OUR STAFF QUALIFICATIONS

STE Consultants provides a variety of staffing services for our clients. Below is a summation of the qualifications our staff are required to have within each type of service we offer.

ABA Services

Clinical Director – All STE Clinical Directors must possess a Master’s Degree or Doctoral Degree and be Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) or Board Certified Associate Behavior Analysts (BCABA).  STE’s Clinical Directors have at least 7 years of experience working with persons with developmental disabilities and have all worked in both home and school settings. All Clinical Directors are members of the Association for Behavior Analysis and the California Association for Behavior Analysis.

Lead Therapist –All STE Lead Therapists must possess a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree, no less than 3 years experience with persons with developmental disabilities, great communication skills, the ability to multi-task and interpersonal skills that will allow them to create positive relationships with our clients. STE trains our Lead Therapists internally. This means all of our Leads started as Junior Therapists.  We have found this to be a critical part of our training process as working directly with our clients as a Junior allows our Leads to master all of our programs and create relationships with our team members and families.

Junior Therapists – All STE Junior Therapists must possess a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree, no less than 2 years experience working with children and/or persons with developmental disabilities, great communication skills, the ability to adapt to different kinds of children and, most importantly, the ability to pair themselves as a reinforcer with our clients.  Our Junior Therapists are matched to our clients based on their expertise and interests, as well as location.

School-Based Services

Behavior Consultant – All STE Behavior Consultants must possess a Master’s Degree or be pursuing their Master’s Degree while concurrently consulting. 80% of our Behavior Consultants are also Board Certified Behavior Analysts or Board Certified Associate Behavior Analysts. Behavior Consultants can provide a variety of services including: Functional Assessment, Behavior Plans, Education, Social Skills and/or Inclusion support services, and supervision and/or training for school district staff.

1:1 Behavioral Aides – All STE Behavioral Aides are required to have a minimum of an AA degree although 90% of our staff possess a Bachelor’s Degree.  Our Behavioral Aides are trained and supervised by STE Behavior Consultants using specific curriculum developed within our agency. Our aides are hired based on referrals from school districts only.  We do this in order to find a great match for a specific client based on the client’s interests, support needs, and location.

Regional Center Services

Behavior Consultant – All STE Behavior Consultants have at least a Bachelor’s Degree. 35% of our Behavior Consultant staff also have a Master’s Degree. Our Behavior Consultants are required to pass an ABA proficiency exam prior to being hired by STE. We match our Behavior Consultants to RCEB clients based on location, availability, and expertise. STE conducts monthly trainings with all RCEB staff and also provides individual support to our consultants. A Board Certified Behavior Analyst oversees all of our consultants and is a co-signer on all RCEB Behavior Assessment Reports.

Behavior Skills Trainer – In the event that our families need additional support and/or consultation, we may choose to augment behavioral services with the use of a Behavior Skills Trainer. Our Behavior Skills Trainers are either members of our Early Intervention team or School-Based services team. Behavior Skills Trainers work under Behavior Consultants to help implement behavioral interventions and ensure program integrity for RCEB clients.  By utilizing a Behavior Skills Trainer we may be able to offer behavioral support to our families multiple times per week. This helps us to expedite skill acquisition for our parents and clients, provides more modeling and reinforcement to our families who are implementing behavioral interventions, and helps maintain behavioral momentum.

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OUR STAFF

ADMINISTRATORS

Sarah Trautman-Eslinger, M.A., BCBA
Executive Director
Email: sarah@steconsultants.com

Sarah's primary role at STE is working with the clinical and administrative staff to help execute all of the services we provide to our clients. She is also the primary contact for RCEB and all of our school districts (this includes all contract questions and requests for services). Additionally, Sarah also hires all STE staff and coordinates staff development. When she isn't coordinating services, Sarah spends her time working with the staff at STE to develop collaborative relationships with each other and our clients.

Sarah has a BA in Special Education from Gonzaga University and a MA in Special Education from San Francisco State University. Sarah is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. In her spare time Sarah can be found vacuuming up after her 4 dogs and hanging out with her husband, Nick.

