Dr. Serena Wieder is the Clinical Director and a founding member of the Profectum Foundation, dedicated to advancing the development and mental health of children, of all ages, including adolescents and adults with neurodivergent development and emotional challenges through interdisciplinary training and educational programs. She also co-founded the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders and was a Board Member of Zero to Three for 23 years. Dr. Wieder serves on various advisory boards to various programs serving infant mental health and other special needs.  Dr. Wieder also founded DIR-Israel, a training program that offers DIR Certificates, and provides consultation and training to many international and national programs.

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Wieder has pioneered important approaches to diagnosing and treating infants and toddlers with infant mental health and developmental disorders.  She co-created the DIR Model with Stanley Greenspan, edited two diagnostic manuals for infants and young children. Further, she created models for interdisciplinary post-graduate case based training and pioneered parent-mediated intervention for parents of neurodivergent children.

Dr. Wieder has co-chaired and organized national and international conferences integrating development, neuroscience and intervention approaches for over 20 years. Dr. Wieder also developed approaches to integrate visual-spatial knowledge to advance emotional and cognitive development.  Her research interests concern follow up studies of children on the autism spectrum who received DIR model interventions and the evaluation of training and educational programs. In addition, she serves as adjunct faculty at various universities including Bank Street , UCS Davis IMH Fellowship Program, and Adelphi.

Amongst her many publications Dr. Wieder co-authored Engaging Autism, The Child With Special Needs and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health with Stanley Greenspan, M.D. They also co-edited Infants in Multi-Risk Families as well as the ICDL Diagnostic Manual for Infants and Young Children (DMIC)/ She edited the original Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC 0-3) for Zero-Three. . Her chapters on the DIR Model appear in major textbooks on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Wieder also co- authored Visual Spatial Portals to Thinking, Feeling, and Movement with Harry Wachs, O.D. She has published numerous journal and book chapters and presents at multiple conferences nationally and internationally.

At this time, Dr. Serena Wieder also has a private practice in NYC for diagnosis, treatment and consultation regarding complex developmental and mental health challenges.

Sherri Cawn, M.A., CCC-SLP, Principal Speech Language Pathologist and Senior Clinical Adviser( formerly owner/clinical director of Cawn-Krantz and Associates) of The Positive Development Company is a leading practitioner of the DIRFloortime® model and trains clinicians in the US and overseas. Sherri is the author of two ASHA self-study DVD's as well as senior faculty/trainer of the Profectum Online Academy. She co-authored The Profectum Parent Tool Kit, that provides free web-based seminars to guiding families  in learning Floortime in the comfort of their home.

Linda Cervenka is a licensed Speech Language Pathologist and works primarily with children and adolescents with autistic spectrum and related disorders utilizing DIR® and development language models. She has a private practice in Riverside, Illinois providing mentoring, teaching, case management/guidance and direct service.   Linda is also co-founder of Soaring Eagle Academy, an Illinois State Board of Education approved school serving students 5 through 21 years of age with autism and related disorders.  She serves as an Expert Clinician/Trainer at the Academy.   Linda received her Bachelor's Degree from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, IL and her Master's Degree in Communicative Disorders from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has worked for over 35 years with children with special needs, in home based and clinic based therapeutic services and public and private schools providing consultation, training and support for children and families. Linda is a Senior Faculty member of Profectum and has presented nationally on the topic of developmental approaches to intervention for children.  Additionally, within the Academy and through private consultations, Linda helps parents/caregivers and school programs understand a developmental approach to dysregulation seeing the child’s actions as a stress response versus “behaviors” that are intentional and to avoid/escape learning.  The primary areas of support include training all stakeholders in the child’s developmental process including but not limited to the child’s language comprehension profile, recognizing and reading their subtle communicative intentions and understanding their individual sensory, affective and motor systems during a stress response. 

Lisa deFaria, MSW, LICSW, BCD is a Certified Senior Clinician and Profectum Founding Faculty member, with over 20 years of advanced training and clinical experience in the DIR® model and the DIRFloortime® developmental play therapy approach.

