meet the team
I find so much joy in being silly to engage kids in play, motivate them to develop necessary skills, and to redirect challenging behaviors.
When I am not helping others find their peace amidst the chaos, you can find me at 6:30 Pilates class convincing myself I AM a morning person. I spend hours in the kitchen perfecting all my favorite foods without gluten or dairy (it’s a fun challenge!) Now that I’ve taken up gardening, being able to add my own herbs and vegetables is the icing on the cake…a gluten free cake of course! I live in Arcadia with my daughter, husband, and a highly energetic cattle dog, where we enjoy bike rides on the canal and trying all the fun restaurants. Although my journey in autism began 20 years ago when I became a behavior therapist, our journey as a family started when our daughter was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2. Her journey has inspired me to focus on a compassionate and collaborative approach that supports families on a deeper level. Going through this journey has given me the tools to be a better coach and guide to parents as they navigate a recent diagnosis. My daughter motivates me to educate, advocate, and make a difference in how the world views and approaches autistic individuals.
With Arcadia Behavior Consulting, I look forward to being your biggest cheerleader and a support system as you navigate the chaos that comes with parenting and educating. So the next time you reach for that fix-all book, think of us, because we’re here to help.
Do you find yourself reading every book out there in hopes of making parenting easier or navigating behavior less challenging? Getting through the day to day raising or working with tiny humans can be tough! Let’s be honest, parenting is exhausting and life can throw curve balls, and there’s no one book or magic wand that makes everything easier. This is where I come in; I’m the happiest when I see others develop the confidence and the tools they need to help their kids or the kids they work with to be the most successful across all environments. In addition to helping parents and educators, I also truly love teaching kids to develop communication and social-emotional skills that help them cope with daily triggers in life.
After receiving my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Communications from Eastern Michigan University (EMU), I continued my education at EMU to pursue my Master’s in Clinical Behavioral Psychology. In June 2009, I made the move across country to start my career and life in Arizona (It’s a dry heat, right?!) I worked as a behavior specialist focusing on ages birth to five and helping families who had kids with feeding challenges, disruptive behaviors, sleeping challenges, and toilet training. I became a board-certified behavior analyst in September 2010 and am the 30th licensed behavior analyst in the state of Arizona. Through my many, many years as a behavior analyst, I have gained experience in working with toddlers and adolescents with and without autism, to develop communication, social, play, cognitive, and emotional regulation skills.
EMILY MARINER
MS, BCBA, LBA
emily@arcadiabehavior.com
Do you find yourself reading every book out there in hopes of making parenting easier or navigating behavior less challenging? Getting through the day to day raising or working with tiny humans can be tough! Let’s be honest, parenting is exhausting and life can throw curve balls, and there’s no one book or magic wand that makes everything easier. This is where I come in; I’m the happiest when I see others develop the confidence and the tools they need to help their kids or the kids they work with to be the most successful across all environments. In addition to helping parents and educators, I also truly love teaching kids to develop communication and social-emotional skills that help them cope with daily triggers in life.
After receiving my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Communications from Eastern Michigan University (EMU), I continued my education at EMU to pursue my Master’s in Clinical Behavioral Psychology. In June 2009, I made the move across country to start my career and life in Arizona (It’s a dry heat, right?!) I worked as a behavior specialist focusing on ages birth to five and helping families who had kids with feeding challenges, disruptive behaviors, sleeping challenges, and toilet training. I became a board-certified behavior analyst in September 2010 and am the 30th licensed behavior analyst in the state of Arizona. Through my many, many years as a behavior analyst, I have gained experience in working with toddlers and adolescents with and without autism, to develop communication, social, play, cognitive, and emotional regulation skills. I find so much joy in being silly to engage kids in play, motivate them to develop necessary skills, and to redirect challenging behaviors.
