C.A.S.E., Inc. - Comprehensive Autism Services & Education, Inc.

Lindsey grew up in Placerville, California. She holds a BA in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Counseling with an emphasis in Education and a PPS credential. Lindsey has worked with children and adolescents in various settings for the past 10 years. Upon starting her Master’s she worked as a behavior interventionist for children with autism, and very quickly fell in love with the field; and after working with children at different levels she found working with children on the autism spectrum to be the most rewarding work she had ever done. She soon became a Behavior Consultant in Sacramento where she oversaw cases, trained interventionist, did assessments and wrote reports. She has been trained in ABA, DTT, PECS, and has run social groups.

Two years ago Lindsey and her husband moved to Napa. At that point she took time off work to finish her M.S., and then got a job as a social worker for children with developmental disabilities. However, she missed working as a behaviorist and doing the one to one therapy with children; and, now she is very excited to be working with CASE and back in the field she loves!

Lindsey just had her first child three months ago and loves spending every moment she can with her and her husband. She also loves spending time with her friends, running, training for marathons, camping, backpacking, and reading a good book.

Rene Perez is a Napa native who has been involved in the community of people with disabilities most of his life.  His passion to work with this community stems from his personal experience with his brother who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy at an early age.  After receiving his B.A. in Sociology from UC Davis, Rene continued in the field, working with children with a wide range of disabilities.  He later joined CASE in 2011.  In his free time, he enjoys playing sports, spending time with family and friends, and playing with his dog, Kahlua.

Melissa grew up in North San Diego County and has experience working with children and families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders in home, school and clinical settings over the last seven years.  She has a deep commitment to children and a great understanding of what it takes to help them succeed.

Melissa holds a B.A. in Human Development with a concentration in Children Services.  She is trained in teaching a variety of social, communicative, adaptive and academic skills.  Her most rewarding experiences in the field occur when challenging behaviors are overcome and a greater opportunity for learning unfolds.  Melissa considers herself blessed to work with this population and is inspired by them every day. 

In her spare time, Melissa enjoys working on the house and preparing meals with her husband, walking her pug; Sugar and visiting with family and friends.

Kristi MacLiesh grew up in the beautiful Napa Valley. She began her passion of working with children in her junior year of high school. She received her A.A. in General Education, Math and Science, and Social and Behavioral Sciences and transferred to San Francisco State University and received her B.A. in Child and Adolescent Development with a concentration in Youth and Family.

While living in San Francisco, Kristi worked as an Early Childhood Interpreter at the California Academy of Sciences and as a Camp Counselor at UCSF. In her last semester at SFSU, she conducted her internship at the non-profit, Edgewood Center for Children and Families. She interned through the school base program mentoring inner city children. She was drawn to ABA therapy and joined CASE in June 2011. She helps co-lead F.R.I.E.N.D.S. Club and strongly believes in the importance of socialization. In Kristi’s spare time, she enjoys curling up with a good book, being surrounded by nature, going to concerts and festivals, and spending time with family and friends. Some of her goals include, developing appropriate activities to teach social skills and communication, earning a Master’s in School Psychology, and learning how to speak a second language fluently.

Brian Ragan began working with children under the Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2003 and immediately fell in love with the field. He transferred to California State University Fullerton and finished with a Bachelor of Science in Child and Adolescent Development. While obtaining his degree he was in charge of the Media and Social unit for a non-profit cooperation in Orange County and worked closely with a client who is on the board of the Consumer Advisory Committee at the Department of Developmental Services in Sacramento. He also helped begin a new non-profit program for adults with disabilities in Long Beach which is still running today. Since then, he has moved to Northern California to his lovely wife’s hometown of Napa and has gone back to his roots working with children, teens, and adults under the spectrum at Comprehensive Autism Services and Education, Inc.

          Calla grew up in Sonoma County and has worked in the field serving children and families with various forms of behavioral challenges and special needs in non-profit, county, school, and legal environments over the last twelve years.  Calla holds a B.A. in Child Development and Psychology, and a masters degree in Clinical Social Work. Since joining the CASE team, Calla continues to be inspired by the amazing opportunity to provide behavioral support and intervention to  children, adults, and families in the community.  Calla is very passionate about working with children of varying behavioral and emotional abilities toward facilitating a healthy and successful individual and family.   In her spare time, Calla loves to spend time with her family and friends, take road trips, picnics in the back yard, surprises, and is she is currently obsessed with the Food Network!

     Marcela joined CASE in 2011. She currently attends online courses through the University of Phoenix and is working on the completion of her Bachelor of Science in Psychology.  She has been working with young children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder since the year 2005, primarily focusing on early intervention.   Marcela has a strong passion for parent education and believes in the partnership of parent and educators to ensure child success. Her first hand experience with a family member who has a diagnosis of autism is what has strengthened her passion and dedication to the autistic population and their families. Marcela enjoys spending time with her family, and on her spare time, she likes to go fishing, bowling, dancing and playing around with electronics.

Sonja Kiser has been be involved working with children diagnosed with Autism throughout Napa County for six-years. Services have included providing early behavioral intervention within the classroom and home settings. She joined C.A.S.E Inc in August 2010, with enthusiasm to continue providing services for children and their families.

At this time Sonja is pursuing the completion of a B.S degree in Early Childhood Education through the Pacific Union College.

In her spare time Sonja enjoys gardening, shopping…and helping around her family's ranch.

Sonja Sunderland was born and raised in a little town called Paradise CA. She was in search of a college town with sandy beaches and continuous sunshine which brought her to Santa Barbara, CA. There she graduated from UC Santa Barbara earning a Bachelor of Arts In Psychology with major emphasis in Child Development.
 

Sonja has always been interested in the creativity and excitement children bring to everyday life. She has spent close to ten years working with youth in childcare facilities, as a nanny, in public school classrooms, as a soccer camp coach, and as an ABA Interventionist.

After discovering her passion working with children on the spectrum at an ABA preschool in Seattle, Sonja moved to Northern California and joined C.A.S.E, Inc. in 2010 as a Behavior Interventionist.

In her free time she enjoys being active, hiking, cooking and spending time with her friends and family.  She also loves to travel and explore new cultures and surroundings. Sonja is very excited about growing with CASE and looks forward to the adventures ahead.