OUR TEAM

Get your child on a path toward developmental success today!

MEET OUR FOUNDER

Karelix Alicea is the founder and president of Lotus Behavioral Interventions and co-founder of the Miami Association for Behavior Analysis (MiABA)

Most recently, Miss Alicea founded The Lotus Children (TLC), a non-profit dedicated to allocating ABA therapies and resources to underprivileged children with autism throughout the world. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and Infant Toddler Developmental Specialist (ITDS) who has been working with children diagnosed with autism and other pervasive developmental delays since 2001.

Her mastery of the science combined with her love and compassion for children on the autism spectrum have allowed her to help countless children and families with the highest quality of care.

Karelix Alicea

M.S., BCBA, ITDS, Founder/President

MEET OUR

MIAMI TEAM

All of our professionals are highly educated and experienced to meet strict national accreditation criteria as outlined by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). All of our ABA Therapists and Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) are closely supervised by our board certified professionals to meet Lotus Behavioral Interventions’ high quality standards of both scientific rigor and therapeutic care, whether services are delivered face-to-face or via telehealth.

Mariam Nawabi

M.A., BCBA

Nina Stavrinos

M.S., BCBA, ITDS

Kevin SanJuan

M.A., BCBA

Andrew Adasme

B.A., BCaBA

Dayanara Rivera

B.A., RBT

Nicole Ronquillo

RBT

Lorena Rodriguez

RBT

Shavanna Douglas

B.A., ABA Therapist

Susej Woods

RBT

MEET OUR

TELEHEALTH TEAM

The Lotus clinical team has experience rendering ABA therapy services via telehealth since we were established in 2009. We are thankful for the extended telehealth coverage that most private insurance carriers have temporarily extended to their beneficiaries in the midst of the COVID-19 global pandemic. The ability to continue servicing our Lotus children and families using telehealth in a manner that ensures optimal levels of health and safety for all involved is extremely important to us. Using a HIPAA-compliant web portal, our entire clinical team across Miami and Puerto Rico is proficient in delivering high-quality ABA therapy services via telehealth in a manner that is highly private, caring, individualized, professional and effective. With over a decade of experience, you can rest assured that every single member of our Lotus ABA therapy team knows how to rock telehealth!

Laurie Tarter

Psy.D., BCBA, LBA

MEET OUR

ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM

Karelix Alicea

M.S., BCBA, ITDS, Founder

Karelix Alicea

M.S., BCBA, ITDS

Founder / President of Lotus Behavioral Interventions

Miss Alicea received both her bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology with a specialization in behavior analysis under the direction of the esteemed Dr. Jacob L. Gewirtz at Florida International University (FIU), and is currently in the process of completing an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership and Applied Behavior Analysis from Nova Southeastern University.

Following a period of almost 10 years of experience in the field, she founded Lotus Behavioral Interventions in 2009. Miss Alicea taught undergraduate-level behavior analysis coursework for several years at FIU and Carlos Albizu University, and is a graduate-level intensive practicum supervisor at Simmons College, Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) and University of South Florida (USF), all of which are Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) accredited programs.

She has presented on the benefits of sign language and telehealth services for children with autism in addition to ethical service delivery, supervision and entrepreneurship at various professional conferences, including the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis (FABA) and ABAI.

Miss Alicea is an active member of the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts (APBA), and can render services in English, Spanish, American Sign Language (ASL) both face-to-face and via telehealth with the use of HIPAA-compliant technology.

Mariam Nawabi

M.A., BCBA

Mariam has been a valued member of the Lotus clinical team since June of 2015. She originally began her professional career as a pre-school teacher and very quickly became intrigued with the benefits of using applied behavior analysis (ABA) within a classroom setting for children with special needs. This prompted her to go back to school and earn her master's degree in ABA from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

She is a BCBA with a well-rounded background in assessments, interventions and parent / staff training. Mariam is a highly motivated and passionate professional who has presented her research on preference assessments at the California Association for Behavior Analysis (CalABA). She feels that helping children with special needs allows her to fulfill her passion of giving back to the community and society at large. Mariam can render services in English, Farsi and American Sign Language (ASL) both face-to-face and via telehealth with the use of HIPAA-compliant technology.

Nina Stavrinos

M.S., BCBA, ITDS

Nina has been a valued member of the Lotus clinical team since July of 2015. She graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in sociology from Florida International University (FIU) and later completed a master's degree in counseling with a concentration in applied behavior analysis (ABA) at Nova Southeastern University.  Nina is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and an Infant Toddler Developmental Specialist (ITDS) with Early Steps.

Nina is a caring, compassionate and dedicated clinician committed to achieving the ultimate goal of enhancing the quality of life of every child and family she works with. Nina can render services in English, Spanish, French, American Sign Language (ASL) both face-to-face and via telehealth with the use of HIPAA-compliant technology.

Kevin SanJuan

M.A., BCBA

Kevin has been a valued member of the Lotus clinical team since May of 2016. He is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) whose education includes a bachelor's degree in psychology with a specialization in behavior analysis from Florida International University (FIU) and a master's degree in professional behavior analysis from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT).