Lisa trained under Serena Wieder, PhD, and the late Stanley Greenspan, MD. She was previously on faculty with the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL) and was an Associate Professor with the ICDL Graduate PhD program in Early Childhood Development. Lisa has presented at national Profectum and ICDL training symposiums, in addition to regional agency, school and university speaking engagements related to child and parent development. She provides developmental programming consultation and in-service training focusing on pro-active and positive approaches for Early Start/Infant Intervention preschools, elementary/high school and inclusion programs. Lisa has and continues to provide reflective mentorship to advanced clinicians working in the model.

Formerly the founder and director of the Family Center for Developmental Therapies in Monterey, CA, Lisa has since relocated to Washington State. She currently has a private practice on Bainbridge Island, providing child and family-centered consultation and direct services utilizing DIR® and DIRFloortime® approach. While offering general psychotherapeutic services for children and teens, Lisa remains dedicated to focusing on supporting the growth and development of young children with neurodevelopmental challenges, including autism spectrum disorders, difficulties with self-regulation, attending and focusing and those with emerging emotional, behavioral and learning challenges.

Lisa has a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Southern California and holds dual licensure in California and Washington State as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW/LICSW) and is a Board-Certified Diplomat (BCD) in Clinical Social Work. Lisa is an accredited member of the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work, the National Association for Social Work, the Washington Society for Clinical Social Workers, and the Bainbridge Island Psychotherapy Guild.

www.lisadefaria.com

Karen McDowell is an educator with over 25 years experience working with the adolescent and young adult population. She is an assistant faculty member of Profectum Foundation and strives to implement a comprehensive developmental curriculum into both her classroom environment and therapy work. As a lead teacher and Young Adult Program Coordinator at Celebrate the Children school for 13 years, she has contributed to innovative curriculum and strategies with the unique needs of individuals in mind while promoting opportunities for growth and development in both group and individual settings. Karen facilitates a weekly young adult group for several years with intensive focus on social and emotional strengths and challenges. Areas of interest and study include executive functioning, visual spatial processing, emotional regulation, and problem solving and she has provided workshops around the country on these developmental areas. Karen strives to provide programs that entice thinking, collaborative problem solving, effective communication, and positive coping strategies to support success, independence, meaningful and fulfilling experiences, and happiness within the demands of the 21st century.

Celebrate the Children’s founder, Monica G. Osgood, is an experienced behavioral consultant and therapist who specializes in using developmental approaches to support children with autism and other differences in relating and communicating. She is also the Founder and Director of the Developmental Center for Children and Families (Limitless), a Board Member and founding member of the Profectum Foundation, and a Board Member and founding member of Celebrate the Individual (CTI). Monica has worked in homes, therapy centers, and private and public school settings for over 20 years. Some of her experience has included assessment and the development of intervention programs, curriculum and IEP development, and parent and professional training.

In 1998, Monica created the first public school program with the Developmental Individual Relationship-based (DIR model) approach as the core philosophy. ​In 2000, she was the first educator to join the senior faculty of the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning(ICDL) to provide interdisciplinary training in the DIR model. During her time with ICDL, Monica served as faculty for all of their yearly training institutes, spoke at many of their conferences and had the opportunity to work closely and collaborate with Drs. Greenspan and Wieder to further develop the DIR model in school settings. ​In 2004, she collaborated with Lauren Blaszak to open a state-approved, DIR model school for children ages 3-21 in Denville, New Jersey, now serving over 70 school districts and 150 families.

Additional accomplishments include, many speaking engagements at conferences and participation in television, radio and newspaper interviews across the USA, Wales, Ireland and Amsterdam. Monica has appeared on Welsh Channel 4 and BBC1 documentaries, sharing the DIR model approach with British parents and professionals. Monica and the Celebrate the Children school were featured in a TIME Magazine cover story in May of 2006. ​She serves on the Advisory Board for 3LPlace and the National Advisory Council for The Centers for Exceptional Children​.  Monica also serves on the Economic Development Advisory Council and the Sustainable Economic Development Plan Steering Committee for her local Town Council. Finally, she collaborated with twice Grammy nominated children’s artists Dan Myers and Brady Rymer on an album and music video celebrating diversity in children with all abilities released April 2011.

