Behavior Consultants
Executive Director
Michelle Ragozzine, EdM, BCBA
Michelle Ragozzine is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She received her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Providence College and her Master of Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education. Michelle was initially trained in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) by Dr. Alan Kazdin at Yale University and later through the University of West Florida. While working directly for Dr. Kazdin, Michelle was trained in Parent Management Training (PMT). PMT is a highly successful, empirically supported parent education model designed to reduce behavioral excesses in children.
After leaving Yale, Michelle coordinated an ABA program for children over the age three in the state of California. As the coordinator she trained and supervised other behavior analysts and direct therapy staff. Additionally she performed Functional Behavioral Assessments, completed developmental evaluations on children of all ages, and consulted regularly with school districts. While in California Michelle was trained in Pivotal Response Training (PRT), a naturalistic ABA intervention used to teach children on the autism spectrum.
Since returning to CT, Michelle has consulted for school districts and acted as the director of an ABA program in the state of CT. Additional specialties include Picture Exchange Communication (PECS), experimental analysis, staff training and supervision, program development, and positive behavioral support.
Director of Staff Development
Caitlan Mezerewski, MA
Caitlan earned her Master's Degree from the University of West Florida, where she completed coursework required to become a BCBA. She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with a concentration in Mental Health from Southern Connecticut State University.
Caitlan began her career in ABA in 2009 providing services to children of all ages in school and home settings. Caitlan has worked for Michelle Ragozzine & Associates since the company opened in 2012. She has many years of experience providing Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) services to clients.
Caitlan works closely with each staff member and families giving extra support on all PRT based skills. Caitlan is dedicated, enthusiastic, and feels very fortunate to be able to work in a field that she feels so passionate about.
Behavior Consultant
Kelly Vornkahl, MA, BCBA
Kelly received her bachelor’s degree from University of Bridgeport in Psychology. She worked as a therapeutic counselor for about two years and is certified in therapeutic crisis intervention. Kelly has experience working with a diverse population of children in an intensive outpatient setting in which she helped to provide individuals with alternative behaviors and coping skills. She has also volunteered at the Center for Human Services.
Kelly has received her Master's degree from the University of West Florida. Kelly is excited to continue working with children and advance her career with the MR&A team.
Clinical Director
Kinder Freedman, BCBA
Kinder Freedman is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the Sacred Heart University and her Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis from North Eastern University.
Kinder began her career providing ABA services as a behavior technician at a school designed for children and teenagers with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), developmental disabilities, and related neurological impairments. While working in the school environment, Kinder was trained directly by Speech and Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, and Board Certified Behavior Analysts in a variety of learning methodologies. After four years working in the school environment, Kinder continued her career as an ABA therapist providing direct 1:1 ABA therapy for children and teenagers in their homes and community environments.
Currently, Kinder practices as a Licensed Behavior Analyst in the state of Connecticut. Kinder’s current areas of interest include Pivotal Response Training (PRT), functional based interventions, and verbal behavior.
Behavior Consultant
Michael Magnotta, MS, BCaBA
Michael is a Board Certified assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA). He received his Bachelor’s degree in Criminology from Central Connecticut State University and his Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism from The Sage Colleges.
Michael began his career working with at risk youth and young adults with autism in 2014. There he worked as a life skills coach and was dedicated to teaching vocational and functional life skills. Currently, he enjoys working with young children to increase functional play skills, communication, and behavior reduction. Michael has been with MRA since 2017 and is a compassionate and driven person who enjoys assisting others and is an integral part of the MR&A team.
Behavior Consultant
Katherine Dussan, BCBA
Katherine Dussan is a practicing BCBA who received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from West Virginia University and Masters in ABA from the University of Saint Joseph.
Katherine began working as a toddler teacher and then moved on to a paraprofessional/mental health worker role in a special education school. It was at that school that she
began working with children on the autism spectrum and implementing behavior plans. While doing this, Katherine grew a passion for her job and became a
Registered Behavior Technician. Once getting this certification, she continued to implement behavior plans while also creating academic programs.
As Katherine learned more about ABA she knew that this was what she wanted to pursue a career in. Katherine is excited to continue working with children and advance her career with the MR&A team.
ABA Therapists
Lisa Castellana, ABA Therapist, RBT
Lisa Chiodi is a recent graduate of Iona College, receiving her B.A. in Speech Pathology and Audiology. While at Iona Lisa was responsible for creating full Speech Assessments which also included suggesting therapy for her assigned client. She also completed an internship at a public school in Greenwich as part of her Bachelor's degree. Through her tenure at Iona, Lisa’s compassion for children with developmental disabilities proved what an asset she would be to the field of ABA Therapy.
Valentina Rocha, ABA Therapist, RBT
Valentina Rocha graduated from Sacred Heart University in 2017 studying both psychology and speech language pathology. She is bilingual in both English and Spanish. During her undergrad Valentina participated in many extracurricular activities such as the “Are You Autism Aware” club, psychology club, operation smile and national student speech language hearing association club, to name a few.
