Our Team

We are a dynamic team of professionals with over 15 years of experience serving children in our community. Our experienced and devoted team of professionals work collaboratively to provide ABA services to suit each child’s unique needs. We provide challenging and fulfilling career opportunities in the Ottawa and Whitby regions.

Join Our Team

A young female daycare teacher of Indian decent, sits beside a sweet, curly-hired young girl as they look at the completed puzzle they cooperatively finished. They are each dressed casually, smiling and laughing as they sit back and enjoy looking at their finished work.

KAREN MCARTHUR

President and CEO

...

CHARLENE GERVAIS

Chief Clinical Officer M.ADS, BCBA

Charlene 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. She has extensive training and experience working with children that have a range of developmental and intellectual disabilities. Charlene is also a course facilitator at Algonquin College in the Autism Behaviour Sciences program and a Professional Crisis Management instructor.

NATALIA BRAVO

Accounts Manager

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 BENNETT

Clinical Supervisor MPEd, BCBA

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 BERGERON

Senior Therapist M.ADS, BCBA

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 CURCIO

Senior Therapist BCaBA

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. 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 CRAIN

Senior Therapist M.ADS, BCBA

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 GILES

Client Services and Human Resources Manager

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. She 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.

TEESHA GREYDANUS

Senior Therapist M.A., BCBA

Teesha Greydanus is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) has been working in the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis and Autism for over 5 years. Before this, she worked as a Developmental Support Worker with adults with special needs. Teesha will be completing her Masters of Applied Disabilities Studies with a focus in Applied Behaviour Analysis in April of 2020. Teesha's interests include severe problem behaviour, early intervention, and parent training.

ALEY MACDOUGALL

Clinical Supervisor M.A., BCBA

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.

SHANNON LEBLANC

Senior Therapist Manager

CONTENT...

MADISON WYATT

Clinical Supervisor MPEd, BCBA

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. She graduated from her Masters of Professional Education at Western University and is obtained her BCBA certification in 2020.

When Madison 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 the Clinical Supervisor at our Whitby centre.

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.

Azzah Qutiyba

Senior Therapist

Azzah fell in love with the field of ABA the moment she joined the Portia team in 2020 as an instructor therapist. She is now a Senior Therapist at our East End location. Azzah enjoys collaborating with the families of her clients and other professionals to develop tailored, enjoyable, and effective programming. Building functional communication, reducing challenging behaviours, and supporting her clients and their families in different settings are her main areas of interest. Azzah will complete her master's degree in Applied Disability Studies with a specialization in Applied Behaviour Analysis in April 2024 while also working towards her BCBA certification.

JENNA LAFOND

Senior Therapist Assistant & Student Placement Facilitator

Jenna joined The Portia Learning Centre as an Instructor Therapist in 2018. Jenna has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminology with a focus in Psychology where she graduated from Carleton University in 2017. Jenna is currently enrolled in her Masters for Special Education with a distinction in Applied Behaviour Analysis from Arizona State University. She is working towards obtaining her BCBA credentials. Jenna is dedicated to her clients and enjoys working closely with families with a focus on parent training. Jenna is also our Student Placement Facilitator and maintains relationships with colleges and universities to promote the field of ABA. Jenna enjoys her role in teaching and inspiring future therapists within the field.