Michele is a licensed speech and language pathologist, who works primarily with children diagnosed on the autistic spectrum. Michele is one of three founders of Soaring Eagle Academy, a school for children with special needs that utilizes developmental language intervention and the DIR® model. In addition, she has a private practice in the western suburbs of Chicago. Michele has a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Northwestern University (1995).

Karen McDowell is an educator with over 25 years experience working with the adolescent and young adult population. She is an assistant faculty member of Profectum Foundation and strives to implement a comprehensive developmental curriculum into both her classroom environment and therapy work. As a lead teacher and Young Adult Program Coordinator at Celebrate the Children school for 13 years, she has contributed to innovative curriculum and strategies with the unique needs of individuals in mind while promoting opportunities for growth and development in both group and individual settings. Karen facilitates a weekly young adult group for several years with intensive focus on social and emotional strengths and challenges. Areas of interest and study include executive functioning, visual spatial processing, emotional regulation, and problem solving and she has provided workshops around the country on these developmental areas. Karen strives to provide programs that entice thinking, collaborative problem solving, effective communication, and positive coping strategies to support success, independence, meaningful and fulfilling experiences, and happiness within the demands of the 21st century.

Sherri Cawn, M.A., CCC-SLP, Principal Speech Language Pathologist and Senior Clinical Adviser( formerly owner/clinical director of Cawn-Krantz and Associates) of The Positive Development Company is a leading practitioner of the DIRFloortime® model and trains clinicians in the US and overseas. Sherri is the author of two ASHA self-study DVD's as well as senior faculty/trainer of the Profectum Online Academy. She co-authored The Profectum Parent Tool Kit, that provides free web-based seminars to guiding families  in learning Floortime in the comfort of their home.

Lisa deFaria, MSW, LICSW, BCD is a Certified Senior Clinician and Profectum Founding Faculty member, with over 20 years of advanced training and clinical experience in the DIR® model and the DIRFloortime® developmental play therapy approach.

Lisa trained under Serena Wieder, PhD, and the late Stanley Greenspan, MD. She was previously on faculty with the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL) and was an Associate Professor with the ICDL Graduate PhD program in Early Childhood Development. Lisa has presented at national Profectum and ICDL training symposiums, in addition to regional agency, school and university speaking engagements related to child and parent development. She provides developmental programming consultation and in-service training focusing on pro-active and positive approaches for Early Start/Infant Intervention preschools, elementary/high school and inclusion programs. Lisa has and continues to provide reflective mentorship to advanced clinicians working in the model.

Formerly the founder and director of the Family Center for Developmental Therapies in Monterey, CA, Lisa has since relocated to Washington State. She currently has a private practice on Bainbridge Island, providing child and family-centered consultation and direct services utilizing DIR® and DIRFloortime® approach. While offering general psychotherapeutic services for children and teens, Lisa remains dedicated to focusing on supporting the growth and development of young children with neurodevelopmental challenges, including autism spectrum disorders, difficulties with self-regulation, attending and focusing and those with emerging emotional, behavioral and learning challenges.

Lisa has a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Southern California and holds dual licensure in California and Washington State as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW/LICSW) and is a Board-Certified Diplomat (BCD) in Clinical Social Work. Lisa is an accredited member of the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work, the National Association for Social Work, the Washington Society for Clinical Social Workers, and the Bainbridge Island Psychotherapy Guild.

www.lisadefaria.com

Celebrate the Children’s founder, Monica G. Osgood, is an experienced behavioral consultant and therapist who specializes in using developmental approaches to support children with autism and other differences in relating and communicating. She is also the Founder and Director of the Developmental Center for Children and Families (Limitless), a Board Member and founding member of the Profectum Foundation, and a Board Member and founding member of Celebrate the Individual (CTI). Monica has worked in homes, therapy centers, and private and public school settings for over 20 years. Some of her experience has included assessment and the development of intervention programs, curriculum and IEP development, and parent and professional training.