Valentina is currently interning with Lindsay Scott SLP and is hoping to continue her studies in speech language pathology. She has also gained experience volunteering with children and teens with special needs in the Acting Up Theater Company's summer camp in Easton. Her dedication and passion will make her a great asset to the MR&A team and she is excited to see herself grow in this field!
Douglas Bonenfant, ABA Therapist, RBT
Doug is a recent graduate from the University of Miami where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Management. While at UM Doug was a Research Assistant where he observed children’s behaviors in classroom settings while recording data in order to improve classroom behavior. During his summers he was a director at a sports camp and was also involved in a student-run organization called Camp Kesem which is a weeklong summer camp for kids whose parents who have been affected by cancer.
Since graduation Doug has worked as a counselor for adults on the autism spectrum. In this position he was responsible for teaching and assisting individuals in performing the basic functions of independent living. He is very excited to join the MR&A team and looks forward to learning everything it takes to become an outstanding ABA Therapist.
Mackenzie Curley, ABA Therapist
Mackenzie graduated from Monmouth University in May of 2020, with a Bachelor of Science in Health Studies and a Minor in Biology. In college, she was President of an honors society. Mackenzie also traveled to Guatemala for service, in which she focused on building a health and wellness facility for a local community. She found her passion within this field while working at The Kennedy Center. She planned and participated in group activities for children and adolescents with ASD and other disabilities. Mackenzie will be starting an ABA graduate program at the University of Saint Joseph this fall, and is planning to become a BCBA. She is looking forward to the experience she will gain and kids she will meet as an ABA Therapist at MR&A!
Amber Reese, ABA Therapist, RBT
Amber received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a minor in Composite Sciences from East Carolina University. She is pursuing experience in ABA Therapy and striving to become an BCBA. Amber is from North Carolina where she first began working with kids with autism at the Autism Society of NC. There she found a passion to improve the well being of children with disabilities and to bring advocacy to autism within the community. Her plans in Connecticut are to grow as an ABA Therapist and travel to various places where these needs are scarce.
Leslie Torres, ABA Therapist, RBT
By December 2018, Leslie will have earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology under the Applied Psychology & Assessment (AP&A) track from Southern Connecticut State University. While attending SCSU, Leslie was a research assistant at the SCSU Reading Evaluation and Development of Skills (R.E.A.D.S) laboratory. As a research assistant, she has conducted standardized reading assessments and one-on-one dialogic reading (DR) interventions with children in Kindergarten through 2nd grade in a local elementary school.
During her undergraduate career, she has presented at the undergraduate research conference at SCSU and Psychology Day at Central Connecticut State University under the supervision of R.E.A.D.S lab for their research concerning the exploration of vocabulary differences between two elementary schools. By having a background working with elementary school children in the READS lab, MR&A accepted Leslie as an intern to learn how to conduct ABA with children of different ages. Her intern experience at MR&A has been so great that she plans on pursuing a career in school psychology with MS/EdS concentration while completing her BCBA.
Kendall Kreager, ABA Therapist
Kendall graduated from Sacred Heart University in May of 2020 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. During her final year of undergrad, Kendall held an internship at a private practice focused on the observation and evaluation of neuropsychological assessments given to children and teens with presenting neurological disorders, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder. She also had an internship as a teachers assistant in a first grade classroom, which sparked her interest in teaching.
Kendall
is planning on pursuing her Master’s Degree in Education come Fall 2021. Kendall is so excited to be apart of the team here at MR&A as an ABA Therapist!
Jazmine Caraballo, ABA Therapist, RBT
Jazmine received her Bachelor's Degree in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology from Iona College in 2016. While at Iona, Jazmine gained experience with children through their tutoring program which serviced local children. She was also able to complete an extended observation with a special education preschool class. It was here that she developed her compassion and love for working with children with special needs.
Since graduating from Iona, Jazmine worked as a preschool teacher in a community early childhood program in CT. While she found this work very rewarding, she ultimately decided to leave and pursue a career working with the special needs population. She is eager to learn all she can from everyone and begin her journey in the field of ABA Therapy.
Ivana Izzo, ABA Therapist, RBT
Ivana received her BS in Behavioral Studies with a concentration in Psychology from Manhattanville College. While at Manhattanville she worked for a LCSW for two years where she was able to work with children with various behavioral and developmental disabilities. During this time she realized she wanted to pursue a career working with special needs children. She has always been passionate about working with kids and is super excited to be an ABA Therapist at MR&A!
Riley Boath, ABA Therapist
Riley graduated from Western Connecticut State University in December of 2020 with a Bachelors in Justice Law and Administration. She is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis.
Riley first started working with children with various behavioral and developmental disabilities within the Ansonia Public School District when she was 15 years old. She has ridden horses since she was just three years old and would love to one day be able to incorporate that within the field of ABA.
During Riley’s free time, she loves spending time riding horses and with her 4 year old German Shepard at the beach! Riley is excited to continue to grow and learn as much as she can during her time in school and from the MR&A staff!
