Jen Ferreira, PhD, CCC-SLP
Director/CEO
PhD in Psychology
MS Psychology
MS Speech-Language Pathology
Dr. Ferreira's research focused on using technology to build cognition with children who exhibit complex communication needs.
Dr. Ferreira served as the head of the Brain Sciences/Augmentative Communication Specialty team at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, whose members assess and diagnose complex communication and language based reading and writing disorders.
Dr. Ferreira worked at Tampa General Hospital in acute, rehabilitation, and outpatient settings. She has exceptional experience in the development of short- and long-term clinical, academic, and home-based collaborative plans for children with behavioral disorders, social skills deficiencies, and those that require augmented communication. As a member of several interdisciplinary teams, she has experience with adults and children suffering from progressive neurogenic and neuromuscular disorders, burns, traumatic brain injury, post transplantation, and stroke.
Brylie Wingler, MOT, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist
Brylie graduated with her Masters of Occupational Therapy from Radford University located in Virginia.
Brylie has experience with pediatric patients in both outpatient and school settings. She has worked with children with a wide variety of diagnoses such as autism, developmental delay, cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and ADHD. She loves creating play-based interventions that address the child’s/family's goals.
She has experience treating adult patients in the outpatient setting. She has created and implemented client-centered interventions for a large range of neurological and orthopedic conditions.
In her free time, Brylie likes to go to the beach, bake, and go to coffee shops.
Emily Monashkin, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Emily has a Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Florida State University and a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of South Florida.
She has worked in acute, outpatient, and private practice facilities with pediatric, adult, and geriatric patients. She has experience with patients with autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Parkinson's, ALS, and other diagnoses. She has specific experience providing intervention in the areas of stuttering/fluency, aphasia, articulation, and early language development. Emily is passionate about introducing patients and families to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
In her free time, she enjoys thrifting, going to the beach, and reading!
Amanda Desjardins, BCBA, SLP-A
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Speech-Language Pathologist Assistant
Amanda holds a Bachelors degree from Florida International University in Psychology and has completed her graduate studies in Applied Behavior Analysis (MS) at Northeastern University.
Prior to becoming a BCBA and speech-language pathology assistant (SLP-A), Amanda practiced as a registered behavior technician (RBT) for 2 years. She has clinical experience serving and developing goals for a broad range of ages (3-18 years old) and a variety of disorders including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), ADHD, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and developmental delay. Amanda has familiarity in conducting a variety of assessments and gearing their results towards individualized program development. Additionally, Amanda has a background working with individuals who communicate via alternative modalities such as AAC, PECs, and sign language. Amanda is passionate about providing neurodiversity affirming care to help others reach their full potential while increasing independence and autonomy.
In her spare time, she enjoys barre exercises, painting, spending time with her husband and two cats, Petra and Pierre.
Christjen Madaffari, PCMI, RBT
Professional Crisis Management Instructor
Registered Behavior Technician
Music Education
Christjen has been in the education field for over 10 years, including special education, and music education in both a private and classroom setting.
Christjen is certified as a Registered Behavior Technician and currently provides therapeutic intervention to children on the autism spectrum in their classroom settings in Pinellas County and at BYC Learn on campus.
Christjen is a music instructor at BYC Learn and teaches through Bach to Rock: America's Music School with the "Rock City" curriculum.
Christjen is BYC's Professional Crisis Management (PCM) Instructor, certified with the Professional Crisis Management Association (PCMA), providing training to schools in the Pinellas County area and to our own staff.
In his spare time, Christjen is a performance arts instructor for middle schoolers in the Pinellas County area.
Jaeyla Watson, RBT
Registered Behavior Technician
Jaeyla has her Bachelor of Science with a focus in exercise science from the University of West Florida. She is currently studying Occupational Therapy at Nova Southeastern University.
Jaeyla has been certified as a Registered Behavior Technician for over a year and works in settings such as in-home, school, and clinic. She has experience working with adolescents and children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other developmental disorders.
Juliana Miano, RBT
Registered Behavior Technician
Juliana graduated with a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Tampa and is currently pursuing her Master’s in Special Education. She has worked as an RBT for 3 years and is excited to be working towards her BCBA certification!
In her free time, Juliana loves to watch movies!
Claire Harpole, MS
BYC Learn Admin
Math Instructor
MA Educational Leadership
MA Math Education
Claire has a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics Education from the University of North Dakota and a Master of Science in Mathematics Education from Nova Southeastern University.
Claire has over 15 years of experience tutoring and teaching all levels of mathematics. While Claire has primarily taught high school math, she also has experience teaching for Hillsborough Community College, Keiser University, and the University of South Florida – St. Petersburg.
Claire has worked with students of all ability levels, but spent many years focusing on those for whom math was a particular challenge or had been diagnosed with a variety of learning challenges.
Claire has a passion for teaching math and believes the key to success in any math class is building confidence in her students. She has a knack for taking difficult concepts and explaining them in a matter that is comprehensible for all.
Nicole Cramer
Office Administrator
Nicole attended St. Petersburg College to specialize in the health care field and has developed her skills in health care administration over the past two decades.
Nicole comes to BYC with experience from Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital and Children's Orthopedics and Scoliosis Surgery Associates, LLC, where she discovered her passion for working with children and serving as an advocate for parents and patients.
In her spare time, Nicole enjoys spending time with her husband, dogs, and family.
With her bright smile and personable nature, Nicole is a welcome beacon for those seeking BYC's services!
