I was born and raised in outside the city of Detroit. I did not begin working with Developmental Disabilities until I participated in an internship through my undergraduate university in Ann Arbor. I was so scared yet excited at the same time. At the time there were no programs for Applied Behavior Analysis only something called Behavior Modification or Behavior “Mod”.

This sounded cool for a 20-year-old growing up in the 60’s and 70’s. By the time the internship was over, I knew then that I wanted to work not only with people with disabilities but people with challenging behavior problems as well. I moved to Florida and worked about one year through the closing of Sunland Orlando. Sunland Orlando was filled with scary hallways, tunnels, and basements. Sunland was one of Florida’s Institutions for adults and even children with developmental disabilities. Patient’s beds lined up alongside of each wall. There were 20-30 beds one right after another. The clients had no privacy, no choices and certainly no rights.

I honestly believe that I cried everyday over something I saw, smelled, or heard. My family said, “come home”. I thought about if for about a minute and said, no I want to make sure that every patient here is placed somewhere better than Sunland. Even though the building had a scheduled closing date, I continued (along with about 5 other Behavior Program Specialists, as we were called) running 15-minute trials throughout the day with my case load of 8-10. We worked on “eye gouging”, “projectile vomiting”, “feces eating and smearing” and “headbanging” that was so intense the tile floor would crack. We worked on the most intense behaviors imaginable, but I found, with these problem behaviors, I was in my element. It was so heartbreaking, but I felt I could make a difference. The hospital successfully closed, moving all the patients to group homes called “clusters”.

Years later the facility was condemned for their unethical practices of housing individuals with disabilities with reports of rape, abuse, and ongoing neglect. I returned to school to obtain my master’s degree in human services administration from Nova Southeastern University in the 1980s. Nova was not offering degrees in ABA at that time. I worked on my master’s degree while I worked with a Behavioral Agency located in Stuart Florida. This was a return to an environment of challenging behaviors in a Day Program setting. It was here where I was asked if I wanted to go through the CBA Coursework and sit for a State Exam for the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis.

I agreed and was the only one who passed in my group of 6 who took the coursework and exam together. ABA had already become my passion. I began working for Dr. Sherrie Titus, BCBA-D, one of my favorite people and mentor. She taught me so much more about Behavior Analysis and even encouraged me to open my own practice. I wanted to become more skilled in Behavior Analysis, at this time Dr. Martinez at FIT was offering coursework for what was now called the BCBA Exam. I was interested in all the above. I took the coursework through FIT on site with Dr. Martinez, who was an incredible instructor.

I opened Strategies, Inc. in January of 2000. I opened the office in a building less than 500 square feet and started with one client. Once I hit 10 clients, I knew I needed more help. I began hiring one person at a time. Today we are located in a beautiful building located in Port Orange Florida, employing/contracting with approximately 90 staff consisting of BCBAs, BCaBAs, RBTS, Clinical Leads, and our terrific Office Staff. We continued to grow and in January of 2019 we expanded our services to the kids of Baltimore, Maryland. Today we see families and kids all over the state of Maryland and Central to North Florida.

Hi! I am Tara Laxton, MA, BCBA, Clinical Coordinator for the Easterseals contract. I became a Strategizer in 2014 when my family relocated from New Jersey to New Smyrna Beach, FL. I have been working in the field of ABA for over 15 years primarily with children and adults diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other intellectual disabilities. I have worked in a variety of settings, including in-home, schools, and group homes. I received my Master of Arts degree with a specialization in Psychology in 2011 and became a BCBA in 2014, after completing ABA coursework at Florida Institute of Technology.

I am passionate about all areas of the field of Applied Behavior Analysis, but particularly enjoy providing training and supervision to other clinicians and RBT’s, parent training and making a meaningful difference in children’s lives. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my husband and three children going to theme parks, the beach, and spending time with friends.

The spring of 2021 I moved to Daytona Beach to work in a local hospital as a Registered Respiratory Therapist. Still in the midst of the Covid pandemic, I quickly realized the hospital environment was not where I wanted to end my healthcare career. I began applying for jobs within the Daytona Beach area and came across the Client Intake Coordinator for Strategies, Inc. After my interview, I had a great feeling about the purpose, the mission and the people involved in the Strategies organization.

I was offered the Client Intake position in May 2021 and quickly settled into the Strategies family and elevated into assisting with Human Resources in the Port Orange office over the next year. After going remote and taking on more responsibilities, I was offered and accepted the Human Resources Director position in the Fall of 2023, covering the Strategies locations in Maryland and Florida.

Meet Latonya Lilly, our Assistant Clinical Lead for the Maryland Team. Latonya was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended Morgan State University where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in biology. At Morgan State University, Latonya discovered her passion for psychology. Although the change from natural science to social science was a difficult decision to make, Latonya decided to forfeit her dream of attending medical school to pursue the field of psychology. Latonya enrolled in a master’s program at Ball State University. During her academic journey, Latonya gained experience working with children with autism spectrum disorder. She worked with children as young as 1.5 years and as old as 17 years.

Latonya also worked in both clinical and home settings. After obtaining her master’s degree in special education with an emphasis in Autism, Latonya decided to pursue her PhD. Latonya was accepted in the Doctoral of Psychology program at Capella University in 2022. While visiting the Dominican Republic, Latonya had the opportunity to meet with various women who have children on the spectrum. Latonya heard despairing stories of inaccessible and expensive care. She has made it her mission to help families in Latin American countries obtain the knowledge they need to help their children.

Latonya has been with Strategies Inc. since July 2019. She started as an RBT soon after passing her BCBA exam. Latonya won Employee of the Year in 2022. She has since been promoted to the Assistant Lead Director in Maryland.