Gerard M. Kysela received a B.Sc. and M.A. in Psychology and Clinical Child Psychology respectively from Xavier University (Ohio) in 1966. Following three years of study at the University of Waterloo, he received a Ph.D. degree in Child Development in 1969. Since that time, he has been teaching and carrying out research with children, parents and teachers in areas of childhood special needs and disorders. Dr. Kysela received the award for excellence in research from the Canadian Psychological Foundation in 1995 for his lifetime research with children with special needs and their families.  Dr. Kysela is a professor emeritus in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Alberta. Collaborative research and clinical developments with families having a young child with special needs such as a diagnosis on the Autism Spectrum have been the focus of Dr. Kysela’s clinical activities for the past several years. In collaboration with colleagues, Dr. Kysela has been developing both family centred practice models as well as intensive behavioural intervention models.  As Senior Advisor, Dr. Kysela oversees the practice and provides advice to the Clinical Director.

Tina Linton received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Guelph in Ontario and her Masters degree in Special Education with a concentration in Autism and Developmental Disabilities at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. She is a Board Certified Behavioural Analyst with over 15 years of experience working with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in home, school, and community based programs. Tina began her career in Ontario working as a Behavioural Interventionist.  She moved to Victoria, BC where she continued supporting families of children with ASD and assisted with the start up of the Autism Early Intervention Program at the Queen Alexandra Center for Children’s Health in her role as an Autism Interventionist. When she moved to Vancouver, Tina began working with the Family Centred Practices Group and, after completing her Masters, was promoted to the role of Senior Behavioural Consultant.  Tina also worked with Douglas College in their Behavioural Interventionist Citation Program and was a founding partner of the “Behavioural Interventionist Training Partnership”. Tina assumed the role of Clinical Director in November of 2008 and began managing the business and providing supervision to team members seeking certification with the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.

Christy Cheremshynski received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of Alberta and her Master of Arts in Special Education from the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver.  The focus of her thesis was the development of a culturally-enhanced PBS plan for a family of diverse culture.  She is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst with over 10 years of experience working with children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in home, school and community-based programs. . She was first introduced to this field by gaining employment as a Behavioural Interventionist in an early intensive behaviour intervention program in Alberta and has worked with families in various locations including Edmonton, Alberta, the Thompson-Okanagan, and the Lower Mainland.  In her role as a Senior Behavioural Consultant with FCPG, Christy assists with the clinical operations, as well as training, supervision and mentorship. Christy has also recently returned back to school and is in the process of completing a Masters of Arts in Counselling Psychology at UBC.

Vickie received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Alberta in 2005. She also completed a Master of Arts degree in Special Education with a concentration in Autism and Developmental Disabilities at the University of British Columbia.  Vickie’s Masters thesis focused on using video modeling to facilitate the generalization of imitation skills with a young child with autism. She joined the Family Centred Practices Group as an intern in 2003, after which she supported children with autism in early intervention programs in both Vancouver and Edmonton.

Ali Dussault received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of British Columbia in 2003, where she later completed a Master of Education degree in Special Education, with a concentration in Autism and Developmental Disabilities.  Ali has supported young children diagnosed with autism since 2002 and has been with the Family Centred Practices Group since 2005, where she now serves as a Senior Behavioural Consultant in Montreal, Quebec. Through a supervision process with Tina Linton and Christy Cheremshynski, Ali received her certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.  Ali speaks both English and French, and can provide services in French upon request.

Emily received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology/English at the University of Victoria in 2001 and completed a Master of Arts degree in Counselling Psychology - Behavioural Sciences through Yorkville University in 2009.  She has also completed a series of graduate coursework in Applied Behaviour Analysis through the University of North Texas along with 1700 hours of supervised fieldwork from Tina Linton, BCBA and is eligible to obtain Board Certified Behavior Analyst status in the near future.  Emily began working with children with autism in 1994 in a group home setting. Since that time she has worked with children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder in various settings including elementary schools as a School Support Worker, and respite care settings and home support as a Child Care Worker. Emily spent two years employed as an Infant Development Consultant, with a focus on very young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, before becoming a Behaviour Consultant and Program Coordinator for the Early Intensive Behaviour Intervention Program in Kamloops, BC. She joined Family Centred Practices Group in 2005, and currently supports children and their families as a Behaviour Consultant and Registered Clinical Counsellor on Vancouver Island.

Mariko received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology and Psychology from the University of British Columbia in 2005. She completed her Masters of Education degree in Special Education with a concentration in Autism and Developmental Disabilities at UBC. Mariko has been supporting young children diagnosed with autism in home and school settings since 2003. Mariko is also pursuing her Board Certified Behaviour Analyst Certification through a mentoring process under the supervision of Tina Linton and Christy Cheremshynski at Family Centred Practices Group. Mariko is fluent in both English and Japanese, and can provide services in Japanese upon request.

Dianna started working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in 2002 when she was an undergraduate student in the University of British Columbia (UBC). Soon after obtaining her Bachelor of Arts degree, majored in psychology, in 2004, Dianna joined the Family Centred Practice Group. She is now serving as a Behavioural Consultant under the mentorship of Dr. Gerald Kysela, Tina Linton, and Christy Cheremshynski. Dianna had completed the Disability & Applied Behaviour Analysis program at Douglas College in 2009. She is currently completing her Master of Education in Special Education with a concentration in Autism and Developmental Disabilities in UBC and is working towards her BCBA certification. Dianna is fluent in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, and can provide services in Cantonese and Mandarin upon request.

Noreen received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of British Columbia in 2006. She also completed the Disability and Applied Behaviour Analysis advanced citation program at Douglas College.  She is currently pursuing a Masters of Education degree in Special Education, with a concentration in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, at the University of British Columbia. Having worked with children diagnosed with autism since 2005, Noreen joined the Family Centred Practices Group, first as a Behavioural Interventionist, then Program Supervisor and now works as a Behavioural Consultant.  Under the mentorship of Tina Linton and Christy Cheremshynski, Noreen is working towards obtaining her BCBA certification. Noreen is fluent in both English and Cantonese, and can provide services in Cantonese upon request.

Rita received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Waterloo in 2005.  Having worked with adults and children with mental and physical disabilities during her undergraduate studies, Rita began working with families supported by the Family Centred Practices Group in 2006, in her role as a Behavioural Interventionist. Rita recently assumed the role of  FCPG’s Training Coordinator and is responsible for assisting with the hiring and placement of Behavioural Interventionists for families.  Rita is also works as a Program Supervisor with the Family Centred Practices Group and is a student in the Masters program in Special Education at UBC.  Rita is fluent in both English and Cantonese, and can provide services in Cantonese upon request.