In 1998, Monica created the first public school program with the Developmental Individual Relationship-based (DIR model) approach as the core philosophy. ​In 2000, she was the first educator to join the senior faculty of the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning(ICDL) to provide interdisciplinary training in the DIR model. During her time with ICDL, Monica served as faculty for all of their yearly training institutes, spoke at many of their conferences and had the opportunity to work closely and collaborate with Drs. Greenspan and Wieder to further develop the DIR model in school settings. ​In 2004, she collaborated with Lauren Blaszak to open a state-approved, DIR model school for children ages 3-21 in Denville, New Jersey, now serving over 70 school districts and 150 families.

Additional accomplishments include, many speaking engagements at conferences and participation in television, radio and newspaper interviews across the USA, Wales, Ireland and Amsterdam. Monica has appeared on Welsh Channel 4 and BBC1 documentaries, sharing the DIR model approach with British parents and professionals. Monica and the Celebrate the Children school were featured in a TIME Magazine cover story in May of 2006. ​She serves on the Advisory Board for 3LPlace and the National Advisory Council for The Centers for Exceptional Children​.  Monica also serves on the Economic Development Advisory Council and the Sustainable Economic Development Plan Steering Committee for her local Town Council. Finally, she collaborated with twice Grammy nominated children’s artists Dan Myers and Brady Rymer on an album and music video celebrating diversity in children with all abilities released April 2011.

Lynn Abelson is a speech-language pathologist at Therapy Associates, and early intervention system comprehensive agency. She provides speech-language intervention to neurodiverse toddlers in their home and daycare settings and partners with their caregivers. Lynn also provides private DIR®-based speech-language intervention to children with developmental differences and works closely with their families. She has extensive experience in DIR® program development, leadership, and staff training at The Phoenix Center, a special education school that serves students ages 5-21. She was a speech language specialist and DIR® program manager at this school for 19 years. Additionally, Lynn is a Senior Faculty member of Profectum and a member of its Faculty Promotion Committee.

Linda Cervenka is a licensed Speech Language Pathologist and works primarily with children and adolescents with autistic spectrum and related disorders utilizing DIR® and development language models. She has a private practice in Riverside, Illinois providing mentoring, teaching, case management/guidance and direct service.   Linda is also co-founder of Soaring Eagle Academy, an Illinois State Board of Education approved school serving students 5 through 21 years of age with autism and related disorders.  She serves as an Expert Clinician/Trainer at the Academy.   Linda received her Bachelor's Degree from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, IL and her Master's Degree in Communicative Disorders from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has worked for over 35 years with children with special needs, in home based and clinic based therapeutic services and public and private schools providing consultation, training and support for children and families. Linda is a Senior Faculty member of Profectum and has presented nationally on the topic of developmental approaches to intervention for children.  Additionally, within the Academy and through private consultations, Linda helps parents/caregivers and school programs understand a developmental approach to dysregulation seeing the child’s actions as a stress response versus “behaviors” that are intentional and to avoid/escape learning.  The primary areas of support include training all stakeholders in the child’s developmental process including but not limited to the child’s language comprehension profile, recognizing and reading their subtle communicative intentions and understanding their individual sensory, affective and motor systems during a stress response. 

Celebrate the Children’s founder, Monica G. Osgood, is an experienced behavioral consultant and therapist who specializes in using developmental approaches to support children with autism and other differences in relating and communicating. She is also the Founder and Director of the Developmental Center for Children and Families (Limitless), a Board Member and founding member of the Profectum Foundation, and a Board Member and founding member of Celebrate the Individual (CTI). Monica has worked in homes, therapy centers, and private and public school settings for over 20 years. Some of her experience has included assessment and the development of intervention programs, curriculum and IEP development, and parent and professional training.

In 1998, Monica created the first public school program with the Developmental Individual Relationship-based (DIR model) approach as the core philosophy. ​In 2000, she was the first educator to join the senior faculty of the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning(ICDL) to provide interdisciplinary training in the DIR model. During her time with ICDL, Monica served as faculty for all of their yearly training institutes, spoke at many of their conferences and had the opportunity to work closely and collaborate with Drs. Greenspan and Wieder to further develop the DIR model in school settings. ​In 2004, she collaborated with Lauren Blaszak to open a state-approved, DIR model school for children ages 3-21 in Denville, New Jersey, now serving over 70 school districts and 150 families.

