Our Executive Team
Jen Sabin, M.A., BCBA
Executive Director, Founder
Under the direct tutelage of Dr. Ivar Lovaas, Jennifer Sabin began working with children on the autism spectrum, while completing her Bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Los Angeles. Upon completion of her degree, at a local behavioral agency, Jennifer continued her commitment and dedication to children with autism and pervasive disorders by providing supervision and workshop services on an international level. Ultimately, Jennifer directed the establishment of a successful behavioral center located in Sydney, Australia, which is currently serving individuals on the autism spectrum. In 1997 Jennifer received her Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology, with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy, from Pepperdine University, and subsequently became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in 2004. Jennifer Sabin’s expertise and vision of providing quality intervention services for individuals on the autism spectrum led to the opening of Working With Autism, Inc. (WWA) in 1997. Since WWA’s inception, Jennifer functions as the Executive Director, monitoring and overseeing all clinical and administrative services.
Hilya Delbland Tehrani, PsyDI
Consulting Expert Clinician
Dr. Hilya is a clinical psychologist and child development specialist with over 20 years of experience working with children with autism and their families. In addition to her expertise in addressing the needs of the whole child using evidence-based interventions, she draws upon the latest advancements in neurobiology to conceptualize what children need to grow and thrive. Dr. Hilya offers training and consultation services to the WWA team in the area of autism evaluations.
John-Paul Prakash, M.A., BCBA, MFT-I
Director of BCBA Services
John-Paul joined the WWA family in 2006 holding a bachelor’s in Psychology, and a Master of Arts in Psychology with an emphasis in Marital Family Therapy. He initially became interested in early intervention for children with autism while working as an elementary school counselor. During this time, John-Paul noticed there was a lack of adequate support and trained specialists to help children with special needs. He joined WWA in order to be part of a well-established institution designed to nurture the growth and potential of every child.
John-Paul excelled in providing behavioral services and treatments in the school and home environments. During his time with WWA, he has gained comprehensive experiences implementing treatment plans as a direct interventionist and designing treatment plans as a Case Supervisor. John-Paul held a robust desire to provide his clients with the most effective evidenced based treatments, and subsequently obtained his BCBA coursework in 2010, and became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in 2011.
As the current BCBA Services Director, John-Paul is extremely passionate in assisting all WWA clinical staff in developing individualized treatment plans using Applied Behavior Analysis to teach skills of social significance for all clients. In addition, his MFT background enhances his ability to genuinely understand parent concerns in order to provide encouragement and support necessary for each family. John-Paul’s extensive experience, positive enthusiasm, immense knowledge and great respect of Applied Behavior Analysis, are evident in the professional and personal touch he provides in overseeing all clinical treatments for WWA families.
Our Administrative Team
Daniel Skelton
Director, Human Resources and Administration
Daniel Skelton joined WWA in 2021. MoDaniel joined WWA in 2021 with experience working in Human Resources from a variety of different industries, including nightlife and marketing. Daniel has been interested in the Behavioral Health Industry for years and studied psychology at both Pasadena City College & Pacific Oaks University prior to joining the WWA team. His favorite aspect of working in Human Resources is creating strong team relations and curating healthy and welcoming company culture. Daniel decided to join WWA because he wanted to be involved with a company that actively makes a difference in his community. As the HR Manager, Daniel recruits and trains employees, as well as manages personnel files, claims, company records, creates policies and procedures and does what he can to ensure the success and happiness of every employee.
Sharlene McGrath
Finance Manager
Sharlene joined the WWA 2021 with extensive experience in accounting and financial analysis from working in various industries, such as sustainable energy, environmental testing, advertising, and investment fund accounting. Sharlene has four children, one of which is a son on the autism spectrum. “I truly wish I had known agencies like Working With Autism existed when my eldest son was younger. I now know there were a lot of services available to my child that I did not know existed.” Based upon her personal experience, she decided to join WWA in order to support families by managing all finacial aspects of the behavioral services so each family could focus their attention on the treatment, and so each family could gain access to services. As the Financial Manager, Sharlene ensures that all billable services are accurately documented in order to prevent any issues that may impact the continuity of services and provides families with concise statements as necessary.
Sandra Rodriguez
Scheduling Manager
Sandra joined WWA in September of 2019 with experience working as an Administrator in the Behavioral health industry. Sandra first became interested in the Behavioral Health Industry when she noticed families who were seeking specialized services indicated many challenges in securing and scheduling services for their children. She enjoys assisting families in securing services for their children as she knows the process and procedure can be very confusing. Sandra decided to join WWA to ensure that any family who was in need of services would be able to confirm and receive services in an efficient, easy, and supportive process.
As the Scheduling Manager, Sandra assists families with all of staffing and scheduling needs. This includes finding substitutes when an instructor is unavailable so that no child is left without services. Sandra has knowledge of what specific needs each schedule entails and is able to effectively meet the expectations of every WWA family with their in all scheduled services. Sandra welcomes collaboration and feedback from all WWA families, so they feel welcomed and satisfied with the services that are being provided.
Clinical Team
Jennifer Strauss, M.S., BCBA
Clinical Coordinator
Jennifer Strauss became part of the WWA family in 2000 holding a degree in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Prior to joining WWA, Jennifer started working in Special Education classrooms, Special Education Centers, and in California Residential programs. Jennifer’s love for children, community service, and behavioral health solidified her decision to continue focusing on autism and furthering her education. While working full time at WWA, Jennifer earned her Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis and is currently a practicing Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 25 years of direct experience working with children and adolescents on the autism spectrum, in a variety of settings.
Jennifer has held numerous positions during her time at WWA which include Senior Behavior Instructor, Staff Development Specialist, and Training Coordinator. Currently, as WWA’s Clinical Coordinator, Jennifer assists in managing the Clinical and Administrative aspects for School and Insurance based behavioral services. Her extensive experience allows her to provide clinical staff and families the guidance and knowledge required to promote effective and significant services. She excels in fostering open and collaborative communication with parents and families so that the specialized WWA treatment plan incorporates the family’s perspective in addition to Applied Behavior Analysis. Jennifer is passionate and committed when working with families to ensure they are thoroughly informed about all features included in WWA services.
Tejal Mitroo, M.A., BCBA
Clinical Coordinator
Tejal has been part of the WWA Team as a Case Supervisor since 2015, holding joined a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of California Riverside and a Master degree in Psychology from Pepperdine University. Tejal began her journey in Behavior Analysis in 2009, although not by complete choice, but more of a “wanting to try out the field” type of outlook. Once she stepped into the world of ABA, there was no turning back and she knew this was her calling. She enjoyed helping children with specials needs and especially in providing training and support for families and staff. She continued to pursue the field by taking advanced ABA coursework and obtaining her BCBA in 2013.
Over the course of her time at WWA, Tejal has taken on additional roles within the organization. In 2017, she started in the training division at WWA, where she provides onboarding and new hire training to all behavior instructors joining the team. In addition, she also provides Safety-Care training, RBT training, as well as ongoing support to our new behavior instructors, ensuring they perfect their skills to meet the specific needs of our clients. With a background in Human Resources, Tejal began recruiting and hiring of all incoming behavior instructors in 2019.
Tejal has a true passion to help people and work with children. She is excited to be working in a role where she can not only help children with the skills that they need as they develop, but also help the behavior instructors with their skillset as they continue to grow in the field.