Meet the Team
Paul Borda, Founder and President
Paul has over 20 years of technology and healthcare experience, ranging from startup leadership to client success and business development oversight for some of the country’s best known healthcare support organizations. Accomplishments include launching one of the earliest electronic procurement platforms for a global Fortune 500 company, and helping create the country’s first healthcare Managed Service Provider, now a $15b industry. Paul also created the business model to staff COVID-19 vaccination operations for the second largest healthcare provider in New England, resulting in over 600,000 vaccinated patients within 4 months - while also saving the client over $3M in staffing costs. Paul’s commitment to teamwork, creative solutions and organizational culture are hallmarks of his career.
Paul lives in Santa Clarita, CA where he and his wife of 28 years raised their two adult children. When not delivering top quality services to clients and their families, he enjoys spending time with his family, hitting the open road in search of adventure, doing just about anything outdoors and making people laugh. Paul holds two degrees, including a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Johnson & Wales University.
Vanessa Angulo, Clinical Director
Vanessa is a devoted clinician with over 10 years working in the field of ABA. She holds a degree in Neuroscience from UCLA and her Masters degree in Behavior Analysis from Florida Institute of Technology. Her earlier experience was working with teenagers and adults addressing high intensity behaviors. She has since expanded her clinical repertoire to include younger children with a focus on caregiver support. She has originated Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion special interest groups for more culturally inclusive care for clients and staff management. She's been a guest lecturer at local universities and staff trainer for various school districts in the Los Angeles area. She continues to work with a non-profit that aims to prevent hospitalizations and decrease police involvement for special needs individuals by consulting with their prevention, intervention, and follow-up teams.
Outside of work, you'll find her biking on the beach, snowboarding on a mountain, or at a Dodgers game. She is a dedicated dog mom and tia (aunt) to several nieces, nephews, and furbabies.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessa-angulo-b6212940/
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Jamil Abou-Samra Lewis, Operations Manager
Jamil Abou-Samra has a long history of keeping the wheels turning, the plates spinning, the popcorn popping and the operations running smoothly. With over 15 years of professional experience in logistics, she has managed the evolving daily needs of the surgical department in a large community hospital, the nuance of fine art shipments around the globe, and the finesse of coordinating large upscale events. With a broad scope of practice, Jamil is working on our team to ensure the best outcomes for clients and their families, as well as to support our therapists so they are able to do their best work. Outside of the office, Jamil can be found trying to dig herself out from under an ever growing pile of laundry, being chased by her three young children on the beach, laughing with her sweetheart, or cooking too much food for the people who make her world turn.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamil-abou-samra-lewis-30b70272/
Alyssa Mehnert, Client Success Lead
Native of Southern California and graduate from UCLA. Alyssa has a background in Operations Management and Human Resources. In 2009, her son was diagnosed with Developmental Delay and later Autism. She has dedicated the past 11 years of her life to overseeing her son’s needs through Early Intervention, IEPs, ABA Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and Physical Therapy. As a parent, she is in a unique position to handle client needs, being she was there herself not too long ago. On her time off, Alyssa enjoys traveling, hunting for vintage treasure and researching family genealogy.
linkedin.com/in/alyssa-mehnert-98a5454
Annessa Brock, MS, BCBA, Clinical Supervisor
Annessa has been in the field of ABA for over 10 years. She received a Master’s degree in Behavior Analysis from Simmons University in 2021 and shortly after began providing services to neurodivergent individuals as a BCBA. Annessa specializes in caregiver training and compassionate delivery of services. When not delivering high quality behavior therapy services, she spends her time doing yoga, aerial arts, and going on hikes with her dog.
Melissa Baird, MS, BCBA, Clinical Supervisor
Melissa has worked with children, teens and adults for nearly 15 years, 10 of which providing compassionate ABA-based therapies. Melissa received her Master's degree in Professional Behavior Analysis in 2016 from Florida State University. Across her career, she held nearly every role in the ABA field, from Behavior Technician and Clinical Intern to Clinical Director and Regional Director. Melissa led initiatives for summer/winter camps, social skills groups, and telehealth-based social hours in addition to creating community-support workshops and running parent support groups. She has a vast background working with many ages, diagnoses, and cultures across California. Melissa takes pride in offering personalized, collaborative care with a focus on patient independence and dignity.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-baird-m-a-bcba-15574b1a2/
Asher Briggson, MS, BCBA, Clinical Supervisor
Asher received his Masters in ABA from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and BCBA in 2015. He began working with people with developmental disabilities as a teenager and quickly fell in love with ABA, in which he has now worked in the field for over a decade. He is very passionate about the field, trainings, and keeping up with new research. He absolutely loves helping people reach their goals and emphasizes autonomy and dignity for all people. When Asher is not working he loves spending time with his 8 year old twins and is a big animal lover with 2 dogs, a rabbit, and a tortoise. Asher also loves true crime podcasts/documentaries and following his favorite independent film directors for watching new and unique films!
Nancy Rodriguez, MS, BCBA, Clinical Supervisor
Nancy Rodriguez received her masters of science at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She has been in the field of ABA for 14 years working with a variety of individuals. Starting as a behavior technician, Nancy found the field of ABA to be her passion and continued on to become a parent trainer and later, a clinical supervisor. Nancy's goal as a clinical supervisor is to bring each family and client a sense of independence, and to be heard and seen for what their individual needs are. When Nancy is not working you can find her competing in movie trivia, watching the Raiders, and co-hosting movie review podcasts with her friends.
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Jerome Coppage, MS, BCBA, Clinical Supervisor
I have been in the field of ABA for 7 yrs. I first became interested in the field when my Godson was diagnosed and thought what a great way to give back to the community and use my education. My education includes psychology, education, business and of course applied behavior analysis (ABA). Service is big in our family, from my wifes military service to our daughter's annual toy donations. I am honored by the trust our families put in me, and I am glad to be of service!
Jenna Shaw, MS, BCBA, Clinical Supervisor
From a young age, Jenna knew she wanted to work with individuals with disabilities. In 2005, at the age of 15, the science of applied behavior analysis (ABA) fell into her lap. Originally, Jenna declined a job offer as a behavior technician but was eventually persuaded to join the behavioral team of a young boy for whom she babysat. By the end of her first week, Jenna declared that ABA would be her life’s work. Following high school, Jenna expanded her work experiences while earning a BA in psychology at the University of Connecticut. Jenna went on to earn her MS in Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism from Russell Sage College and that same year passed the board exam completing her dream of becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Jenna passionately provides behavioral services for the purpose of increasing skill acquisition and decreasing behavioral difficulties. She does this by keeping up with current research, individualizing programs, and thinking outside the box. When Jenna is not working you will find her photographing live music events, lounging on the beach, attempting to solve true crime cold cases, and snuggling with her eyeless cat, Stevie.
Liliana Romero, MS, BCBA, Clinical Supervisor
My name is Liliana and I am a Clinical Supervisor with Therapy Partners. I started in the field in 2016 as a therapist and worked my way to become a BCBA. During my free time, I enjoy hiking and being outdoors.
Karina Sharma, MS, BCBA, Clinical Supervisor
Karina Sharma is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 5 years of work experience in the field of Behavioral Health. She received her Masters of Science in Behavioral Psychology with an emphasis in ABA from Pepperdine University. She enjoys writing and has written multiple articles on autism and developmental disorders to spread awareness and advocate for neurodiversity. She is also a published author as she has written the children’s book “The Clownfish”. “The Clownfish” is a simple and easy to read book that can be enjoyed by all learners! Her goal as a clinical supervisor is to continuously improve quality client care while promoting client independence.