Additional accomplishments include, many speaking engagements at conferences and participation in television, radio and newspaper interviews across the USA, Wales, Ireland and Amsterdam. Monica has appeared on Welsh Channel 4 and BBC1 documentaries, sharing the DIR model approach with British parents and professionals. Monica and the Celebrate the Children school were featured in a TIME Magazine cover story in May of 2006. ​She serves on the Advisory Board for 3LPlace and the National Advisory Council for The Centers for Exceptional Children​.  Monica also serves on the Economic Development Advisory Council and the Sustainable Economic Development Plan Steering Committee for her local Town Council. Finally, she collaborated with twice Grammy nominated children’s artists Dan Myers and Brady Rymer on an album and music video celebrating diversity in children with all abilities released April 2011.

Michele is a licensed speech and language pathologist, who works primarily with children diagnosed on the autistic spectrum. Michele is one of three founders of Soaring Eagle Academy, a school for children with special needs that utilizes developmental language intervention and the DIR® model. In addition, she has a private practice in the western suburbs of Chicago. Michele has a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Northwestern University (1995).

Susan Smith-Foley, OTD, MPA, OTR/L is the Clinical Director of Positive Development’s Cherry Hill and Lakewood, NJ Therapy Centers. She has expertise on the provision of transdisciplinary DIR®/DRBI services and frequently lectures on this topic. Susan is passionate about integrating the DIR® model into school and community settings. She completed a post-professional doctoral degree in Occupational Therapy (OTD) at The University of Kansas Medical Center in December 2018. Susan is a Senior Faculty member of Profectum Academy.

Lynn Abelson is a speech-language pathologist at Therapy Associates, and early intervention system comprehensive agency. She provides speech-language intervention to neurodiverse toddlers in their home and daycare settings and partners with their caregivers. Lynn also provides private DIR®-based speech-language intervention to children with developmental differences and works closely with their families. She has extensive experience in DIR® program development, leadership, and staff training at The Phoenix Center, a special education school that serves students ages 5-21. She was a speech language specialist and DIR® program manager at this school for 19 years. Additionally, Lynn is a Senior Faculty member of Profectum and a member of its Faculty Promotion Committee.

Dr. Michele Havens received her Ed.D. degree from Rutgers University, is certified in DIRFloortime® and is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She is a DIRFloortime® Consultant at Imagine Academy, a Brooklyn ABA/DIR® program. Dr. Havens is Professor Emeritus from Kean University, Montclair State University and Daemen College, advocate and private interventionist for children with special needs, and Autism parent support group. Facilitator.  Dr. Havens was previously the coordinator of the Verona, NJ Preschool Disabled Program.

Susan Smith-Foley, OTD, MPA, OTR/L is the Clinical Director of Positive Development’s Cherry Hill and Lakewood, NJ Therapy Centers. She has expertise on the provision of transdisciplinary DIR®/DRBI services and frequently lectures on this topic. Susan is passionate about integrating the DIR® model into school and community settings. She completed a post-professional doctoral degree in Occupational Therapy (OTD) at The University of Kansas Medical Center in December 2018. Susan is a Senior Faculty member of Profectum Academy.

Karen McDowell is an educator with over 25 years experience working with the adolescent and young adult population. She is an assistant faculty member of Profectum Foundation and strives to implement a comprehensive developmental curriculum into both her classroom environment and therapy work. As a lead teacher and Young Adult Program Coordinator at Celebrate the Children school for 13 years, she has contributed to innovative curriculum and strategies with the unique needs of individuals in mind while promoting opportunities for growth and development in both group and individual settings. Karen facilitates a weekly young adult group for several years with intensive focus on social and emotional strengths and challenges. Areas of interest and study include executive functioning, visual spatial processing, emotional regulation, and problem solving and she has provided workshops around the country on these developmental areas. Karen strives to provide programs that entice thinking, collaborative problem solving, effective communication, and positive coping strategies to support success, independence, meaningful and fulfilling experiences, and happiness within the demands of the 21st century.

