Sophia Catania, M.ADS, BCBA
Clinical Director and Clinical Supervisor

Sophia has worked with children and young adults of all ages, with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other exceptionalities. Her experiences have spanned across a variety of settings, including home and centre-based programs, school consultations, community and vocational support, and adult day programs. She is a certified PEERS and Proloquo2Go Trainer, and has completed Level 2 Training in PECS and Level 2 Training in PEAK. Sophia started Best Behaviour Inc. in 2018, with the goal of providing the best service she could, with a team of dedicated independent contractors and employees who had the same goal in mind. She has always known that her future career would involve helping and working with children. ABA has proven to be the perfect avenue. Sophia completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour, her Master of Applied Disability Studies with a specialization in Applied Behaviour Analysis, and is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst. She is also an approved OAP Clinical Supervisor.
Sophia oversees all operations and services at Best Behaviour. She also provides BCBA supervision.

Natasha Walji, M.Sc, BCBA
Clinical Supervisor

Natasha has experience working with clients ranging from ages 2 to 25 in home, school, and community settings. Natasha's advocacy for client and family needs make her an asset to any team. Her attention to detail allows her to closely monitor client progress and ensure maximum gains are being made. She is especially interested in using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to increase the effectiveness of programming and training. Natasha completed her Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences, Master of Science in Family Relations and Human Development, a post-graduate course sequence in Applied Behaviour Analysis, and is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst. She is also an approved OAP Clinical Supervisor.
Natasha was one of our first senior team members, and has been a part of Best Behaviour since it began. She provides clinical supervision for our home and centre-based services in the Waterloo region and Hamilton area. She also provides BCBA and RBT supervision.

Emily Richard, M.Ed, BCBA
Senior Therapist

Emily has always enjoyed her time spent with individuals with developmental disabilities, even from a young age as she supported her family members diagnosed with ASD. Emily has experience working with a wide variety of children and young adults in home, community, and clinic settings. She enjoys spending time building relationships with each child she works with, while helping to support their development and watching them grow as individuals. Emily has completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, post-gradudate certificate in Autism and Behavioural Sciences, Master of Education with a specialization in Applied Behavior Analysis, and is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst.
Emily joined our senior team in 2024. She provides senior supervision for our home-based services in the Waterloo region.

Ruxy Dobrescu, M.ADS, BCBA
Senior Therapist

Growing up with first-hand experience of caring for loved ones with developmental disabilities is what inspired Ruxy to want to help other families overcome the challenges associated with it. While completing her undergraduate studies, she was drawn to ABA as a way to achieve this. Since then, Ruxy has worked with a wide variety of clients, from infants to young adults in centre, home, and community settings. Her favourite thing when meeting a new client is to see what improvements can be made to better their quality of life and expand their scope of learning. Ruxy completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and Master of Applied Disability Studies with a specialization in Applied Behaviour Analysis, and is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst.
Ruxy joined our senior team in 2022. She provides senior supervision for our home-based services in the Hamilton area.

Sydney Cancilla, M.ADS, BCBA
Senior Therapist

Sydney has experience working with youth and adults in home and community settings. She was first introduced to the field of ABA while working with children with developmental disabilities in recreational programs. She enjoys working towards meaningful and individualized goals that improve the quality of life of the clients and families that she works with. Sydney completed her Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience, and Master of Applied Disability Studies with a specialization in Applied Behaviour Analysis, and is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst.
Sydney joined our team as an ABA Therapist in 2021. She now provides senior supervision for our centre-based services in the Waterloo region.

Laura Rutty, M.Ed, BCBA
Operations and Development Coordinator

While completing her undergraduate studies, Laura found herself drawn to behavioural and organizational psychology, eventually finding ABA. She has experience working with children and adolescents with varying diagnoses in residential settings, as well as in-centre and in-home therapy settings. Laura loves how ABA breaks complex skills into small, manageable behaviours, making it easier for people to achieve their goals. She is passionate about delivering high quality ABA services, and recognizes that a big part of this requires the use of evidence-based positive behaviour strategies at the administrative level. Laura completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Master of Education in Applied Behaviour Analysis, and is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst.
Laura joined our team as an ABA Therapist in 2019, and has transitioned through various roles at the senior level. She is now responsible for creating and overseeing many of our organizational procedures and training/development plans, on a part-time basis.

Ashley Durnford, BA, RBT
ABA Therapist

Ashley has been working with children with complex needs for over 10 years. She has experience working in various therapeutic and educational roles, including child and youth worker, educational assistant, and early childhood educator. She has also provided ABA therapy in home and centre-based environments. Ashley enjoys watching her clients reach there full potential by setting new goals that are meaningful to themselves and their families. Ashley completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She is also a Registered Behaviour Technician. Ashley joined our team as an ABA Therapist in 2021.

Ivanna Ennett Martinez, BSc-candidate
ABA Therapist (on maternity leave)

Ivanna has enjoyed her time working with children in various community support roles. She is passionate about education and child development, and believes in the importance of creating supportive and enriching environments for children to thrive. She loves seeing the clients she works with accomplish their goals, and having fun at the same time! Ivanna is completing her Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She is also working on completing her Registered Behaviour Technician training. Ivanna joined our team as a co-op student in Spring 2022, and remained on a part-time basis while finishing up her coursework.

Kaitlyn Woods, BA, RBT
ABA Therapist (on maternity leave)

Kaitlyn has worked with children and young adults in various support roles across residential, school, and community settings. She became interested in ABA after completing a training course as part of a community support role. Kaitlyn enjoys working towards purposeful objectives with the children and families she supports, and recognizes the importance of identifying meaningful goals. She enjoys a challenge and loves finding new and creative ways to help her clients succeed. Kaitlyn completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She is also a Registered Behaviour Technician. Kaitlyn joined our team as an ABA Therapist in 2019.

Meagan Ashcroft
ABA Therapist

Meagan has worked in various roles supporting youth in the community and education settings, as a Child and Youth Worker and Educational Assistant. This has allowed her to work with many children of different abilities and skills. She enjoyed this so much that she began to work in the field of ABA to shift her focus to helping children in a therapeutic role. Meagan understands the importance of taking an individualized approach when it comes to teaching new skills and teaching coping strategies, and works hard to incorporate variety, creativity and learner preference in her sessions. Meagan completed her Advanced Diploma in Child and Youth Care. She also completed the 40-hour Registered Behaviour Technician training. Meagan joined our team as an ABA Therapist in 2023.

Nazret Temnewo, BA
ABA Therapist

Nazret has worked in various roles supporting children and youth with diverse needs. Working as a Child and Youth Counselor, she tailored her programning to the specific needs of the youth she supported, and found this very rewarding. She new she wanted to pursue a career that allowed her continue doing that kind of work. Nazret finds joy in cultivating safe environments that not only captivate each child's curiosity, but also fosters their growth. She believes her commitment to her work extends beyond a job; it's a calling to contribute positively to the development and well-being of the young minds she encounters everyday. Nazret completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Sexuality Marriage and Family Students, with a counselling specialization and a research-intensive component. She is also working on completing her Registered Behaviour Technician training. Nazret joined our team as an ABA Therapist in 2023.

Taylor Pollard, BA, MA-candidate
ABA Therapist

Tay realized from early on in her undergraduate degree her passion for helping youth reach their full potential. She believes in the advocacy of children who may have difficulty with or are unable to speak up for themselves, and loves seeing her clients develop the skills they need to build independence and confidence across all aspects of their life. Tay completed her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and is currently completing her Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology. She is also working on completing her Registered Behaviour Technician training. Tay joined our team as an ABA Therapist in 2023.