Leadership
Dr. David Pyles, BCBA-D
President and Founder
Dr. David Pyles received his PhD in Psychology, with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis in 1992 from the Florida State University. He has extensive experience with behavioral intervention in both developmental centers and in community group homes, and has a track record successfully treating extremely challenging cases. He has also assisted a number of states to address deficiencies and to successfully resolve Consent Decrees, Settlement Agreements, and Court Orders resulting from U.S. Department of Justice litigation. Dr. Pyles also helped establish the MA and PhD Behavior Analysis programs at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. He was an Associate Professor of Psychology with an emphasis in Behavior Analysis at the school, where he taught several MA and PhD-level courses and advised a number of students on their master’s theses and dissertations. When he is not working, Dr. Pyles can be found rocking out on the guitar.
Megan Pyles, M.S., BCBA
Clinical Director – Kids
Megan has worked in the field of ABA since 2006, with clients ranging from early childhood well into adulthood. In 2018, Megan graduated with her Master’s degree from California State University, Sacramento under the advisement of Dr. Caio Miguel. The following year, she moved into the role of Clinical Director at Pyles & Associates. In 2021, her thesis project, ‘Teaching Children with Autism to Mand for Information Using “Why?” as a Function of Denied Access” was published in the Analysis of Verbal Behavior. In addition to this publication, she been awarded two research awards and has presented at several state and national conferences. She is currently enrolled in a PhD program at Capella University and looks forward to continuing to conduct research that improves the quality of services that individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities receive. When she’s not saving the world with ABA, Megan enjoys spending time with her dog and doing pilates.
Dr. Adrienne Hursh, BCBA-D
Clinical Director – Adults
Dr. Adrienne Hursh has her PhD in Psychology with a specialization in Behavior Analysis from The Chicago School, Los Angeles. Her dissertation focused on cultural selection. She has been working with individuals with developmental disabilities and mental health diagnoses since 2000 and in the field of ABA formally since 2002. She has worked with Pyles and Associates since 2013. She started working in ABA after being introduced formally to the science in her undergraduate studies at the University of Cincinnati. When she is not working for P&A she spends her time with her daughter, hiking and camping.
Aileen Andrade, M.S., BCBA
Clinical Director – Respite
Aileen received her Bachelor’s degree in Public Health from California State University, Los Angeles in 2015. She attended Capella University and received her Master’s degree in Psychology with a specialization in Applied Behavior Analysis in 2018. Aileen has over ten years of experience working with individuals with developmental disabilities and over six years of experience in ABA working with both children and adults. She developed a passion for the field in 2015 working as a Behavior Therapist for children. Outside of work, Aileen enjoys spending time with her family, baking with her son, running, hiking, and watching Marvel movies.
Wolf Supervisory Team (Adults Division)
Diana Mota, M.S., BCBA
Senior Behavior Consultant
Diana graduated with an undergraduate degree in psychology from CSUN in 2016. In 2018, she graduated from a master’s program in Behavioral Psychology at Pepperdine. She has 6 years of experience in the field and has been with Pyles for over 2 years. When she is not working, she likes to tend to her current plant jungle, go on hikes and adventures with her boyfriend and her cat Nicholas, and go to the movies.
Lizzie Wong, M.S., BCBA
Senior Behavior Consultant
Lizzie has over 15 years of experience in the field of ABA. She has been at Pyles & Associates for 4 years. Along with Dr. Hursh, she led a workshop at ABAI in 2019 called “Help Us Help You: Rapport Building and the Applied Setting”. When she is not at work, you can find her at metal and punk shows, camping, hiking, or off-roading.
Martha Rivera, M.S., BCBA
Behavior Consultant
Martha received her M.S. in Behavior Psychology from Pepperdine in 2019. She has 15 years of management experience, and 4 years of experience in the field of ABA. She has worked at Pyles & Associates for 2 years. After work you can find her running outdoor trails or on her treadmill, playing basketball, rollerblading, traveling the world, and trying out new breweries.
Matthew Stein, M.S., BCBA
Behavior Consultant
Matt graduated California State University, Chico with a Major in Child Development and Minor in Special Education. He received an M.S. in Behavioral Psychology from Pepperdine University. He has been in the field of ABA for 4 years. Before working in ABA, Matt worked with teenagers and young adults with developmental disabilities at a local park district through a Recreation Therapy program. After 4 years of work with children, he decided to serve the adult population to provide therapeutic opportunities and support for clients that have aged out of school-funded services. Outside of work, you can find Matt mountain biking, playing basketball, disc golfing, hiking, traveling to Northern California to see friends and family, and going to the movie theater.