Sherri Cawn, M.A., CCC-SLP, Principal Speech Language Pathologist and Senior Clinical Adviser( formerly owner/clinical director of Cawn-Krantz and Associates) of The Positive Development Company is a leading practitioner of the DIRFloortime® model and trains clinicians in the US and overseas. Sherri is the author of two ASHA self-study DVD's as well as senior faculty/trainer of the Profectum Online Academy. She co-authored The Profectum Parent Tool Kit, that provides free web-based seminars to guiding families  in learning Floortime in the comfort of their home.

Lisa deFaria, MSW, LICSW, BCD is a Certified Senior Clinician and Profectum Founding Faculty member, with over 20 years of advanced training and clinical experience in the DIR® model and the DIRFloortime® developmental play therapy approach.

Lisa trained under Serena Wieder, PhD, and the late Stanley Greenspan, MD. She was previously on faculty with the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL) and was an Associate Professor with the ICDL Graduate PhD program in Early Childhood Development. Lisa has presented at national Profectum and ICDL training symposiums, in addition to regional agency, school and university speaking engagements related to child and parent development. She provides developmental programming consultation and in-service training focusing on pro-active and positive approaches for Early Start/Infant Intervention preschools, elementary/high school and inclusion programs. Lisa has and continues to provide reflective mentorship to advanced clinicians working in the model.

Formerly the founder and director of the Family Center for Developmental Therapies in Monterey, CA, Lisa has since relocated to Washington State. She currently has a private practice on Bainbridge Island, providing child and family-centered consultation and direct services utilizing DIR® and DIRFloortime® approach. While offering general psychotherapeutic services for children and teens, Lisa remains dedicated to focusing on supporting the growth and development of young children with neurodevelopmental challenges, including autism spectrum disorders, difficulties with self-regulation, attending and focusing and those with emerging emotional, behavioral and learning challenges.

Lisa has a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Southern California and holds dual licensure in California and Washington State as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW/LICSW) and is a Board-Certified Diplomat (BCD) in Clinical Social Work. Lisa is an accredited member of the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work, the National Association for Social Work, the Washington Society for Clinical Social Workers, and the Bainbridge Island Psychotherapy Guild.

www.lisadefaria.com

Celebrate the Children’s founder, Monica G. Osgood, is an experienced behavioral consultant and therapist who specializes in using developmental approaches to support children with autism and other differences in relating and communicating. She is also the Founder and Director of the Developmental Center for Children and Families (Limitless), a Board Member and founding member of the Profectum Foundation, and a Board Member and founding member of Celebrate the Individual (CTI). Monica has worked in homes, therapy centers, and private and public school settings for over 20 years. Some of her experience has included assessment and the development of intervention programs, curriculum and IEP development, and parent and professional training.

In 1998, Monica created the first public school program with the Developmental Individual Relationship-based (DIR model) approach as the core philosophy. ​In 2000, she was the first educator to join the senior faculty of the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning(ICDL) to provide interdisciplinary training in the DIR model. During her time with ICDL, Monica served as faculty for all of their yearly training institutes, spoke at many of their conferences and had the opportunity to work closely and collaborate with Drs. Greenspan and Wieder to further develop the DIR model in school settings. ​In 2004, she collaborated with Lauren Blaszak to open a state-approved, DIR model school for children ages 3-21 in Denville, New Jersey, now serving over 70 school districts and 150 families.

Additional accomplishments include, many speaking engagements at conferences and participation in television, radio and newspaper interviews across the USA, Wales, Ireland and Amsterdam. Monica has appeared on Welsh Channel 4 and BBC1 documentaries, sharing the DIR model approach with British parents and professionals. Monica and the Celebrate the Children school were featured in a TIME Magazine cover story in May of 2006. ​She serves on the Advisory Board for 3LPlace and the National Advisory Council for The Centers for Exceptional Children​.  Monica also serves on the Economic Development Advisory Council and the Sustainable Economic Development Plan Steering Committee for her local Town Council. Finally, she collaborated with twice Grammy nominated children’s artists Dan Myers and Brady Rymer on an album and music video celebrating diversity in children with all abilities released April 2011.