Alyssa Sinopoli, ABA Therapist, RBT
Alyssa graduated from Sacred Heart University with a Masters in Teaching in 2013 as well as a Bachelors in Psychology in 2012.
After college, she taught students in grades 3-5 for four years in public school. She has also taught students in grades 3-8 at a therapeutic day school for one year.
She recently decided to change career paths and that is how she found the world of ABA! She is excited to continue to develop her passion for working with children in a different setting.
In her free time, she enjoys going to the beach, hiking, cooking, and spending time with her Portuguese and Italian families. She is looking forward to learning as much as she can about this field from her clients and coworkers.
Morgan Colombo, ABA Therapist, RBT
Morgan is a new graduate from Franklin Pierce University. She graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology. While attending Morgan also minored in Public Health. During her college career she participated in the Peer Leadership Program as a Peer Leader where she counseled her fellow peers during their first year at college.
Morgan completed an internship at the Knights of Columbus. Here she worked on their learning management system and created Leader Training Webinars. This internship helped her develop a strong work ethic and compassion for helping others.
In her free time she enjoys snowboarding, glassblowing, and spending time with her friends. She is excited to begin her career in ABA therapy here at Michelle Ragozzine & Associates.
Lakenya Watford, ABA Therapist, RBT
Lakenya obtained her Associate’s degree in Early Childhood Inclusive Education and is committed to continuing her education at Southern Connecticut State University. She is also a mother to a vivacious and beautiful little girl.
She previously worked as a preschool teacher for over six years and has a passion for supporting children’s personal goals and development. During her years as an early childhood educator, she encountered rewarding experiences and outcomes with children who have special needs such as autism, developmental delays, intellectual disabilities, ADHD, and emotional disturbances.
During this time she witnessed the power of collaboration between families, specialists, teachers, and therapists who contribute to the well being and enrichment of the whole child. Lakenya is thrilled to translate her experience, education and skills into her role as an ABA therapist at Michelle Ragozzine & Associates.
Laura Lopez, ABA Therapist
Laura graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in May of 2020 with a major in Interdisciplinary Studies with concentrations in Child, Family,
Community studies and Psychology. She also received a minor in Spanish.
During her undergrad, Laura was involved in the Autism Awareness Club where
she read to children with special needs. She also enjoyed spending her summers working for an all-inclusive camp for children.
In the near future, Laura is planning on pursuing her masters. She is incredibly
excited to be working at MR&A as an ABA therapist!
Alanna Mossberg, ABA Therapist, RBT
Alanna graduated from the University of Rhode Island in May 2019 with her Bachelors of Science in Human Development and Family Studies with a focus in family and community settings. She also received a minor in Psychology. While attending the university she took numerous classes related to human development, child development, and many different psychology courses.
Alanna was also an intern at the Woonsocket Head Start. It was here that she was able to gain experience as a Mental Health Specialist. She worked with young children with developmental, behavioral, and emotional difficulties.
Alanna has a passion for working with children and is excited to be joining the Michelle Ragozzine and Associates Team as an ABA Therapist.
Erin Dillman, ABA Therapist, RBT
Erin is currently attending Southern Connecticut State University where she is pursuing a Bachelors degree in Psychology with a concentration in mental health. She is currently a member of three honor societies one of which being the International Honors Society in Psychology.
Erin has volunteered in outreach events and fundraisers for Girls on the Run International and Camp Rising Sun. She has been a camp counselor at the local YMCA where she discovered a passion for working with children.
Erin is excited to be working with Michelle Ragozzine & Associates
Administration
Lisa Benz, Practice Manager
Lisa studied psychology at the University of Connecticut until moving home and continuing her studies at Southern Connecticut State University. Lisa is currently a Milford resident with three beautiful children. She has prior experience as an office manager at a mid-size company. She also was an account executive and department manager at a law firm, managing multiple sites and staff members. She briefly worked in sales as a district consultant before finding a home at Michelle Ragozzine & Associates. Her passion for children and their well-being is a perfect fit for our industry.
Daniel Kalweit, Administrative Assistant
Daniel Kalweit received his BS in Marketing from Southern Connecticut State University in 2004. Since graduating Daniel has gained work experience in a myriad of different arenas including but not limited to Radiology Tech Aide, Staffing Manager and General Manager of a Comedy Club. Dan has been performing stand up comedy since 2009 and can be seen at shows across the country.
Lauren Vogel, Assistant Practice Manager
Lauren Vogel received her BS in Liberal Studies with a concentration in psychology, sociology and wellness from Southern Connecticut State University in May 2012. Since graduating, Lauren realized that her passion was working with children on the autism spectrum and quickly found her niche and a home at Michelle Ragozzine and Associates, LLC. She gained 7 years experience as an ABA therapist during her time at MR&A and is very grateful for the knowledge, children, and outstanding staff she has encountered along the way.
Lauren is very excited to start her new role as part of the administration team at MR&A and is confident that she will flourish greatly in this position!