President and Founder

Dr. Michael Alessandri is the founder and one of the principal partners of Alessandri & Associates, LLC, a company dedicated to bringing world class autism expertise to families and professionals around the globe. Dr. Alessandri has been an active university professor and researcher since 1992. He has worked with individuals with autism and their families since 1981 in various capacities. He is also a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Rochester, and obtained his MS and Ph.D. in Psychology from Rutgers University.

Dr. Alessandri has presented, consulted and published internationally on developing appropriate and effective educational programs for students with autism. In addition, he has received numerous local, state, and federal research and service grants and several notable awards within the field including the Autism Society of America’s Wendy F. Miller Autism Professional of the Year Award as well as the National Autism Program of the Year Award for a university-based program that he directs.

Dr. Alessandri has received numerous other service awards for his community leadership, including the March of Dimes Community Excellence in Health Care Award (2007), the Health Services Coalition Outstanding Community Leader Award (2009), and the Parent to Parent Excellence in Family Advocacy Award (2010). He was also named one of the Ronald McDonald House's 12 Good Men (2008) and the Dewar's 12 Man of Distinction (2007). In 2012, he was selected by the Children's Trust as the David Lawrence Champion for Children, one of South Florida’s highest honors for community service. In 2016, Dr. Alessandri was named the Visionary Leader of the Year by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce; and in 2017, he was recognized by the Dade County Bar Association with the Fostering Inclusion and Diversity Award. In 2019, Our Pride Academy presented him with the Alesia Cruchley Mogul Community Advocate Award.

Chief Behavioral Consultant and Partner

Dr. Gutierrez is a university-based professor and researcher.  He is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with experience in the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior and in the development of adaptive skills for individuals with autism. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from the University of Florida.

Dr. Gutierrez’s current research interests focus on early intervention, variables related to treatment effectiveness for individuals with autism, and the relationship between joint attention and preference for social reinforcers. Dr. Gutierrez has served as the site Co-PI for two federally-funded, multi-site studies evaluating school-based interventions and comprehensive treatment programs for students with autism spectrum disorders.

Chief Speech-Language Consultant

Mrs. Grub is a licensed and certified Speech-Language Pathologist who has been working with individuals with autism spectrum disorder for over 18 years. Mrs. Grub has been in private practice in Weston, Florida for 13 years.

She specializes in early intervention services and works at a private preschool providing individual therapy, along with parent and professional training. She is Hanen® certified in “It Takes Two to Talk” and “More than Words”; parent-training programs focused on the development of social communication and language skills.

She has consulted and presented both nationally and internationally. Mrs. Grub is also is the program director for ACEing Autism in Weston, Florida.

Chief Psychological Consultant

Dr. Melissa Hale is a university-based professor, clinician and researcher. She is also a licensed psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Dr. Hale received her Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of Florida where she specialized in autism spectrum disorders and applied behavior analysis.

Dr. Hale's current clinical interests include the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with autism. She oversees a university-based ASD diagnostic & treatment clinic and she is trained on the gold-standard diagnostic tools for autism (ADOS, ADI-R). She has also provided consultation to schools throughout the U.S. and she has taught university-based courses in psychology.

Chief Program Consultant

Dr. Yanerys Leon is a university-based professor of Applied Behavior Analysis. Dr. Leon began her training in behavior analysis as an undergraduate student at the University of Florida. She earned her master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) while working in both clinical and research roles at Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Neurobehavioral Unit. She completed her doctoral training in behavior analysis at the Florida Institute of Technology.

Dr. Leon has spent the last decade training undergraduate and master’s level practitioners in behavior analysis. Dr. Leon teaches advanced graduate courses in Applied Behavior Analysis and supervises graduate practicum students completing their fieldwork requirements and conducting their capstone research. Dr. Leon was named the 2021 recipient of the BF Skinner Foundation Applied New Researcher award presented by Division 25 of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Leon’s clinical specialty is the assessment and treatment of severe behavior disorders. Additionally, she provides programmatic and consultative behavioral support to professionals and organizations (e.g., schools, hospitals) working with individuals with ASD and IDD.

Chief Legal and Neurodiversity Consultant

Ms. Haley Moss is a Florida Bar licensed attorney and made international headlines as Florida's first openly autistic attorney. She received her B.S. and B.A. from the University of Florida before continuing on to receive her J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law, where she was a Miami Public Interest Scholar committed to bringing access to justice for people with disabilities. While in private practice, she worked in healthcare litigation and international law, but her passion is within disability rights. As an autistic person herself, Haley brings a mix of firsthand personal experience along with her professional background. Ms. Moss is also the author of four books about autism and neurodiversity across the lifespan, from middle school to adulthood and the working world.

Consultant

Cecilia Alvarez-Tabío, M.S., BCBA is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with over 13 years of experience serving young children with autism and their families. Ms. Alvarez-Tabío received her bachelors and master’s degree in psychology and has always been interested in applying her knowledge of behavioral and developmental psychology in her treatment with families of young children. Ms. Alvarez-Tabío has extensive coaching experience in Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBI) and uses this approach in her treatment of children with autism and their parents.

Ms. Alvarez-Tabío works at a non-profit autism agency where she oversees the trainings and interventions provided to families and the community, on evidence-based strategies. Cecilia has presented on topics related to ASD and parent training at numerous local, statewide, and international conferences, and has published a manual for clinicians on an evidence-based coaching protocol to promote social communication and play in young children with autism.

Consultant

Dr. Jennifer Bergstrom is a university clinical instructor and a licensed certified speech language pathologist. Her primary areas of clinical interest are augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) for children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Dr. Bergstrom has worked with individuals with autism spectrum disorders for over 20 years as a special educator, clinical evaluator, AAC specialist and speech language pathologist.

She teaches graduate level AAC coursework and provides clinical supervision to graduate student clinicians working with clients who require the use of AAC at a university-based speech and language clinic. She has presented locally and nationally on topics related to autism spectrum disorder and AAC.

Consultant

Mr. Deveaux has served the South Florida autism community for over 8 years. He earned his M.S. degree at University of Miami with a concentration in Applied Behavior Analysis.

Mr. Deveaux currently works at a non-profit autism agency, where he has provided training, consultations and support groups for families and professionals in South Florida. His experience includes the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior and self-injury, addressing feeding difficulties and has worked in the development of skill acquisition programs to address functional communication training, social skills and self-care skills. He has also spoken at various conferences at the regional level.

Prior to this position, Mr. Deveaux had the opportunity to work with individuals within the autism spectrum implementing behavioral strategies, providing instruction in a special education classroom, and supporting adults within their employment setting.

Consultant

Ms. Rodriguez has worked with individuals with autism and their families for over 10 years. She received her bachelor’s and master’s of science in special education and has a specialization in autism spectrum disorders from Florida International University. In addition, Ms. Rodriguez completed her second master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.