Nora D’Angiola is a speech-language pathologist from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has specialized in psycholinsguitiscs, in language development and language disorders, in programs of transdisciplinary Assessment and Intervention in early childhood and in particular, in working with infants and children with pervasive developmental disorders. She has experience as a clinician as well as a university professor and researcher, both in Argentina as in the USA, where she has resided for more than 15 years. Nora has been an attending clinician at Children’s Hospital in Buenos Aires and has been on the staff at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, CA, and at the Pasadena Unified School District, CA. She has been a professor at UMSA (Universidad del Museo Social Argentino) in Buenos Aires, at CSUN (California State University, Northridge, CA ) and has been a research assistant at NPI, UCLA.

Nora is a member of ASHA (American Speech and hearing Association). She holds a DIR® Certificate and served as a Training Leader at ICDL. She has co-coordinated numerous trainings in the DIRFloortime® in Argentina, both at FLENI and at UAI (Universidad Abierta Interamericana), in Buenos Aires and across the country. She provides DIR® model-based interventions to children and their families and supervises and consults with professional teams working with children with special needs. She is a visiting professor at UMSA.

Regina has worked in special education for 19 years. She has been at Celebrate the Children School in Denville NJ for the past 12 years where she has received much guidance and training from Monica Osgood and Stanley Greenspan. She supports a wide range of students and classrooms through intensive floortime and the 5 C’s developing individual goals for students and supporting staff. She assesses new and prospective students and helps to create and implement a developmentally appropriate plan to progress students emotionally, academically and behaviorally. She has consulted and offered support and guidance to local public schools within the developmental approach. She has helped to organize Profectum conferences throughout the country since 2011. Regina currently resides in Cranberry Lake / Byram NJ where she enjoys swimming and hiking with her dog “Garcia.”

Lisa deFaria, MSW, LICSW, BCD is a Certified Senior Clinician and Profectum Founding Faculty member, with over 20 years of advanced training and clinical experience in the DIR® model and the DIRFloortime® developmental play therapy approach.

Lisa trained under Serena Wieder, PhD, and the late Stanley Greenspan, MD. She was previously on faculty with the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL) and was an Associate Professor with the ICDL Graduate PhD program in Early Childhood Development. Lisa has presented at national Profectum and ICDL training symposiums, in addition to regional agency, school and university speaking engagements related to child and parent development. She provides developmental programming consultation and in-service training focusing on pro-active and positive approaches for Early Start/Infant Intervention preschools, elementary/high school and inclusion programs. Lisa has and continues to provide reflective mentorship to advanced clinicians working in the model.

Formerly the founder and director of the Family Center for Developmental Therapies in Monterey, CA, Lisa has since relocated to Washington State. She currently has a private practice on Bainbridge Island, providing child and family-centered consultation and direct services utilizing DIR® and DIRFloortime® approach. While offering general psychotherapeutic services for children and teens, Lisa remains dedicated to focusing on supporting the growth and development of young children with neurodevelopmental challenges, including autism spectrum disorders, difficulties with self-regulation, attending and focusing and those with emerging emotional, behavioral and learning challenges.

Lisa has a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Southern California and holds dual licensure in California and Washington State as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW/LICSW) and is a Board-Certified Diplomat (BCD) in Clinical Social Work. Lisa is an accredited member of the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work, the National Association for Social Work, the Washington Society for Clinical Social Workers, and the Bainbridge Island Psychotherapy Guild.

www.lisadefaria.com

Regina has worked in special education for 19 years. She has been at Celebrate the Children School in Denville NJ for the past 12 years where she has received much guidance and training from Monica Osgood and Stanley Greenspan. She supports a wide range of students and classrooms through intensive floortime and the 5 C’s developing individual goals for students and supporting staff. She assesses new and prospective students and helps to create and implement a developmentally appropriate plan to progress students emotionally, academically and behaviorally. She has consulted and offered support and guidance to local public schools within the developmental approach. She has helped to organize Profectum conferences throughout the country since 2011. Regina currently resides in Cranberry Lake / Byram NJ where she enjoys swimming and hiking with her dog “Garcia.”