Lena Turner
Director of Operations
Email: lena@steconsultants.com

Lena is the Director of Operations at STE Consultants. Lena came to STE in 2005 after spending many years in the non-profit sector. Lena is also a graphic designer and is the person responsilbe for all of the print and web designs for STE. When she isn't creating something, Lena can be found managing our finances, invoices, human resources and anything else that involves the day-to-day operations of STE.

Carrie Chapman, B.A.
Behavior Support Coordinator & Behavior Consultant
Email: carrie@steconsultants.com

Carrie Chapman graduated from Framingham State College with a B.A. in Psychology, she is completing her Masters in Mild to Moderate Disabilities with a concentration in Autism at San Francisco State University. Carrie has been working with children and families for the past 5 years. Additionally Carrie supports adults with disabilities in providing positive behavior support and empowering adults to make their own choices and live as independently as possible.

Carrie is in charge of coordinating all of STE's behavior services for the Regional Center of the East Bay - this includes both assessment and consultation as well as our intensive ABA/parent training divisions.

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DIRECTORS

DeAnna Mercier, M.Ed, BCBA
Early Intervention Coordinator and Clinical Director
Email: deanna@steconsultants.com

DeAnna specializes in Early Intervention and provides clinical direction to teams of therapists working with children under the age of 3. Through the years she has worked with children on the Autism Spectrum from age 2 to 22 in a variety of settings including in home, public schools, community mental health agencies, Êand a Non-Public School for children with behavior disorders. She has worked in Behavior Analysis for over 6 years and has lived in both Hawaii and Vermont before settling in California. DeAnna can provide Functional Behavior Assessments and individualized programs to help kids be successful in the least restrictive environments. DeAnna is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

DeAnna coordinates all early intervention services for STE (this covers both RCEB, school districts and private pay) in addition to directing her own cases.

Lauren Wasano, M.A., BCBA
Clinical Director
Email: laurenw@steconsultants.com

Lauren has been working with individuals with Developmental Disabilities and their care providers since 1998.  Her experience includes working with individuals ranging from 1-65 years of age in various settings, including schools, residential board and care homes, community outpatient programs, in homes, and psychiatric units.  She specializes in utilizing Applied Behavior Analysis methodologies to address severe problem behavior. Lauren received her B.A. and M.A. in Psychology from the University of the Pacific. Lauren is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Casey Ludwick, M. A., BCBA
Clinical Director
Email: casey@steconsultants.com

Kim Romick, MA, BCBA
Clinical Director
Email: kim@steconsultants.com

Kim Romick graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a M.A. in Psychology with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis. Kim has been working with individuals with developmental disabilities for 11 years.  Her experience includes working in non-public schools and a residential facility for children with emotional disorders, consultation for public schools and regional centers, and working for a non-public agency. Kim is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.  In her spare time, Kim can be found spending time with her family, or playing competitive soccer.

Amanda Johnson, M. Ed., M.A.
Clinical Director
Email: amanda@steconsultants.com

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RCEB BEHAVIOR CONSULTANTS & SKILLS TRAINERS

Adam McCormick, B.A.
Behavior Consultant

Angela Champney, M.A.
Behavior Consultant
Email: angelac@steconsultants.com

Becci Stuver Swinton, B.A.
Behavior Consultant and Early Intervention Lead Therapist
Email: becci@steconsultants.com

Brian Tomaine
Behavior Skills Trainer

Christopher Tsang, B.A.
Behavior Consultant & Early Intervention Lead Therapist
Email: chris@steconsultants.com

Jennifer Lime, B.A.
Behavior Consultant and Early Intervention Therapist

Jessica D MacDonald
Behavior Consultant and Behavior Therapist

Jon Buddingh, B.A.
Behavior Skills Trainer & 1:1 Behavioral Aide

Kirsten M EideNelson
Behavior Consultant and Behavioral Therapist

Kristen Wong, M.A.
Behavior Consultant

Laurie Costa, B.A.
Behavior Consultant