Meet our Staff
Administrative Director:
Courtney Deal, MS, BCBA
cdeal@paxtoncampus.org
Courtney Deal, MS, BCBA is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who began her career in 1999 while working at a Lovaas replication site in Raleigh, NC (Meredith Autism Program). Since 1999, she has worked in various settings from in-home services (Project 12-Ways, Carbondale, IL) to schools and residential settings. She received her Master’s in Behavior Analysis and Therapy from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Courtney’s professional interests include working with children and families, skill training, organizational behavior management and staff training.
Program Directors:
David Roth
droth@paxtoncampus.org
David started his career as an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Therapist delivering home instruction in 2002 and began working at The Aurora School in 2004. He was promoted to the Training Coordinator position at Aurora in 2006, specializing in training other therapists and differentiating curricula for individual student needs. David was promoted to Program Director in 2008.
David is passionate in his studies of Skinner’s analysis of Verbal Behavior and implementing its principles in the development of language in children with Autism and other related disabilities. David specializes in implementing the Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP) and has participated in the collection of field-test data for Dr. Sundberg’s ABAI 2009 Intraverbal tutorial.
Laura Steiner, M.Ed., BCBA
lsteiner@paxtoncampus.org
Laura Steiner, M.Ed., BCBA, received her Master of Education degree from the University of Pittsburgh. She majored in Early Intervention with a specialization in autism and Applied Behavior Analysis. Laura is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and currently holds a provisional teaching license in Early Childhood Special Education. Laura has worked with children providing services in home as well as in the private school settings since 2005 in both Pennsylvania and Fairfax County prior to joining the staff at The Aurora School. Laura is an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University and currently supervises BACB candidates.
Molly Coyle, M.S. Ed. BCBA
mcoyle@paxtoncampus.org
Molly has been working in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis since 2004. She started working as an ABA therapist with the early childhood intervention population in Philadelphia. During this time Molly received her Masters from Temple University and also became a Board Certified Behaviora Analyst. After spending 5 years in early intervention, Molly started workign at Bancroft's Lindens program in Haddonfield, N.J. The Lindens is a residential treatment facility for individuals ages 5 to 22 with severe problem behaviors. In 2011, Molly moved to Washington, D.C. and began working here as a Program Director for Aurora. Her research interests include functional analysis, feeding, and verbal behavior.
Case Managers:
Kendra McDonald, BS, BCABA
kmcdonald@paxtoncampus.org
Kendra began her career in behavior analysis after her son was diagnosed with autism in 2002. Following the successful implementation of his home program, she worked as an in-home ABA therapist for other families affected with autism. She completed her graduate coursework from UMASS Lowell and secured her BCABA in 2010. She is enrolled in the Masters of Psychology (BCBA Foundation) Program at The Chicago School of Psychology. She also currently holds a provisional special education teacher license. Kendra emphasizes the principles of verbal behavior across all teaching opportunities including communication, social skills, and academics.
Eunjoo Lee, M.Ed, BCABA
elee@paxtoncampus.org
EJ Lee, M. Ed, is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Virginia licensed teacher who completed her BS in Applied Behavior Science with a specialty in autism at the University of Kansas. She began working with children with autism in an early intervention center and home programs in 2005. She received her Masters of Education degree in Special Education from the University of Kansas. She completed her student teaching in an inclusive preschool and an intervention center for children with visual impairment, implementing principles of Applied Behavior Analysis. Her interests are in discrete trial teaching techniques, early intervention and functional behavior assessment. She joined the Aurora School as a case manager in 2009. She is eligible to sit for the Board Certified Behavior Analyst exam.
Abby Potts, M.Ed.
Abby began her career in special education in 2006, and has experience instructing children with disabilities in both the general and adapted curricula at the elementary and secondary levels. She received her Master of Education degree from George Mason University in 2009, and holds a Virginia teaching license with endorsements in Emotional Disabilities, Learning Disabilities, Mental Retardation, and Severe Disabilities. Prior to joining The Aurora School, Abby gained experience in implementing applied behavior analysis techniques as an ABA therapist delivering home instruction from 2008-2011. Abby is currently enrolled in the Applied Behavior Analysis graduate certificate program at George Mason University.
Occupational Therapist:
Michelle Woolwine, MS, OT/L
mwoolwine@paxtoncampus.org
Michelle received her Masters Degree in Occupational Therapy from Shenandoah University and maintains her professional license through the Virginia Board of Medicine. She has ten years experience working with children with disabilities in the public schools, an outpatient clinic, and as the Occupational Therapist with The Aurora School. Michelle specializes in sensory integration therapy, handwriting, and oral motor/feeding therapy. She is a certified Interactive Metronome provider and has completed formal training in Beckman Oral Motor Techniques. She has been with Aurora since 2006 and provides individual and group therapy to our students.
Speech Language Pathologist:
Melissa Fagan, MS
mfagan@paxtoncampus.org
Melissa Fagan received her Masters Degree in Communication Disorders from Central Michigan University. Since then she has worked in a variety of settings including home-based programs, early intervention, public schools, and private schools. She was introduced to the principals of ABA while working at a residential school for children with autism in New England. She has experience working with all levels of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) including picture exchange and dynamic display devices. She maintains her Certificate of Clinical Competence from ASHA, Virginia Board of Speech Language Pathologist License, and Commonwealth of Virginia Pupil Personnel Services License.
Testing Coordinator:
Katie Loudermilk, BA
kloudermilk@paxtoncampus.org
Katie holds a BA in Psychology with an emphasis on Child Psychology and a minor in Art from Oral Roberts University. She has worked with special needs children for over twenty years in various capacities from Adolescent Counselor on a psychiatric unit to Certified Art Instructor with a local art school. Katie has two passions in her life, children and art. She has used art to help reach children with and without disabilities and to teach them to express themselves. She believes all people have a basic need to create, and art offers a wonderful outlet to achieve this goal. Children with autism have difficulty expressing themselves using words; art gives them a quiet avenue to express and explore who they are. It is her goal to combine Verbal Behavior with her vast experience with art to enhance the lives and learning experience of the children of The Aurora School.
Aside from Katie's duties as the Art Instructor and she holds the position of The Aurora School Training Coordinator. Katie acts as a liaison between the different county school boards and using her creativity, she develops and implements each students VAAP, SOL and VGLA goals
Family Support Coordinator:
Danielle Everhart, M.Ed.
deverhart@paxtoncampus.org
Danielle Everhart is an ABA Therapist and also leads a social skills group at the Aurora School . She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Towson University in Maryland and a Master of Education degree in Counseling and Development from George Mason University. She has over seven years experience working with children with autism and other special needs. She is currently pursuing her BCBA certification. Danielle enjoys working with children, seeing their progress and helping them reach their fullest potential.
