Behavioral Specialists
Elizabeth Gallagher, BCBA
Elizabeth earned her bachelor’s degree in child development, ages 0-5, from San Diego State University and her master’s in education in applied behavior analysis from Arizona State University. She is also a board certified behavior analyst. Elizabeth began working at Rady Children’s Hospital in 2015 as a developmental specialist with Children’s Care Connection (C3) and then joined the Alexa’s PLAYC team as an autism education associate. Beginning in 2019, she worked as a program manager supervising in-home ABA therapies, and in November, she rejoined the Alexa’s PLAYC team as a behavior specialist. Elizabeth is passionate about naturalistic intervention for children with autism, as well as supporting their families with parent education and training.
Amy Oh, BCBA
Amy received her Master of Science in school psychology with an emphasis in applied behavior analysis. She graduated from UC San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in human development in 2014, giving her the opportunity to do undergraduate research about Alexa’s PLAYC’s incorporation of classroom management strategies for children with autism spectrum disorder. Beginning in 2017, she worked as the school psychologist for Poway Unified and Escondido High School Unified School Districts before returning to Alexa’s PLAYC to share her knowledge of the school system and the IEP process. Amy is passionate about educating families to see the strengths and identity of the whole child and to foster a more tolerant and inclusive community for all.
Margaret Noll 
Margaret received her bachelor’s degree in genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She worked as an autism treatment provider in the clinic and home setting in the Madison, WI area before moving to San Diego and working at Alexa’s PLAYC as an Autism Education Associate for the past 4 years. She went on to receive her master’s degree in Special Education with an emphasis in autism and became certified as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in 2022. She is passionate about providing treatment in an inclusion setting and is excited to continue to support Alexa’s PLAYC as a BCBA supervisor.
Early Childhood Autism Education Associates
Yuka Ahmanson
Yuka, a native of Okinawa Japan, has worked 12 years in the child educational field. She completed her associate degree in early childhood education at Santa Barbara City College and a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a concentration in children and adolescent at Southern New Hampshire University. Yuka also earned a master’s degree in special education with an emphasis in applied behavior analysis at Arizona State University. She has always had an interest in music and enjoys playing instruments such as the trumpet, clarinet and drums, and participated in marching band. She is eager to share her Japanese culture and musical experience with children at Alexa’s PLAYC. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and 5-year-old daughter.
Genevieve Askren
Genevieve earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from San Diego State University. While attending college, she worked as a care manager and a life-enrichment manager for patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. After graduation, she pursued a career as a behavioral interventionist for a nonprofit organization and provided therapy for children ages 2-7 years old with developmental delays within an in-home ABA setting. She also worked as a paraeducator for the San Diego Unified School District. Genevieve has a passion in helping others reach their full potential and is a caregiver at heart. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her three lovable terriers and going on family outings with her husband and son.
Emily Fuller
Emily is a San Diego native who enjoys camping, hiking and the beach. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from San Diego State University graduating summa cum laude. While working on her undergraduate degree, she worked as an assistant site supervisor for the YMCA for two years, where she helped provide after school care for children grades K-6. Prior to joining Alexa’s PLAYC, Emily worked as a behavioral technician delivering in-home applied behavior analysis therapy to children with autism. Through this position, she was able to gain experience working with children on the spectrum and her repertoire of knowledge regarding early childhood development. In her free time, Emily enjoys spending time with friends, cooking and drinking coffee.
Diana Maldonado
Diana began her career with children while in college working as an in-home behavior technician specializing in applied behavior analysis. After graduating from Saint Mary’s College of California in 2019 with degrees in psychology and Spanish, she began working as an early interventionist for a nonprofit organization, providing therapy to toddlers with developmental delays. Diana is glad to be back in her hometown of San Diego and continuing her goal of providing quality care in an inclusion-based and naturalistic way. When she’s not working, Diana enjoys going on early morning beach walks and watching movies with her husband.
Emily Mendoza
Emily graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in psychology and a minor in child and family development. Prior to working at Alexa’s PLAYC, she worked as a behavioral interventionist in an in-home ABA setting for three years. She also worked at the YMCA for six years as a site supervisor for a licensed before-and-after school program during the school year and as a camp coordinator during the summers. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, spending time with friends and family and going to Disneyland!
Melissa Ramirez
Melissa earned her bachelor’s degree in child and family development from San Diego State University. She has worked in the field of child development since 1997 and has worked at Rady Children’s since 1999. When Melissa is not at work, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, going to the movies, shopping, scrapbooking and going for walks on the beach.