Kevin is a highly caring, kind and patient person with a keen attention to detail. He felt a strong attraction to the field of behavior analysis as an undergraduate student and looks forward to implementing the techniques of applied behavior analysis (ABA) to encourage the development of children on the autism spectrum for many years to come. Kevin can render services in English, Spanish, American Sign Language (ASL) both face-to-face and via telehealth with the use of HIPAA-compliant technology.

Andrew Adasme

B.A., BCaBA

Andrew has been a valued member of the Lotus clinical team since April of 2016. He has a bachelor's degree in psychology with a specialization in behavior analysis from Florida International University (FIU) and is a Board Certified assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) with the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB).

Andrew is a very patient and emphathetic individual with volunteer experience with the Special Olympics who looks forward to a fruitful scholastic and professional career in the field of applied behavior analysis (ABA). Andrew can render services in English and Spanish both face-to-face and via telehealth with the use of HIPAA-compliant technology.

Dayanara Rivera

B.A., RBT

Dayanara has been a valued member of the Lotus clinical team since January of 2017. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology with a specialization in behavior analysis from Florida International University (FIU) and is a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) with the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB). Dayanara is currently working on her master's degree in behavior analysis at Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in the hopes of becoming a BCBA in the near future.

Her professional goal is to help children in any way necessary for them to lead happy and successful lives. She is a bright, responsible and mature therapist who displays a wonderful sense of creativity when working with children on the spectrum. Dayanara can render services in English, Spanish, American Sign Language (ASL) both face-to-face and via telehealth with the use of HIPAA-compliant technology.

Nicole Ronquillo

RBT

Nicole has been a valued member of our clinical team since October of 2022. She is currently working on a bachelor's degree in psychology with a specialization in behavior analysis from Florida International University (FIU). Nicole is a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) and is earning her fieldwork hours in order to be eligible to sit for the Board Certified assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) certification exam upon graduation. She is bright, energetic, and creative with a fun-loving personality that our kids just love. Nicole can render face-to-face services in English and in Spanish.

Lorena Rodriguez

RBT

Lorena has been a valued member of the Lotus clinical team since June of 2023.  She is an undergraduate student at Florida International University (FIU) working toward a bachelor's degree in psychology with a specialization in behavior analysis.

Lorena is working on accumulating her fieldwork hours in order to be eligible to sit for the Board Certified assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) exam upon graduation.  She is a smart, patient, and caring young lady with a soft heart for helping special needs children.  Lorena can render face-to-face services in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Shavanna Douglas

B.A., ABA Therapist

Shavanna has been a valued member of the Lotus clinical team since July of 2023. She has a bachelor's degree in psychology with a specialization in behavior analysis from Florida International University (FIU) and is currently working toward accumulating her fieldwork hours so she can sit for the Board Certified assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) exam.

Shavanna joined our team with previous experience working with special needs children in a summer camp setting. She is passionate about working with kids and having a lasting impact on their lives. Shavanna can render ABA services in English both face-to-face and via telehealth using HIPAA-compliant technology.

Susej Woods

RBT

Susej has been a valued member of the Lotus clinical team since August of 2023. She is currently working toward a bachelor's degree in psychology from Florida International University (FIU) and aspires to attend either law school or medical school in the future.

Susej is fascinated by how making small environmental changes can have huge and lasting impacts on a child's life. She is a patient, kind and playful therapist who enjoys not only working with kids, but also educating others about the science of behavior. Susej can render ABA services in English both face-to-face and via telehealth using HIPAA-compliant technology.

Laurie Tarter

PSYD, BCBA, LBA

Dr. Laurie Tarter has been a valued member of the Lotus clinical team since June of 2020. She earned her doctorate degree from Alliant International University and her master's degree from Pepperdine University. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) who has been working with special needs children, adolescents and adults for over 20 years.

Dr. Tarter specializes in conducting autism specific diagnostic and cognitive assessments. Her experience also includes being the Executive Director of EnCompass Behavioral Health, founder of the San Diego chapter of Global Autism Project, and forming a team for Developmental Disabilities Crisis House. Dr. Tarter is a Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERSĀ®) certified group provider for adolescents and young adults. She can render services in English both face-to-face and via telehealth with the use of HIPAA-compliant technology.

Karelix Alicea

M.S., BCBA, ITDS, Founder / President

Karelix Alicea founded Lotus Behavioral Interventions in 2009. She is also the co-founder of the Miami Association for Behavior Analysis (MiABA) and the Executive Director of The Lotus Children (TLC), a non-profit dedicated to allocating ABA therapies and resources to underprivileged children with autism throughout the world. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and Infant Toddler Developmental Specialist (ITDS) who has dedicated her life to working with children on the autism spectrum since 2001.

Miss Alicea received both her bachelor's and master's degrees in psychology with a specialization in behavior analysis under the direction of the esteemed Dr. Jacob L. Gewirtz at Florida International University and is currently in the process of completing an Ed.D. in Organizational Leadership and Applied Behavior Analysis from Nova Southeastern University with an anticipated graduation date in 2020.