Tessa holds a Bachelors degree in Psychology with a minor in Early Childhood Education from Skidmore College and a Masters in Special Education with a Behavioral Education focus from Simmons College.  Tessa started her career with many years ago working with typical and special needs children. After graduating from Skidmore, Tessa moved a position as an Assistant Teacher at a self contained special education program in Massachusetts teaching academic skills to special education children aged 5-7 years old in 1:1 or 1:2 settings.  Tessa then moved to a position providing home based behavior services for a large company, which serves children on the autism spectrum.  While there she also provided staff and parent training, worked on IEP goals, and processed data.  She then moved to a position within the public school system where she functioned as an Inclusion Tutor working both in the public school system with the school staff and within the homes providing home based behavioral services and training for the family members.

Tessa has worked with children with special needs since she was 15 and has always found the rewards in the little things they do.  During college, Tessa worked with her first child with autism.  Her goal for the summer was to teach this child how to clap her hands when Tessa said “Clap your hands”.  Every time the child did it, they had a major celebration and the child was so excited and proud of herself.  It was a largely rewarding process for Tessa and one that helped shape her career.  She loves the work she does today because of those small gains; every little step in the right direction is exciting and should be celebrated!

Tessa founded Steps to Success LLC after working for a large company providing ABA services and working in the public school systems where she saw areas of weakness.  She frequently thought about what she’d do differently in her own company. She wanted a company that provided high quality services and, expert advice to teachers, professionals, and parents, and families and had a low employee turnover rates, and qualified people who loved working with children.  That was the goal for Steps to Success and continues to be our mission today.

Tessa holds her BCBA credentials and belongs to the Association for Behavior Analysis.

Alyssa has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Bridgewater State College.  She is currently attending University of Massachusetts, Boston where she anticipates graduating with a Masters in Education and a Certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis in December of 2009.  Alyssa started her career at the May Center for Child Development where she was a Student Case Manager.  Alyssa then moved on to a position as an ABA Instructor at Child Life Education and then to Kindred Healthcare where she worked as a Behavior Specialist until she was promoted to the position of Program Director.  Alyssa now works for Steps to Success as a Senior Associate and receives the mentoring and supervision required to eventually become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. 

Alyssa said that when she was told how much she was going to be paid at her first job, she cried for a week, but soon after working in the classroom with children in the Autism Spectrum Disorder population, she fell in love with everything about these kids; how they were so unique despite a common underlying deficit in communication. She loves that every day has the potential for new challenges and new success! Sometimes she finds herself thinking at the most random times about a child's programs and how we can improve their skills. Working with this population has also taught her to have patience and to appreciate even minor accomplishments. 

Rachel has her bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Arts with a focus in visual arts and concentration in Child Development from Wheelock College.  Since then she has taken numerous classes in education with a focus in Special Needs and Behaviorism to fulfill requirements for her Certificate in Behavioral Interventions in Autism and the BCBA exam.  Rachel started her career as an Early Intervention Group Lead Teacher and Education Specialist providing ABA services to children at Personal Communications Pediatric Services.  She later moved to a position as a Director at Seven Hills Clinical Associates where she supervised and trained ABA therapists.  Rachel later moved to Nashoba Learning Center, a special education day program, to a position as a Lead Therapist providing ABA therapy and once again leading teams.  She was last employed within the Dracut Public school system as an Autism Specialist before joining our team at Steps to Success LLC.

Rachel forged into this rewarding career after babysitting for a child that was on the spectrum and it really impacted her.  During college she did an internship with children with behavioral difficulties and it inspired her to go towards a focus in special education.  She loves watching her children make progress and it always makes her want to come back the next day.  She also loves watching parents light up when they see their child do something he has never done before.  She loves her position at Steps to Success because Tessa and her co-workers are wonderful to work with, communicate with, and are great at what they do!

Rachel is currently certified in Crisis Prevention, has her licensure in Moderate Disabilities (Pre-K to 8) Preliminary and Early Childhood: Students with or without disabilities (Pre-K to 2) Preliminary, is a Certified Lead teacher infant and toddler, preschool, and Director 2.  She is also trained in American Sign Language.

Alyssa Porter has her bachelor’s in Psychology from Skidmore where she graduated Cum Laude and is a Psi Chi Scholar and Periclean Honor Society Scholar.  She is currently attending Cambridge College where she anticipates a Masters in Management degree.  After graduating from Skidmore, Alyssa was offered a position as a Research Associate at Praxis, Inc., a software company that developed software for children with autism and other developmental disabilities based on Applied Behavior Analysis research completed by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center.  There, she worked with leading researchers from the field of ABA, running studies with children on the autism spectrum who ranged in age from 3 to 22 years old.  The research was conducted at schools all over Massachusetts including New England Center for Children, the May Center for Child Development, The League School, and the Boston Public School system.  Over time Alyssa was promoted to a position as Project Manager for software development but still continued to maintain some hands on work with the children.  While working at Praxis, Alyssa expanded her ABA skills as a Child Advocate, Volunteer Liaision, and Behavior Specialist to children with emotional and behavioral disorders at the St. Ambrose Family Inn, a long term family homeless shelter in Dorchester.  She is also an ABA Tutor with a teenage child with autism that she has now worked with for 5 years.  Right now, Alyssa is facing the biggest challenge she has had in her ABA career as mom to a 2-year-old son!  Since becoming a mother, she has used her business and ABA experience and education to help small business owners develop their companies.