Sarali Saulog
Sarali earned her bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University in 2019, majoring in speech, language and hearing sciences. While in college, she became a therapeutic recreation leader for the City of San Diego Parks and Recreation, Therapeutic Recreation Services, where she has been volunteering since 2017. At TRS, she specialized in interpreting American Sign Language for adolescents with autism and who are hard of hearing. Before joining Alexa’s PLAYC, she worked as a behavior interventionist in school, home and clinic applied behavior analysis settings for two years. In her spare time, Sarali enjoys spending time with her dog and family and exploring new restaurants. Sarali is passionate about the importance of diversity and inclusion, and is very excited to help children discover their uniqueness!
Elyssa Yeh
Elyssa is a registered dance/movement therapist. Originally from Seattle, she came to San Diego after completing her Masters of Art in dance/movement therapy and counseling form Columbia College in Chicago. She started as a volunteer at Alexa’s PLAYC by bringing dance into our classrooms to enhance social-emotional learning. She is passionate about cultivating every child’s unique creative process to support their healthy growth and development. When Elyssa is not working, she loves being with friends and family, going to the beach and learning to surf.
Jamie Gavino
Jamie earned her bachelor’s degree in child and family development at San Diego State University. Currently, she is in her master’s program at National University for applied behavior analysis. She found her passion for working with children during her study abroad trip in Vietnam in 2019. Here in San Diego, she worked at a local hospital in the special needs unit where she saw how her care improved the overall well-being of her patients. Since then, Jamie has dedicated her time volunteering with the Special Olympics. Previously, she has worked as an ABA behavior technician, an associate teacher at the SDSU Children’s Center and as an after-school coach, integrating STEM with sports for a group of refugee children in El Cajon. In her free time, Jamie enjoys playing with her Shiba Inu, going to local nurseries, visiting the beach and streaming television shows/movies.
Vanessa Chen
Vanessa worked as an in-home behavioral interventionist for two years and received her Master of Arts in Special Education with an Emphasis on Autism at SDSU. She graduated from UC San Diego with bachelor’s degrees in Human Development and Psychology. During her undergraduate studies, she first stepped foot in Alexa’s PLAYC to volunteer and conduct research about teaching prosocial behavior. She loved it ever since and hoped to come back. In her free time, she loves going on picnics, watching sunsets, and serving at her local church.
Early Childhood Teachers
Sarah Doss
Sarah earned her bachelor’s degree in child development from San Diego State University. While attending college, she worked as an associate teacher at San Diego State University’s Children’s Center where she implemented child-led curriculum and provided care for infants and toddlers. She has also worked as a camp counselor, and she volunteered at pediatric clinic for occupational therapy. Sarah’s long-term goal is to become a pediatric occupational therapist. In her free time, Sarah enjoys taking yoga classes, hiking and going to the beach.
Kati Gimm
Kati graduated from Cal State Northridge in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in deaf studies. Prior to working at Alexa’s PLAYC, she was a 1:1 instructional assistant in the Santee School District and also worked as an in-home ABA therapist. During her spare time, she enjoys traveling, swimming, going to the beach and spending time with family and friends. A little fun fact: she attended Rady Children’s Child Care Center as a preschooler before it became known as Alexa’s PLAYC.
Wendy Lewis
Wendy earned her degree in Montessori early childhood education from National Center for Montessori Education, Early Childhood Education-Infant and Toddler from Montessori Teacher College-Sacramento. She has been teaching in private Montessori schools since 1999. She has experience in the classroom teaching in English and Spanish. Wendy is passionate about providing the best education and care to children.
Lara Padrigon
Lara earned her degree in child development and is currently pursuing a degree in psychology. She has worked in the field of child development since 2003 with both neuro-typical children and children with special needs. In her spare time, Lara enjoys reading, watching movies, catching up on sports, painting/drawing, spending quality time with her family and trying out different types of cuisines.
Gaby Torres-Cueva
Gabriela earned a bachelor’s degree in child development from Point Loma University, where she is currently pursuing a master’s degree in special education. She has 12 years of experience working in the education field. For the past four years, she worked as a pre-kindergarten and kindergarten teacher at Montessori Hills Academy. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, camping, cooking and taking long walks with her fur daughter, Concha.