When I am not helping others find their peace amidst the chaos, you can find me at 6:30 Pilates class convincing myself I AM a morning person. I spend hours in the kitchen perfecting all my favorite foods without gluten or dairy (it’s a fun challenge!) Now that I’ve taken up gardening, being able to add my own herbs and vegetables is the icing on the cake…a gluten free cake of course! I live in Arcadia with my daughter, husband, and a highly energetic cattle dog, where we enjoy bike rides on the canal and trying all the fun restaurants. Although my journey in autism began 20 years ago when I became a behavior therapist, our journey as a family started when our daughter was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2. Her journey has inspired me to focus on a compassionate and collaborative approach that supports families on a deeper level. Going through this journey has given me the tools to be a better coach and guide to parents as they navigate a recent diagnosis. My daughter motivates me to educate, advocate, and make a difference in how the world views and approaches autistic individuals.
With Arcadia Behavior Consulting, I look forward to being your biggest cheerleader and a support system as you navigate the chaos that comes with parenting and educating. So the next time you reach for that fix-all book, think of us, because we’re here to help.
When I wasn’t respectfully challenging my school teachers’ thought processes in my younger days, you could find me in the dance studio learning perseverance, discipline, and how to work as a team. I now reside in Scottsdale with my fellow Native Phoenician husband and our dog. Since being promoted to the role of Aunt two years ago, I have embraced my over-protective side and enjoy spoiling my niece and nephew. Being an Aunt also allows me the opportunity to practice what I preach and utilize the techniques that we at Arcadia Behavior Consulting recommend to our families and teachers. I love spending time with my large extended family and all of their animals, as well as going to the beach, doing the Carlton, hiking, seeing concerts (especially Dave Matthews Band!), dancing, reading, solving Sudoku puzzles, and doing Pilates.
As a part of Arcadia Behavior Consulting, I am excited to collaborate with teachers, families, and children to find solutions to seemingly troublesome challenges using my problem-solving skills and their individual strengths. I can’t wait to solve some problems together!
They call me “the problem solver.” There’s no challenge too big or too small that we can’t solve together, coming up with a solution that will meet both a family and child’s needs while restoring peace in the midst of the chaos that is everyday life. I love utilizing and building upon the strengths others already possess to solve problems with straightforward and individualized strategies.
I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Human Communication and minors in Psychology and Dance from Arizona State University (Let’s go, Devils!). I received my Master’s Degree in Professional Behavior Analysis from the Florida Institute of Technology after working as a behavior technician for six years. Since becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in August 2015, I have worked with children of all ages and their families providing behavior therapy, parent training, and guidance on navigating the often times confusing process of securing insurance funding for those services.
Along with my feline siblings, I grew up in North Phoenix with my parents and younger brother.
carrie mereness
MA, BCBA, LBA
carrie@arcadiabehavior.com
They call me “the problem solver.” There’s no challenge too big or too small that we can’t solve together, coming up with a solution that will meet both a family and child’s needs while restoring peace in the midst of the chaos that is everyday life. I love utilizing and building upon the strengths others already possess to solve problems with straightforward and individualized strategies.
I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Human Communication and minors in Psychology and Dance from Arizona State University (Let’s go, Devils!). I received my Master’s Degree in Professional Behavior Analysis from the Florida Institute of Technology after working as a behavior technician for six years. Since becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in August 2015, I have worked with children of all ages and their families providing behavior therapy, parent training, and guidance on navigating the oftentimes confusing process of securing insurance funding for those services.
Along with my three feline siblings, I grew up in North Phoenix with my parents and younger brother. When I wasn’t respectfully challenging my school teachers’ thought processes in my younger days, you could find me in the dance studio learning perseverance, discipline, and how to work as a team. I now reside in Scottsdale with my fellow Native Phoenician boyfriend. Since being promoted to the role of aunt two years ago, I have embraced my over-protective side and enjoy spoiling my niece and soon-to-be-born nephew. Being an aunt also allows me the opportunity to practice what I preach and utilize the techniques that we at Arcadia Behavior Consulting recommend to our families and teachers. I love spending time with my large extended family and all of their animals, as well as going to the beach, doing the Carlton, hiking, seeing concerts (especially Dave Matthews Band!), dancing, reading, solving Sudoku puzzles, and doing Pilates.