Celebrate the Children’s founder, Monica G. Osgood, is an experienced behavioral consultant and therapist who specializes in using developmental approaches to support children with autism and other differences in relating and communicating. She is also the Founder and Director of the Developmental Center for Children and Families (Limitless), a Board Member and founding member of the Profectum Foundation, and a Board Member and founding member of Celebrate the Individual (CTI). Monica has worked in homes, therapy centers, and private and public school settings for over 20 years. Some of her experience has included assessment and the development of intervention programs, curriculum and IEP development, and parent and professional training.

In 1998, Monica created the first public school program with the Developmental Individual Relationship-based (DIR model) approach as the core philosophy. ​In 2000, she was the first educator to join the senior faculty of the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning(ICDL) to provide interdisciplinary training in the DIR model. During her time with ICDL, Monica served as faculty for all of their yearly training institutes, spoke at many of their conferences and had the opportunity to work closely and collaborate with Drs. Greenspan and Wieder to further develop the DIR model in school settings. ​In 2004, she collaborated with Lauren Blaszak to open a state-approved, DIR model school for children ages 3-21 in Denville, New Jersey, now serving over 70 school districts and 150 families.

Additional accomplishments include, many speaking engagements at conferences and participation in television, radio and newspaper interviews across the USA, Wales, Ireland and Amsterdam. Monica has appeared on Welsh Channel 4 and BBC1 documentaries, sharing the DIR model approach with British parents and professionals. Monica and the Celebrate the Children school were featured in a TIME Magazine cover story in May of 2006. ​She serves on the Advisory Board for 3LPlace and the National Advisory Council for The Centers for Exceptional Children​.  Monica also serves on the Economic Development Advisory Council and the Sustainable Economic Development Plan Steering Committee for her local Town Council. Finally, she collaborated with twice Grammy nominated children’s artists Dan Myers and Brady Rymer on an album and music video celebrating diversity in children with all abilities released April 2011.

Celebrate the Children’s founder, Monica G. Osgood, is an experienced behavioral consultant and therapist who specializes in using developmental approaches to support children with autism and other differences in relating and communicating. She is also the Founder and Director of the Developmental Center for Children and Families (Limitless), a Board Member and founding member of the Profectum Foundation, and a Board Member and founding member of Celebrate the Individual (CTI). Monica has worked in homes, therapy centers, and private and public school settings for over 20 years. Some of her experience has included assessment and the development of intervention programs, curriculum and IEP development, and parent and professional training.

In 1998, Monica created the first public school program with the Developmental Individual Relationship-based (DIR model) approach as the core philosophy. ​In 2000, she was the first educator to join the senior faculty of the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning(ICDL) to provide interdisciplinary training in the DIR model. During her time with ICDL, Monica served as faculty for all of their yearly training institutes, spoke at many of their conferences and had the opportunity to work closely and collaborate with Drs. Greenspan and Wieder to further develop the DIR model in school settings. ​In 2004, she collaborated with Lauren Blaszak to open a state-approved, DIR model school for children ages 3-21 in Denville, New Jersey, now serving over 70 school districts and 150 families.

Additional accomplishments include, many speaking engagements at conferences and participation in television, radio and newspaper interviews across the USA, Wales, Ireland and Amsterdam. Monica has appeared on Welsh Channel 4 and BBC1 documentaries, sharing the DIR model approach with British parents and professionals. Monica and the Celebrate the Children school were featured in a TIME Magazine cover story in May of 2006. ​She serves on the Advisory Board for 3LPlace and the National Advisory Council for The Centers for Exceptional Children​.  Monica also serves on the Economic Development Advisory Council and the Sustainable Economic Development Plan Steering Committee for her local Town Council. Finally, she collaborated with twice Grammy nominated children’s artists Dan Myers and Brady Rymer on an album and music video celebrating diversity in children with all abilities released April 2011.