Anh Luc
Anh earned her Master of Arts in education with a focus in autism and early childhood education from National University. She has 20 years of experience of working in the education field ranging from preschool to middle school. Before joining Alexa’s PLAYC, Anh has worked as a one-on-one instructional assistant at San Diego Cooperative Charter School for 12 years. She believes every child has the potential to bring something unique and special to the world. In her free time, Anh enjoys traveling, hiking and spending time in nature. She also loves spending time with family, close friends and her beloved corgi, Atticus.
Ashley Carrillo
Ashley graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in child and adolescent development. Prior to joining Alexa’s PLAYC, she worked as a behavior interventionist in the home and clinic setting for two years and a respite caregiver for children and adults with special needs for three years. In her free time, Ashley enjoys going on walks with her 8-year-old golden retriever, spending time with her family and watching movies.
Judy Leon-Chi
Judy was born and raised in San Diego, CA. In 2015, she moved to Boston where she received her bachelor’s degree in psychology and minor in education from University Massachusetts- Boston. While pursing her undergraduate degree she worked as a preschool teacher at a local day care and various internships such as the 3-Point Foundation and AmeriCorps- Jumpstart. In Jumpstart she worked with preschoolers from lower income communities to help scaffold and prepare the children readiness for kindergarten. When she was part of the 3-Point Foundation, she worked as a Lead Student Councilor for middle schoolers from lower income communities where she coached them in basketball and life skills, as well as, providing them opportunities and goals for a higher education. After graduating with she bachelor’s, she started working for the YMCA of Greater Boston as a UPK teacher. Through this position, she was able to gain experience working with children in the foster care system that have experienced various forms of violence and children with developmental delays. Though she loves the winter in Boston, she missed being home with her family and friends and decided to move back to San Diego in July of 2022. She loves spending her free time reading a good book, teaching her betta fish new tricks, and playing with her nephews.
Katy Clark (Floater)
Katy graduated from UC San Diego in the summer of 2021, majoring in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience. After graduating and prior to joining Alexa’s PLAYC, Katy worked as a behavior technician delivering in-home applied behavioral analysis therapy to children with autism. She hopes to enter a graduate program in psychology soon so that she could become a therapist for teens and young adults. When she is not working, Katy enjoys reading, making art and playing with her Cairn Terrier, Kip!
Charlyn Slaughter (Floater)
Charlyn is currently attending SDSU, majoring in Sociology. Her plan after SDSU is to continue onto grad school to become a pediatric occupational therapist. Prior to working at Alexa’s PLAYC, she was a shift supervisor in Child Watch at the YMCA and a nanny for 2 years. When she is not working or going to school, she loves hanging out with her family and friends. A couple of her favorite things to do are going to the Padres game and trying new food places.
Isabelle Quejada (Floater)
Isabelle earned her bachelor’s degree in child and family development from SDSU. During her college years, she worked as an associate teacher at SDSU’s Children Center. Isabelle’s long term goal is to become a Speech Language Pathologist. In her free time Isabelle enjoys hanging out with friends, watching the sunset, and exploring new cities.
Occupational Therapist
Martha Graf, M.S., OTR/L
Martha (“Marta”) received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California in 2007 with dual degrees in psychology and communication. After graduating, she worked as the lead behavior therapist at an early intervention preschool program for children on the autism spectrum for three years before starting graduate school. Marta is a registered and licensed occupational therapist and received her Masters of Occupational Therapy in 2012 from Boston University. She has been working at Rady Children’s since 2013. Marta enjoys working with children of all ages and helping them to achieve their goals and reach their fullest potential. She also has experience working in other areas of occupational therapy, such as school settings and skilled nursing facilities. Marta is currently a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association and is certified in the SOS Approach to Feeding as well as iLS (Integrative Listening Systems). In her personal time, she enjoys long walks with her dog Taco and knitting for friends and family.
Speech-Language Pathologist
Christiana David, M.A.
Christiana has been a speech-language pathologist at Rady Children’s Hospital since 2011. She earned her bachelor’s degree in communication disorders with a minor in psychology and her master’s degree in speech, language, and hearing sciences from San Diego State University. Christiana enjoys helping children and their families realize their potential through improved communication skills. At Rady Children’s, she treats children in the outpatient clinic and is a member of the Feeding Team. She has worked as part of the Inpatient Rehabilitation Team and treated kids at the Helen Bernardy Center. Christiana is trained in PROMPT level 1 (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Musculature Phonetic Targets) and PECS Level 1 (Picture Exchange Communication System). She is licensed by the state of California and holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