Angela Shamlian, M.S., BCBA
Behavior Consultant
Angela has a B.S. in Family Consumer Sciences with emphasis in Family Services from CSUN, and an M.S. In Behavioral Psychology from Pepperdine University. She has worked in the field of ABA for 5 years. When she is not working, you can find Angela rescuing animals, making candles, and gardening.
Shai Maor, M.S., BCBA
Senior Behavior Consultant /
Crisis Coordinator
Shai received an M.S. in ABA from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. He has over 8 years of experience in the field, and has led workshops at CalABA and ABAI on Rapport building with staff, staff implementation and training, and overall behavior management. He presented a poster at ABAI on client problem behaviors and how confounding variables affect problem behavior management. Shai also has extensive experience conducting PCMA crisis management trainings and presentations. When he is not at work, you can find him successfully completing escape rooms (he has a 98-3 escape record), watching movies, or performing stand up comedy.
Panda Supervisory Team (Kids Division)
Ines Osorio Soto, M.S.
Program Manager
Ines graduated from California State University, Los Angeles with a B.A. in Sociology in 2013. He received his Masters of Science in ABA from National University in 2021. He has worked in the clinical field for 6 years, and at Pyles and Associates for 2 years. Ines is married and has two daughters, and when he is not working, he enjoys watching horror movies and rom-coms, hiking, running, watching musical theater, reading, and spending time with his family.
Trevor Sebastian, M.A., BCBA
BCBA Supervisor
Trevor has an M.A. in Experimental Psychology from California State University Fullerton. He received ABA coursework requirements from the Florida Institute of Technology. Trevor has 6 years of experience working in ABA. Outside of work Trevor has many hobbies! He is currently training for his first marathon, but he also recently started backpacking. If he is not out on an adventure, you can almost always find him curling up with a good book!
Brittany Macias, M.S.
Program Manager
Brittany, a first generation graduate, received her Masters of Science in ABA from the Chicago School in 2021. She completed her thesis evaluating how to teach answering questions using a Multiple Exemplar Instruction procedure. She has presented workshops at national conferences training other behavior analysts how to teach complex verbal behavior to children with autism. When she is not at work, she is spending time with her family, her dog, Boba, and playing video games.
Victoria Rodas
Program Manager
Victoria received her Masters of Science in ABA from National University. She joined the Pyles and Associates team in 2021. When she is not at work she enjoys spending time with her family and playing sports.
Kimberly Balderas
Program Manager
Kimberly has 2 years of experience in ABA, and at Pyles & Associates. She started as a behavior technician, and then as a senior therapist, and now she works as a program manager. She is currently enrolled in the ABA Master’s program at the Chicago School. When she is not at work, she loves hiking, exploring new places, and spending time with her animals.
Sera Baghdasaryan, M.S.
Program Manager
Sera received her Masters of Science in ABA from Pepperdine University in 2019. She has over 6 years of experience with ABA, and has been working at Pyles & Associates for over a year. She got into the field of ABA because she enjoys working with others towards a shared goal: improving the lives of children with Autism. Outside of work, you can find Sera at the gym, hiking, or shopping.
Admin
Chris Desmond
Director of Operations
Chris received his B.A. from Fordham University and brings with him 10+ years of operations experience in the field of ABA. He thrives on team building and helping families in need. In addition to his administrative skills, he has a background in film production.
Laura Ruiz
HR Coordinator
Laura received her BA in Child Development from Whittier College in 2009. She started working in the field of ABA as a BT in 2011. She has worked as a BT and an Assistant Supervisor before switching to clinic operations in 2017. Laura started working at Pyles and Associates as the HR Coordinator in January 2022. Outside of work, Laura loves to spend time with her two kids and husband and going to the beach!
Kristin Maturan
Scheduling
Kristin joined the company in July 2018. She started as a Behavior Therapist and partly joined the admin team in 2019. She switched to full time scheduling starting in September 2020. Kristin is originally from Norway, she moved to LA in 2017. When she is not at work, she enjoys dancing, hiking, and traveling.