About Us

Charlene has been providing ABA services in Ottawa since 2003. She has extensive training and experience working with children that have a range of developmental and intellectual disabilities.

She began her career working in residential settings as a case worker with children and youth with behaviour challenges, autism, developmental disabilities, learning disabilities and dual diagnosis from diverse cultural backgrounds.

She started her career at Portia in 2006 as an ABA therapist and has been dedicated ever since to providing meaningful, evidence based services and supports to families in our community.

Charlene is committed to community collaboration and dissemination of ABA best practices. She has presented many workshops in our community, participated in research and has also presented at international ABA conferences.

Charlene is also a course facilitator at Algonquin College in the Autism Behavior Sciences program and a Professional Crisis Management instructor.

Natalia began her career with Portia in November 2009 as an Instructor Therapist and then progressed to Senior Therapist Assistant in 2011. In 2012 she moved to the administrative side of Portia first as a Clinical Coordinator and then to Business Manager in 2017. Natalia has a Teaching Degree in Special Education and speaks English, Spanish and French.

Kari joined the Portia team in 2014 as an Instructor Therapist. Now the Clinical Supervisor of our Nepean location, Kari has experience working both hands-on and behind the scenes to deliver fun, effective programming. Her primary areas of interest include developing functional communication, reducing challenging behaviours, and supporting her clients and their families throughout school transitions. As a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst, Kari also enjoys supervising professionals who are pursuing their education and certification in the field of ABA.

Alissa joined The Portia Learning Centre as an Instructor Therapist in 2016. Now a Senior Therapist at our Nepean location, Alissa enjoys working closely with families and outside professionals to develop individualized programming goals for her clients. Alissa has her Masters of Applied Disability Studies and is working towards obtaining her BCBA credential. Having a passion for sharing her knowledge with others, Alissa enjoys working closely with parents, caregivers, therapists, and outside professionals to help her clients reach their full potential. Other areas of interest include teaching functional communication skills, reducing challenging behaviours, and teaching essential daily living skills.  

Margherita has always known that she wanted to teach and guide children to achieve their full potential. She was introduced to the field of ABA in her 3rd year of university. Since then, she has pursued further education to develop, as well as, educate herself. She is a dedicated and passionate Senior Therapist and has obtained her BCaBA certification in 2019.

She has been working in this field, at The Portia Learning Centre Inc., for over 5 years.

Margherita knows the importance of being creative in this field and she is a collaborative team leader. Her goal is to make a difference in the lives of children and their families. She is passionate about learning and hopes to pass this passion on to the children and families in her care.

Sydney joined the Portia family in 2017 as an Instructor Therapist. Now, as a Senior Therapist at our Nepean location, Sydney enjoys working closely with her families to provide personalized programming for her clients. She also enjoys supporting our team of Instructor Therapists by providing ongoing training and supervision. Sydney is currently completing her Masters of Applied Disabilities Studies at Brock University and receiving supervision hours towards her BCBA certification. Some of Sydney’s main interests include collaborating with outside professionals, developing functional communication training, reducing challenging behaviours, family/caregiver training, and supporting our group of Instructor Therapists.

Pam started with The Portia Learning Centre as an Instructor Therapist in February 2014.  She moved into her current position as the Clinical Co-Ordinator in June 2017.  Pam is a certified Instructor in Professional Crisis Management.  She also holds certification in Mental Health First Aid.  Pam is the first point of contact for families seeking information and support from us here at Portia.  She loves connecting with families to help them navigate through all the service options available.

Aley began volunteering with the Ottawa Catholic District school board in 2013 helping to support children with autism and other disabilities in the classroom setting. This sparked her interest in working with children with autism and developmental disabilities and encouraged her to acquire additional knowledge and experience related to the field. In 2014, Aley began working at the Portia Learning Centre as an Instructor therapist. Since then, she has completed her Masters of Applied Disability Studies and is now a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst. She is currently the Clinical Supervisor at our Ottawa East End location. Aley’s interests lie in developing programming tailored to the unique needs of each client, collaborating with outside professionals, providing parent/caregiver training, and providing supervision to professionals pursuing BCBA certification.

Madison fell in love with the field of ABA during her post graduate studies in the Behavioural Science and Technology program through George Brown College. She completed her placements in Toronto at Aisling Discoveries and the Geneva Centre. When she moved back to Ottawa in 2015, she began her career as an Instructor Therapist at The Portia Learning Centre. Since then, Madison has had the opportunity to work at all 3 of our Ottawa locations and is now a Senior Therapist at our East End centre. She is currently enrolled in the Masters of Professional Education at Western University and is pursuing BCBA certification in 2020. Madison has a wide variety of interests but particularly enjoys developing programs to target foundational skills for with young children who have higher support needs. Her greatest joy comes from teaching skills that produce meaningful change for clients and their families.