal Studies program at Azusa Pacific University in 2003.

1Stephanie’s passion for working with children began during her time as a Student Teacher. This position verified for Stephanie the value of education for young students, yet the pitfalls of classroom instruction showed her how important individualized instruction is for learners.

Upon completion of her Undergraduate degree, Stephanie spent a couple of years earning money and gaining work experience in administrative roles. Stephanie then spent some time traveling throughout Europe. It was during this time that she realized how important happiness is in life and returned to her passion for education and children. At this time, Stephanie began pursuing a position within The ABRITE Organization so that she could utilize her teaching background, while providing individualized instruction for children in need of early educational assistance. During her time with ABRITE, Stephanie has became zealous in her role as a Lead ECI and is dedicated to assisting all learners reach their optimal potential.

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Marlena Jacobson B.A.
Lead Early Childhood Interventionist

Marlena began working with The ABRITE Organization as an Early Childhood Interventionist (ECI) in April 2007 and was promoted to a Lead ECI in February 2009.
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Marlena moved to Santa Cruz in 2003 to pursue her education at U.C. Santa Cruz. In April of 2007 she started working at The ABRITE Organization while finishing her Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology and minoring in Legal Studies. She has always been interested in finding ways to enhance the quality of others lives, including spending a lot of time volunteering. It was during community work in high school that she realized she wanted to pursue a future that would enable her to help children and families in need. In Santa Cruz she volunteers with a local organization Court Appointed Special Advocates (C.A.S.A.) where she mentors a young girl who is in need of advocacy due to circumstances for which a young child is not responsible. Marlena was recently awarded the Alumni Slug Service Award for her work with C.A.S.A., which is awarded to one alumnus a year for their dedication to the community of Santa Cruz.

Marlena is driven and motivated in her work with ABRITE knowing that she is helping children find a voice for themselves as well as empowering the children to be more self reliant. Beyond her love for her clinical work, Marlena also serves as a research assistant (RA) to the senior clinicians of ABRITE. In this role, she assists in researching ABRITE’s instructional methodologies to increase the social skills of children with developmental delays. In the future Marlena aims to enter a formal Masters Program, and until then continues to advance her education by participating in lead trainings with ABRITE as well as going to classes and lectures given by the community relating to children. 

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