Phone: 718.554.1027 Email: info@brooklynautismcenter.org    

Faculty

  • Jana Levin

    Executive Director

    Jana has over 20 year’s experience working in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. She has been the Executive Director at BAC for the past 7 years, and before that was a founding Board Member. She's responsible for providing direction and leadership toward the achievement of the organization's overall philosophy and mission. Jana designs and implements the strategic goals of the organization; including raising awareness of the school, revenue generation, financial management, organizational development, staff management and program operations. She oversees the organization's daily operations and internal processes to create efficient and effective systems. She develops and oversees the overall marketing and communications strategy including media relations, branding, awareness, and fundraising initiatives. She holds a B.A. in Sociology and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter Jessie, a proud volunteer in BAC's after-school peer socialization program.

     

  • Julie Russell, M.S., BCBA, LBA-NY

    Educational Director

    Julie has over 15 year’s experience working with children with autism and related developmental differences in centers, schools, school districts and home-based programs. She has been the Educational Director for the past 7 years. She oversees all aspects of curriculum development, staff training, research, development of behavior intervention plans, and ensures the overall quality and effectiveness of the day-to-day education and treatment of the students at BAC. Julie holds an M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts and received her BCBA in 2009. Julie received her supervision hours (meeting requirements for board certification in behavior analysis) by Dr. Nathan Blenkush, Ph.D., BCBA from JRC in Boston, Massachusetts. She was a Clinical Supervisor at ACES (Center for Applied Behavior Analysis) in San Diego California and Clinical Supervisor at the ELIJA School in Levittown, NY.

     

  • Tom Cleary

    Director of Operations

    Tom holds a B.A. from Lehigh University where he graduated with honors. At Lehigh, Tom studied Accounting, Economics, and International Relations. He also worked as a Resident Adviser and Tutor. Prior to joining BAC, Tom spent several years in the financial services industry. 

  • Bianca Bocconi

    Administrative Support Manager

    Bianca graduated from Brooklyn College with a BA in Psychology and her MSED in School Counseling. She began working in the ABA field at Thursday’s Child, providing early intervention services, and later taught and provided vocational training to high school aged students with Autism. Bianca also provided ABA home care to students through a private agency. 

  • Juliet Grillo, M.S., BCBA

    Associate Educational Director

    Juliet graduated from Rutgers University with a B.A. in Psychology and has an M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis. Before working at Brooklyn Autism Center, she worked at Manhattan Children’s Center for 5 years. During that time she worked in the classroom and as part of the Vocational and Transition team for the students in the upper school.

  • Andrea Delgado, M.S., BCBA, LBA-NY

    Associate Director of Staff Training

    Andrea graduated from Loyola University with a B.A. in Psychology. While studying in Baltimore, she interned at Kennedy Krieger Institute as a Behavioral Data Specialist and gained experience working with children with autism. Andrea received her M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism through the Sage Colleges.

  • Taylor Gonzalez

    Clinical Supervisor

    Taylor has her B.S. in Family Science with a concentration in Special Education from the University of Maryland. She coordinates the BAC Friends afterschool peer socialization program in addition to her role as a behavioral instructor. Prior to working at BAC, Taylor worked with children on the autism spectrum at the Developmental Disabilities Institute, an intermediate school on Long Island. 

  • Danielle Sliman

    Clinical Supervisor

    Danielle graduated from The Ohio State University with a B.S. in Human Development & Family Science. Before joining BAC, she worked at Total Education Solutions in Ohio where she provided center-based ABA services as well as in-home programs working with children on the spectrum. Danielle is currently pursuing her Master's degree from the Sage Colleges as well as her national certification.

  • Jessica DeFranco, M.S.

    Clinical Supervisor

    Jessica has a B.S. in Special Education from SUNY Cortland. Before joining us at BAC, she worked as a certified teaching assistant at ACDS, a preschool for children with special needs.  She also gained experience working with children with autism at Camp Anchor on Long Island. Jessica is currently pursuing her Master's degree at The Sage Colleges.

  • Raven Stokes, M.S.

    Associate Clinical Supervisor

    Raven holds a B.A. in Psychology from St. Francis College. She began as an intern for BAC almost 8 years ago, then became an instructor, and since then has taken on various leadership roles within socialization curriculum, extracurricular activities, and our afterschool program.  Over her years at BAC, Raven has helped coordinate our volunteer, peer socialization, and reverse inclusion programs and run the BAC art program.