As a part of Arcadia Behavior Consulting, I am excited to collaborate with teachers, families, and children to find solutions to seemingly troublesome challenges using my problem-solving skills and their individual strengths. I can’t wait to solve some problems together!
to as the traveling circus), at a celebration with our large and incredibly close family, listening to a murder mystery book on audible, or taking a variety of group fitness classes in hopes of finding one that sticks.
I love spending time with my family and friends, trying new restaurants, live music, and biking to all the places within a 3 mile radius. I live in Arcadia with my husband and two wonderful children who allow me to stay up to date on all the tools and strategies that I recommend to parents and teachers. When I became a mom, I changed as a clinician. It gave me an understanding of looking at the family and classroom as a whole, the child’s, family’s, and classroom’s needs are directly intertwined. Strategies and tools are most successful when approached through collaboration: we will work on skill building and challenging behaviors as a team, with my experience and knowledge in behavior and yours in the needs of your family or classroom.
I am beyond happy to have the opportunity to support families, teachers, and children in finding their peace and the “smile” through positive, evidence-based strategies with Arcadia Behavior Consulting, so let’s team up and do this together!
There’s nothing I love more than finding a child’s smile and empowering others to find that smile! For me, it’s about building on the bond between the child and the people in their environment. That’s where the learning happens. When a child seeks out their “people”, they build communication and social emotional skills and in turn decrease challenging behaviors.
I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin (Hook em’ Horns!) with a Master’s in Early Childhood Special Education and an emphasis in Autism and Developmental Disabilities. After years as a behavior instructor providing services in school, home, and center based settings, I became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in November 2015. Throughout my career as BCBA, I have had experiences with children with and without autism of all ages and backgrounds but found my true passion in early intervention. To be able to solve challenges, teach communication, social, and play skills, through fun, actionable, and clear strategies is my favorite. I’ve been known to sing songs out of tune to get a smile, incorporate silly dance moves to expand a child’s language, and come up with out of the box stories to redirect a child from a tantrum.
When I’m not having a blast supporting a family or teacher, I am traveling with my little clan (which I refer
mandy zerbib
MEd, BCBA, LBA
mandy@arcadiabehavior.com
There’s nothing I love more than finding a child’s smile and empowering others to find that smile! For me, it’s about building on the bond between the child and the people in their environment. That’s where the learning happens. When a child seeks out their “people”, they build communication and social emotional skills and in turn decrease challenging behaviors.
I graduated from the University of Texas at Austin (Hook em’ Horns!) with a Master’s in Early Childhood Special Education and an emphasis in Autism and Developmental Disabilities. After years as a behavior instructor providing services in school, home, and center based settings, I became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in November 2015. Throughout my career as BCBA, I have had experiences with children with and without autism of all ages and backgrounds but found my true passion in early intervention. To be able to solve challenges, teach communication, social, and play skills, through fun, actionable, and clear strategies is my favorite. I’ve been known to sing songs out of tune to get a smile, incorporate silly dance moves to expand a child’s language, and come up with out of the box stories to redirect a child from a tantrum.
When I’m not having a blast supporting a family or teacher, I am traveling with my little clan (which I refer to as the traveling circus), at a celebration with our large and incredibly close family, listening to a murder mystery book on audible, or taking a variety of group fitness classes in hopes of finding one that sticks. I love spending time with my family and friends, trying new restaurants, live music, and biking to all the places within a 3 mile radius. I live in Arcadia with my husband and two wonderful children who allow me to stay up to date on all the tools and strategies that I recommend to parents and teachers. When I became a mom, I changed as a clinician. It gave me an understanding of looking at the family and classroom as a whole, the child’s, family’s, and classroom’s needs are directly intertwined. Strategies and tools are most successful when approached through collaboration: we will work on skill building and challenging behaviors as a team, with my experience and knowledge in behavior and yours in the needs of your family or classroom.
I am beyond happy to have the opportunity to support families, teachers, and children in finding their peace and the “smile” through positive, evidence-based strategies with Arcadia Behavior Consulting, so let’s team up and do this together!
