Frank L. Bird, M.Ed., BCBA, LABA

Vice President & Chief Clinical Officer, Melmark Inc.

Frank L. Bird has served as the Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer for Melmark Inc. for the past 12 years. His primary responsibilities include developing and overseeing Melmark’s clinical foundation, ensuring integrity across programs, establishing clinical resources, mentoring young clinicians and educators, and strategically planning for organizational and clinical growth. He received his Board Certified Behavior Analyst certification in 2000 and has been practicing applied behavior analysis in community-based settings in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and North Carolina for over 40 years. He has an extended history of developing clinical support systems for challenging behaviors for children and adults with the diagnosis of autism, acquired brain injury, dual diagnosis and mental illness. His demonstrated abilities include clinical design, staff development, research and training, program development, and systems analysis. Frank Bird has been responsible for developing over 80 programs in support of individuals with disabilities over the course of his career.

Kevin Callahan, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA

Executive Director, University of North Texas Kristin Farmer Autism Center 

Amanda Guld Fisher, Ph.D., BCBA-D

Associate Professor of Practice and Coordinator of ABA and Special Education Programs, Temple University

Amanda earned her Masters degree in psychology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and her doctorate in Applied Behavior Analysis and Special Education from the Ohio State University and has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst since 2007. She has presented research at local and national conferences in a variety of subject areas including: response chains, stimulus equivalence, analysis of verbal behavior, college teaching strategies, feeding disorders, functional assessment methodology, reinforcer qualities and dimensions, communication modalities, staff training, and the treatment of challenging behavior. She has experience in staff and parent training, school consultation, developing and conducting community workshops in Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism Spectrum Disorders, conducting functional assessments and analyses, treating feeding disorders and developing and implementing behavior change procedures to address severe challenging behavior and academic deficits for individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. Amanda has served as an adjunct faculty at Caldwell College, St. Joseph’s University, University of Massachusetts, Boston, Temple University, and Rowan University prior to joining the full time faculty at Temple University in 2014. Previously, Amanda served as the Director of Professional Development, Training, and Research at Melmark. Amanda is currently an Associate Professor of Practice at Temple University in the College of Education. Amanda is also on the board of iHi International, Teaching Behavior Analysis SIG, is the past president of Philadelphia Metropolitan Association for Behavior Analysis and the faculty liaison for Association for Science in Autism Treatment. Amanda also engages in advocacy work for the practice of behavior analysis in Pennsylvania.

Rebecca P. F. MacDonald, Ph.D., BCBA

Senior Program Director & Director Infant Sibling Study, New England Center for Children

Dr. Rebecca MacDonald is a Licensed Psychologist and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who specializes in the education and treatment of children with autism through her work at the New England Center for Children. For 17 years she served as the Director of the Early Intensive Instructional Program providing EIBI to the youngest children with an ASD diagnosis at the center. She has faculty appointments at Simmons College and Western New England University. Dr. MacDonald received her doctorate in Developmental and Child Psychology from the University of Kansas. She regularly presents her research at national and international conferences and has published numerous articles and book chapters focusing on teaching social skills to children with autism. Her work has been support by both federal (NICHD) and private (OAR) grant sources. Her current research interests include assessing and treating early signs of autism in infant siblings.

Helena Maguire, M.S., LABA, BCBA

Executive Director, Melmark New England

Helena Maguire oversees the development and implementation of programs and services and the daily operations for Melmark New England, develops and leads achievement of strategic objectives, participates in various committees and activities to support the CEO and Board of Directors, and assumes responsibility for policy development, quality assurance, risk management, regulatory compliance, fiscal integrity, and excellence in care and delivery of all of Melmark’s mission-first services. Maguire oversees Melmark New England’s Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) services, which include school-based and residential care, adult day and residential services, school and home-based consultation, professional development, graduate training programs and after school services. Maguire is also Melmark's primary liaison with statewide advocacy groups. Maguire writes curriculum for and leads conferences and trainings designed to improve the quality of ABA services for providers throughout the field. She has led and participated in Melmark’s Expert Speaker Series, presented at professional conferences across the country, conducted research to improve services and to advance the Melmark Model of Program Development and Clinical Treatment, and designed and led diversity seminars. Maguire has presented numerous papers on staff management and staff training techniques. She is an Adjunct Professor at Endicott College and the University of Massachusetts-Boston and also instructs a five-course graduate series on Applied Behavior Analysis. Maguire’s professional experience includes extensive work in the field of community based human service delivery systems in Massachusetts. Her clinical expertise and interests range from staff training and supervision issues at the practitioner and organizational levels, as well as the treatment of severe behavior challenges and working with parents, siblings and family groups to improve the lives of their loved ones. Maguire earned her Master of Science in Human Services Administration degree from the University of Massachusetts-Boston, Maguire received her Board Certification in Behavior Analysis (BCBA) in May 2002.

Andrew Shlesinger, MSW, LICSW

Director of Clinical Technology, Melmark New England

As Director of Clinical Technology at Melmark Inc., Andrew is responsible for the design, development, project management and maintenance of new and existing computer software solutions, databases, and other technological solutions serving the clinical needs of Melmark. He is continuously evaluating the latest technological and scientific developments across a wide array of fields with an eye toward integrating software and technology to improve clinical and academic outcomes. Andrew also manages the organization’s clinical data, ensuring it meets the needs of clinicians, regulatory bodies, researchers and the organization. Andrew earned his graduate degree from Boston University and undergraduate degree from Salem State University. In addition to 15 years of experience with Melmark New England, Andrew served 3 years at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in direct-care, systems analyses, research and process automation roles. Andrew also has many years of practical and management experience in the engineering field, where he led design teams in fields such as power generation and advanced x-ray technologies. Andrew is a recipient of the Bernice K. Snyder Award for Clinical Excellence and a lifetime inductee of the National Social Work Honors Society.

Byron Wine, PhD, BCBA-D, LBA

Chief Operating Officer at The Faison Center

Dr. Byron Wine is the chief operating officer at the Faison Center in Richmond, Virginia. Byron also holds an appointment as a visiting assistant professor at the University of Virginia, is the executive director of the OBMNetwork, and the senior area coordinator for OBM at ABAI. Byron has published over 30 peer-reviewed publications, primarily in the area of organizational behavior management. Currently, he serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management and Behavior Analysis in Practice. In 2019, he was presented with the outstanding contribution award from the Organizational Behavior Management Network.