Founder/Executive director
Michelle Ragozzine, EdM, BCBA, LBA
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.
directors
Kinder Freedman, BCBA, LBA
Clinical Director
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.
Caitlan Mezerewski, MA
Director of Staff Development
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.
Douglas Bonenfant, RBT
Assistant Director of Staff Development
Doug graduated from the University of Miami where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in Management. While at UM he was a Research Assistant where he observed children’s behaviors in classroom settings while recording data in order to improve classroom behavior.
Doug has been an ABA therapist for MR&A since 2017 and has worked with a wide variety of clients ranging from preschool to early adulthood. He has experience in many environments including homes, public schools, preschools, and the community. Also, he’s collaborated extensively with related disciplines such as speech, OT, PT, and special education.
Doug works closely with each staff member training and giving extra support on all PRT based skills. Doug is very excited to be training staff in the field he is so dedicated to and is looking forward to taking on this new role for MR&A.
Behavior Consultants
Kelly Vornkahl, BCBA, LBA
Kelly received her Master's degree from the University of West Florida and received her BCBA certification in November 2017. Kelly provides consultation to school districts and works with clients and families at home. She especially enjoys working in multiple environment and with clients to help increase their functional communication skills and teach replacement behaviors for maladaptive behaviors. Kelly has been with MRA since 2013.
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.
Michael Magnotta, BCBA, LBA
Michael is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). 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.
Katherine Dussan, BCBA, LBA
Katherine 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, BA & Sc., RBT
Lisa 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, BA & Sc., RBT
Valentina graduated Sacred Heart University in 2017 studying both psychology and speech language pathology. She is bilingual in both English and Spanish. After graduating Valentina interned with Lindsay Scott SLP which is how she found her way to Michelle Ragozzine and Associates.
Valentina has been at MR&A working as an ABA therapist since November 2017 and is now pursuing her masters in ABA at the Chicago School Of Professional Psychology to one day become a BCBA. Valentina is very dedicated and passionate about the field is excited to see where the next few years take her.
Mackenzie Curley, BS, RBT
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!
Abigail Waples, BA
Abigail graduated from Hunter College in May of 2020 with a bachelors in Sociology and a minor in Geography.
After graduation, Abigail was hired to work with preschool age children in Stamford. It was there that she found her love working with children with special needs. After being introduced to ABA in the school system, Abby quickly decided she wanted to move her career in that direction.
Abby recently moved east to continue her education and be with her family. She is very happy to join the MR&A team!
Amber Reese, BA & Sc., 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, BS, 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, BA & Sc., RBT
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!
Alanna Mossberg, BS, 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.
Ivana Izzo, BA, 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!
Lily Hoerner, BS, RBT
Lily graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Psychological Sciences from the
University of Connecticut in 2020. She worked in the Cognitive Development lab
at UConn assisting in research on interpersonal coordination and problem-
solving, and she has worked several research roles outside of UConn studying
social issues and social initiatives. As an undergraduate, she was a member of
Best Buddies International, an organization devoted to giving those with
intellectual and development disabilities a safe social space where they can grow
and develop independently.
Lily has worked with children in multiple settings and has always enjoyed it. She
interned with MR&A as an undergraduate and is excited to start her journey as
an ABA Therapist. She looks forward to learning from her colleagues and plans
to earn her BCBA to further her work in the field!
Jocelyn Daly, RBT
Jocelyn is graduating from the University of New Haven in the spring of 2022 with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Criminal Justice. She interned with MR&A for a semester and loved the experience she got from it.
Before joining the team here, she worked at a daycare in Massachusetts and that is where she discovered her passion for working with children. She is excited to be a part of this team because it combines her love of working with children and her love of psychology.
After completing her bachelor’s degree, she is planning on working towards her master’s to further her experience in the psychology field. She is looking forward to being an ABA therapist here at MR&A and learning everything she can from this experience!
Alyssa Sinopoli, BS, 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, BA, 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.
Laura Lopez, BA, RBT
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!
Alex Lynch, MS
Alex graduated from State University of New York (SUNY) at Geneseo in May of 2019, with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. In college, Alex volunteered at the Mt. Hope Family Center. At Mt. Hope, she organized developmentally appropriate lesson plans and activities for children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). Additionally, Alex facilitated group parent training sessions surrounding special education advocacy and self-regulation.
Alex found her passion for ABA while working as a direct support professional for children with autism. Following graduation, Alex worked as an ABA therapist in New York while pursuing her Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism from The Sage Colleges. Alex loves that the role of ABA therapist allows her to combine her passion for behavior with her creative and fun spirit.
Alex recently moved to Connecticut where she will continue to pursue her experience hours towards a BCBA certification. Alex is looking forward to learning and growing in the field as an ABA therapist at MR&A. She is most excited to work with her new kids/team and explore her new city!
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!