MEET THE SLEA TEAM
SLEA is an employee-owned organization of dedicated therapists and care providers who share values of personalized care and lifelong learning.
Executive Team
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Rina Barak, MA, CCC-SLP
CEO
Rina Barak joined SLEA in May of 2012 as a Speech Language Pathologist. She obtained her M.A. in Communication Disorders from Montclair State University. As a therapist, Rina focused on providing highly individualized care and pushed for dynamic collaboration across all service providers and all team members including families, teachers, and multiple disciplines. She was promoted to Director of the Speech Therapy program in 2015, managing Speech Language Pathologists and Speech Language Pathology Assistants in the clinic, school, and virtual settings. Rina played a critical role in developing collaboration across all disciplines while in the Director role and built a strong culture of teamwork, trust, accountability, quality, and having fun. In 2021, Rina was promoted to CEO of SLEA Therapies, overseeing all programs including Behavior Intervention, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Educational Therapy, and Child Development. Rina has continued to develop a strong culture throughout the employee-owned company since her time as CEO and has instilled a sense of ownership in all of her employees. She strongly believes that regardless of your role in the company, every employee adds tremendous value. She also emphasizes that communication, consistent feedback, and a strong accountability structure is the key to ensuring quality and growth as a clinician and professional.
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Lauren Henderson, MA, CCC-SLP
COO
Lauren Henderson began working for SLEA as a Speech-Language Pathologist in January 2012. She graduated from Villanova University in Pennsylvania with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Services and dual minors in Psychology and Sociology. Lauren completed her Master’s degree in Communicative Disorders at West Chester University in Pennsylvania. Following the completion of her graduate program at West Chester University, she returned to California to pursue her career and passion as a Speech-Language Pathologist. She holds a certification in Assistive Technology Applications through CSUN, is trained in the Lidcombe Program, as well as PROMPT.
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Dr. Baily Zubel, OTD, OTR/L
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF SPEECH AND OT PROGRAMS
Dr. Baily Zubel is an occupational therapist and serves as the OT Program Director at SLEA. She obtained both her masters and doctoral degrees in Occupational Therapy from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Baily’s doctoral research focused on intentional communication and relationships within the pediatric setting, pediatric mental health, and scholarship of practice propelling theory, research, and practice.
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Ashley Johnson
DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Ashley Johnson is the SLEA Therapies Director of Human Resources. Ashley comes to us with over 12 years of experience in the Human Resources field, with a concentration in Organizational Development. She graduated from California Polytechnic University with her Bachelor's in English and History, and went on to receive a Senior Professional of Human Resources Certification from HRCI. Prior to her work at SLEA, Ashley worked in the ABA, Service, and Hospitality industries.
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Ben Gonzalez
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF BEHAVIOR OPERATIONS
Benjamin Gonzalez is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Benjamin has been working in the field of ABA for 15 years, starting off as an RBT working in the home, school, and clinic settings. Benjamin has been the Director of Center based programs and is currently the Director of Behavior Operations for SLEA Therapies. In his career he has worked with hundreds of families, students, children and adults with a wide variety of backgrounds and areas of need. Benjamin has specialized in reducing challenging behaviors in the school, home, clinic settings and has specialized in treating self-injurious behaviors, aggressive behaviors, non-compliance and refusal and has supported families in implementing reinforcement-based strategies to increase positive behaviors. Benjamin has worked across multiple school districts in California and has specialized in working with teachers and on-site teams in implementing treatment plans to support the reduction of challenging behavior and to teach replacement behavior skills to support IEP goal progress.
Leadership Team
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Yajaira Cruz
REGIONAL DIRECTOR
Yajaira has been working with SLEA since August 2015. She has worked with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down Syndrome, Intellectual Disability, etc. Additionally, she has provided services to individuals between the ages of 3 to 43 years old. Yajaira has provided services in both the home and school setting since 2009. She currently oversees the Antelope Valley Region and has dedicated to providing services to Spanish speaking families. Yajaira received her master’s degree in counseling with an emphasis in ABA, from CSULA in 2014, and received her BCBA certification in May 2015.
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Katy Marshack, M.A. BCBA
CLINICAL PROGRAM MANAGER
Credentials: Master of Arts in Education - School Psychology; Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) since 2014.
Katy has been working in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis and special education for over 17 years. She has had experience working with children and adults with developmental delays and disabilities, including Autism Spectrum Disorder, ages 1-21 in the home, clinic, and school settings. Katy specializes in early intervention services focusing on comprehensive behavioral programs with the use of Discrete Trial Training, as well as Natural Environment Training. Katy has two children of her own and loves to bake!
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Kelly Reyes, M.S.
CHILD DEVELOPMENT CLINICAL LEAD
Kelly began working with SLEA in 2013, as Early Childhood Itinerant Teacher for Head Start. She graduated in 2012 from CSUN with a Bachelor's in Child and Adolescent Development. In 2018, she completed her Master's in Applied Behavioral Analysis from National University. She has worked with individuals with disabilities from 2 months - 21 years of age in the home, school and clinic settings. In August 2019, she became the Clinical Lead for the Child Development Department, has expanded services and is managing our office in the Antelope Valley.
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Gayoshi Rodrigo, M.A.
EDUCATIONAL THERAPY CLINICAL LEAD
With 25 years in the field of education, Gayoshi is Lindamood Bell trained, holds an M.A. in Special Education, Multiple Subject Credential, Education Specialist Credential, Career Technical Education (CTE)- Education, Child Development, and Family Services Credential, College Counseling Certification, Diploma in Montessori Method of Education and Diploma in Child Psychology, Diploma in the Preschool Method of Education, Autism Certification, and English Language Learner Certification.