Bobbie Vaughn, PhD
BCBA
PhD in Special Education and Rehabilitation
MA Education
Dr. Vaughn has a PhD in Special Education and Rehabilitation from the University of Oregon, and a Masters of Education in School Psychology from Texas State University. She has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) for 14 years.
Dr. Vaughn has over 25 years of experience working with children who have autism, ADHD, and other developmental disabilities. She worked at the University of South Florida for 17 years and was an Associate Professor conducting research, writing grants, and teaching and developing courses in Positive Behavior Support and Applied Behavior Analysis. Dr. Vaughn's work there not only included research with children and families, but also consultation with schools.
Dr. Vaughn also worked at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital for 8 years as a BCBA conducting functional behavior assessments, developing behavior support plans in partnership with families, and co-leading social skills groups with speech-language pathologists.
Dr. Vaughn brings extensive experience supporting children with challenging behaviors and their families in home, community, and clinic settings.
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Rylee Fennell, MEd, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Rylee received her Masters degree from the University of Virginia and her Bachelors degree from Haverford College in Philadelphia. Her areas of expertise include gestalt language processing, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), autism, and school-age language disorders. She is a certified NLA-trained clinician for gestalt language processors, enabling her to better serve children who primarily communicate through echolalia. In addition to her clinical work, Rylee has conducted research and written a thesis in experimental psycholinguistics and has worked in a childhood language developmental laboratory at the University of Virginia.
Rylee started her journey with BYC as a graduate intern in August 2022 and never left! After completing her Clinical Fellowship, she chose to stay with BYC to continue working as part of a welcoming and collaborative multidisciplinary team. Prior to BYC, Rylee has worked in a special education elementary school as well as both adult and pediatric outpatient facilities.
In her free time, Rylee enjoys jiu jitsu, hiking, and spending time with loved ones.
Kristen Gavern, MS, CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist
Kristen received her Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders from SUNY Geneseo and a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from The College of Saint Rose.
Over the past 35 years, Kristen has had the pleasure of working with individuals across the age continuum, addressing their communicative, cognitive, and feeding/swallowing needs. She has enjoyed professional opportunities across a variety of settings including acute care, homecare, long-term care, rehabilitation, early intervention, preschool-aged children, and clinics.
Kristen has valued her time teaching and mentorying aspiring clinicians as they prepare to bgin their therapeutic careers.
Kristen has prioritized professional cross-disciplinary consultation and collaboration in addition to family/parent/caregiver participation and engagement to enhance and accelerate intervention outcomes.
Nicolette Yatros, BCBA
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Nicolette received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Central Florida in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Following this, she received her Masters in Applied Behavior Analysis and Clinical Sciences from Rollins College.
Nicolette has been in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis for over 10 years and has experience with clients with a variety of diagnoses. Prior to passing her board certification test, Nicolette was a Registered Behavior Technician for 5 years where she worked one-on-one with clients from the ages of 2-56 years old. Nicolette has experience with providing services in various locations including in-home, clinic, and school. Nicolette specializes in behavior management and skill acquisition. Nicolette has participated in conducting and assisting in published and peer reviewed research to help expand the field of Applied Behavior Analysis.
In her free time, Nicolette loves to spend time with her family and traveling to new places!
Jen Blodgett, RBT
Registered Behavior Technician
Teaching and Learning Support Practitioner
Originally from Scotland, Jen has lived and worked in the US for the last twenty years. Her employment background has been mainly in the medical administrative sectors. Previously, she spent six years as Administrative Coordinator in the Rehabilitation Center at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital. Jen is delighted to be part of the team at BYC and enjoys the diversity of working both in clinic and being out in the field with children one on one within the Pinellas County school system.
In her spare time, Jen loves to walk the many Florida beaches with her husband. She also enjoys travel, Indian cooking, reading, and taking care of her two bulldogs.
Rayne DeBlasio, RBT
Registered Behavior Technician
Rayne graduated with honors from the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences. Currently, Rayne is working on her Masters in Health Administration and Masters in Business Administration at the University of Phoenix, where she is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success and is on the University of Phoenix’s Dean’s List of Scholars.
Rayne has been navigating patient relationships for over 5 years, and she is passionate about coordinating interdisciplinary care for patients with a variety of medical needs at BYC.
Ray e has recently transitioned into the role of Registered Behavior Technician (RBT), where she continues to serve the diverse needs of our patients.
In her free time, Rayne enjoys reading, swimming, and cuddling with her senior kitty, Chloe!
Michelle Yingling, MAEd
MA Early Education
BA English
BYC Learn Admin
English and Reading/Writing Instructor
Michelle earned her Bachelor of Arts in English from the University at Albany – State University of New York, and her Master of Arts in Education from the University of South Florida, Tampa.
Michelle has been an educator for 20 years and maintains current certification for grades K–6 Elementary and grades 6–12 for English. She has taught in both elementary and secondary environments. Currently teaching on the high school level, with courses ranging from College Prep to Advanced Placement, she has also tutored extensively for students of all ages and abilities in reading and writing.
Michelle firmly believes that everyone should have experience teaching kindergarten to really understand the complexities and challenges that go into students building their foundations of literacy.
Taryn Harpole
Office/Administrative Staff
Taryn is currently pursuing nursing school at St. Petersburg College. She comes to us with experience in customer service, data entry, and business administration. She previously interned for BYC back in 2019 as a reading/writing helper. She also volunteered many hours at Tampa General Hospital, Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, and Lakeland Volunteers in Medicine.
In her free time, Taryn enjoys spending time with family, going fishing, and supporting her boyfriend's race car races.