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Meet the Team
Jill Scarbro
Founder, BCBA
Michael Leffler
Director, Operations
Michael is the office manager at Bright Futures, and has been on staff in this capacity since 2014. He worked directly with clients as a behavior technician before assuming his current roll. Prior to joining our team, Michael worked in the information technology division as a contractor for several different insurance companies. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in history from Morehead State University. In addition to being a favorite “reinforcer” for many of our clients, Michael excels at navigating the gauntlet of insurance claims and billing, and is vital part of day-to-day operations at Bright Futures.
Michael is the office manager at Bright Futures, and has been on staff in this capacity since 2014. He worked directly with clients as a behavior technician before assuming his current roll. Prior to joining our team, Michael worked in the information technology division as a contractor for several different insurance companies. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in history from Morehead State University. In addition to being a favorite “reinforcer” for many of our clients, Michael excels at navigating the gauntlet of insurance claims and billing, and is vital part of day-to-day operations at Bright Futures.
Alexis Spence, BCBA
Director, Foundations
Cassidy Loften, M.A., BCBA
BCBA, Foundations
Cassidy received her B.A. in Multidisciplinary Studies from West Virginia University in 2017 and started working as a Registered Behavior Technician at Bright Futures Learning Services that same year. She earned her master’s degree in special education, with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis from Arizona State University in 2020 and became a Board Certified Behavior Analysts in 2021. Cassidy completed her supervised experience hours with support from the Benedum Foundation. In addition to working with Bright Futures mentors, Alexis Spence, Teri Leffler, Beverly McCoy and Jill Scarbro, Cassidy gained experience working with Dr. Shahla Alai Rosalas, Steve Ward, and Alison Moors Lipshin. Throughout her career with Bright Futures, she has implemented and developed programming in the clinical setting with children ranging from 2 to 7 years old. Cassidy’s areas of interest include parent and family training, graduated exposure therapy and helping her learners develop language and communication skills and to self- regulate.
Cassidy received her B.A. in Multidisciplinary Studies from West Virginia University in 2017 and started working as a Registered Behavior Technician at Bright Futures Learning Services that same year. She earned her master’s degree in special education, with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis from Arizona State University in 2020 and became a Board Certified Behavior Analysts in 2021. Cassidy completed her supervised experience hours with support from the Benedum Foundation. In addition to working with Bright Futures mentors, Alexis Spence, Teri Leffler, Beverly McCoy and Jill Scarbro, Cassidy gained experience working with Dr. Shahla Alai Rosalas, Steve Ward, and Alison Moors Lipshin. Throughout her career with Bright Futures, she has implemented and developed programming in the clinical setting with children ranging from 2 to 7 years old. Cassidy’s areas of interest include parent and family training, graduated exposure therapy and helping her learners develop language and communication skills and to self- regulate.
Meet our Coaches and Consultants
Steve Ward, MA, BCBA
Steve Ward, MA, BCBA has been working in the field of Behavior Analysis since 1995, and is currently co-owner of Whole Child Consulting, LLC. Steve has been consulting to teams around the world, addressing everything from early communication and physical aggression to vocational opportunities and inclusion in college courses.
Steve authored What You Need to Know about Motivation and Teaching Games: An In-depth Analysis, The Inventory of Good Learner Repertoires, and Teaching Good Learner Repertoires and co-authored Teaching Advanced Learner Repertoires, Another 21 Games: This time, it’s personal…, and 2,100+ Inexpensive Ideas for Play and Intrinsic Motivation. These publications reflect Steve’s passion not only for what students learn, but also for the manner in which they learn it. Steve specializes in teaching learner repertoires, including social repertoires, incorporating knowledge from a variety of perspectives and remaining at all times behavioral in his own perspective.
Shahla Alai-Rosales, PHD, BCBA-D, CPBA-AP
Shahla Alai-Rosales, PHD, BCBA-D, CPBA-AP is a Professor in the Department of Behavior Analysis at the University of North Texas. She has taught courses in Texas, Europe and the Middle East on a variety of topics, including ethics, early autism intervention, parent training, behavioral systems, applied research methods, technology transfer, behavior change techniques, and cultural diversity. Shahla has published and presented research on social justice, ethics in early intervention, play and social skills, family harmony, and supervision and mentoring. Shahla has more than four decades of experience working with families and has trained hundreds of behavior analysts. She has received awards for her teaching (SGA ‘Fessor Graham Award), her work with families (Onassis Scholar Award), and for her sustained contributions (UNT Community Engagement Award, TXABA Career Contributions Award, the GSU Lutzker Distinguished Lecturer, the ABAI Donald M. Baer Distinguished Lecture, and the 23-24 University of Kansas ABS Outstanding Alumni Award). She was a member of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board, the ABAI Practice Board, the ABAI DEI Board and an Associate Editor for Behavior Analysis in Practice. Shahla is co-author of Building and Sustaining Meaningful and Effective Relationships as a Supervisor and Mentor (LeBlanc, Sellers & Alai, 2020) and Responsible and Responsive Parenting in Autism: Between Now and Dreams (Alai-Rosales & Heinkel-Wolfe, 2022).
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