Valencia Staff

The Behavior Analysts and Teachers on ABC's staff all have University degrees and academic training in Applied Behavior Analysis. Additionally, ABC has a comprehensive Continuing Education Program and an extensive supervision structure which includes PhD’s, licensed Psychologists as well as Board Certified Behavior Analysts.

Regional Director

Natalie Rioux-Tamayo, BA/BCABA
Regional Director
Valencia

Ms. Rioux-Tamayo completed her Bachelors Degree at the University of California, Los Angeles where she worked with Dr. Ivar Lovaas for a period of five years.  She served as both a Tutor and a Behavior Consultant at the Lovaas Institute.  In 2001, she joined ABC, Inc. and assisted in opening a site in Valencia, California.  At ABC, Inc. she has worked as a Behavior Consultant, Senior Behavior Consultant, and Program Manager.  She is currently the Regional Director of Community Services and Infant/Toddler Programs at ABC, Inc. in Valencia. She is responsible for in-home and site-based behavioral assessments, developing behavior intervention plans, treatment programs, and parent training for infants/toddlers, children, and adults with developmental disabilities and Autism.  She has conducted workshops in Applied Behavior Analysis for both School Districts and families. Ms. Rioux-Tamayo has experience in clinically supervising a number of Behavior Consultants, specializing in early, intensive intervention techniques.  She is a member of the national and state-levels of the Association for Behavior Analysis.  She works in conjunction with Behavioral vendors in the North Los Angeles region to improve programs, funding options, and services offered to people with developmental disabilities and she also serves as a member of the Santa Clarita Valley Community Outreach program.  She is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Applied Behavior Analysis at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology’s Los Angeles campus.

Director of Training

Mario Tamayo, BA/BCABA
Behavior Analyst for the Infant/Toddler program
Valencia

Mario H. Tamayo has 21 years of educational and clinical experience.  He received his Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of California at Los Angles in 1991. In 1988 he began his educational and career goals in autism working under Dr. Ivar Lovaas as a student, teaching assistant, and employee conducting various clinical services and administrative work.  Mr. Tamayo was employed as a research assistant at UCLA and later as a Tutor, Workshop Consultant, Supervisor, Program Manager, and later Administrator at the Lovaas Institute for Early Intervention (LIFE).  In his employment at LIFE, Mr. Tamayo traveled extensively around the United States and Canada setting up and supervising programs that parents created for their children diagnosed with autism.

In 2005 he began working at Applied Behavior Consultants, Inc. (ABC) as the company’s Director of Training.  Mr. Tamayo’s current duties at ABC include providing 5-day trainings to new Behavior Consultants and Teachers, 2-day trainings in the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), 8-week group parent training courses entitled “Positive Programming for Parents” (PPP), and 1 to ½ day trainings on various topics in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA); such as Discrete Trial Training (DTT), Lesson Progression (i.e., Early/Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Learner Curriculums),  and ABC’s  Levels of Generalization program. 

Mr. Tamayo is a BCABA since 2006 and is a current Master’s student at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Los Angeles campus pursuing a degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis.

Program Managers

Erika Hamer, MA/BCBA
Program Manager for In-Home Services
Valencia

Ms. Erika Hamer received her Bachelor of Science degree from The University of Texas at Austin in Communications, and her Master of Arts degree from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Clinical Psychology, with a specialization in Applied Behavior Analysis. She has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst since 2009. She has worked in-home with children with autism throughout her career. Additionally, she has worked with children with other developmental delays, and adolescents with autism and other developmental delays, both in home and school programs. She is a member of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, where she presented at the 2009 conference. Ms. Hamer is also a member of the California Association for Behavior Analysis and the Verbal Behavior Special Interest Group. Ms. Hamer is a Program Manager and currently provides Group Parent Education classes, supervises Behavior Consultants and Senior Behavior Consultants, and provides BCBA supervision to individuals preparing for board certification.

Senior Behavior Consultants

Alejandra Guillen, BA
Senior Behavior Consultant
Valencia

Tara Gene Mijares, BA
Senior Behavior Consultant
Valencia

Behavior Consultants

Katherine “Kasey” Gomez, BA
Behavior Consultant
Valencia

Lindsey Schoenberger, BS
Behavior Consultant
Valencia

Associate Behavior Consultants

Alberto Areliz, B.A.
Associate Behavior Consultant
Valencia

Lisa Desrochers, BA
Associate Behavior Consultant
Valencia