Next Step Academy

The Picky Eaters’ Club

General Inquiries

About The Academy

What We Value:

  • FOUNDER'S STATEMENT:
    We are a Christian founded and managed organization. As a result we operate on and highly value biblical truth. We seek to be pleasing to God, according to His Word, in all that we say and do. We live out this founding principle through our commitment to our core values.

    Our Leadership Team

    Lauren Abel / Founder, Executive Director

    Lauren Abel has been helping children with Autism Spectrum disorders in the Houston, TX area since she was a teenager. She knew at a very young age that she was called to be an agent of positive change within the special needs community. After graduating with a degree in Psychology from the University of Houston, she found herself unhappy and burned out working in a traditional behavioral clinic. This frustration fueled her passion to figure out a way to reach more children with Autism and to improve their lives in meaningful ways by meeting their individual needs. She knew there had to be a better way, and she was willing to rock the boat to find it. She quit her job and hit the road as a traveling therapist, conducting private in-home sessions for a small group of children. The improvements these children demonstrated, as a result of working with Lauren, were astounding to their parents. Parents were seeing firsthand that improvement was possible, even if they hadn’t experienced it before.

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    Mary A. Burnside, Ph.D / Clinical Psychologist

    Dr. Mary Burnside earned her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Houston. She has called Houston her home since coming here to attend Rice University.

    During her time at UH, she trained at various agencies in Houston including an internship at Baylor College of Medicine and as a post doctoral fellowship at theVA Medical Center.

    Among her other experiences, she worked in the Appraisal and Treatment classrooms of HISD for a school year, helping teachers learn effective behavioral management techniques with elementary aged emotionally/behaviorally...

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    Danielle T. Alexander, Psy.D., BCBA/ Clinical Director, Picky Eaters Club

    Dr. Danielle Alexander was strongly drawn to working with children during undergraduate study at the University of North Texas, after which she went on to earn her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology at Nova Southeastern University (Fort Lauderdale, Florida). During her time at NSU, she specialized in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and working with children with developmental disorders. During pre- and post-doctoral fellowships at Johns Hopkins University, she pursued specialization working with children with severe behavior problems and feeding disorders. Since earning her Board Certification of Behavioral Analysis (BCBA) and psychology doctorate in 2016, she has worked with a neurodiverse population of children and adults in the states of Maryland and Florida to help unlock their potential.

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    Jay Burton, BCBA, LBA/ Behavior Analyst, Clinical Director, The Next Step Academy

    Jay began working in the field of ABA in 2013 as a part time behavior therapist, in the beautiful state of Colorado. After graduating with his bachelor’s in public administration from the University of Colorado, he pursued his Master’s Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis at Ball State University. Graduating in 2017, he became a BCaBA shortly afterwards and in 2018 became a BCBA. In 2021 he accepted a position as Clinical Operations Director at one of the largest clinics in South Florida. His passion in this field is in the development of communication and early adaptive skills. 


    His passion and love for the field grew substantially when his first son was diagnosed with autism. This opened his eyes to the struggles that parents face in getting ABA services and the need for better practices as a field.

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    Casey Spence, M.Ed / Behavior Specialist

    Casey is passionate about unlocking potential in children and young adults with emotional and behavioral challenges. She specializes in reducing severe and problem behaviors taking an individualized approach, as well as working with teams, teachers and families to build systems and supports that allow for maximum growth. 

    Since 2007 Casey has been dedicated to working with special populations in public school and her community, supporting not only students, but also their families and teachers.

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    Jessenia Reider / BCaBA, RBT Supervisor

    Jessenia has always had a passion for teaching and for working with children. She has her bachelor’s degree in Psychology, and has been a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) since February 2018. Jessenia is currently working on obtaining her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, and has plans to pursue Board Certification as a Behavior Analyst (BCBA) in the future. Jessenia has two dogs, Abby and Cali, who she adores! When she is not working or doing schoolwork she enjoys playing with her dogs, reading, and watching scary movies. Jessenia is passionate about helping unlock potential in children with Autism, and about helping her team grow to be the best...

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    Amelia Redmond / Educational Specialist, Interventionist, Diagnostician

    Amelia has provided children with individualized education for 11 years. As a certified special education teacher, she has a variety of experience teaching students from pre-k to adulthood. She graduated from the University of Houston with an M.Ed in Special Populations and received her certification as an Educational Diagnostician.


    Amelia follows the Data-based individualization (DBI) framework. DBI is a research-based process for individualizing and intensifying interventions through the systematic use of assessment data, validated interventions, and research-based adaptation strategies.

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    Billie McKee / Business Manager

    Born, raised and educated in the UK, Billie McKee emigrated, with her husband and two children, to Florida in 1993. Upon moving to Texas in 1997, she began working as a substitute teacher in her local school district and discovered a passion for working with children with special needs. This passion was recognized by several of the schools and resulted in a full time position with the Special Education program in various roles over a number of years. Before her relocation to Houston, Billie was the Operations Director of an ABA Center in the DFW area and initially joined the Next Step Academy as Lauren's assistant and is now the Business Manager. Billie understands the way autism affects the...

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    Theola Kinnard, MS, RBT / Clinic Operation Manager

    My passion and journey for working with children and families started 10 years ago. I received my undergraduate degree in Children and Family Studies, with a minor in Psychology. I went on to earn a Masters Degree in Social Work with a minor in Human Services for Underserved Populations. Following my graduation in 202, I began working in the field of ABA and feel in love with the work. I decided that this is the field I want to pursue as a career, and I’ve been working actively to grow and learn in the ABA world ever since.

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    Ben Flores / Executive Assistant

    Ben Flores has been working in the ABA field since 2005. He started as a behavior technician, and has since been involved in center based, in-home, shadowing, community outings, respite, research, management, and workshops. He loves helping children and families, and sharing those successes with the passionate people who make up this field. In his spare time, he likes taking his two dogs on long walks, and playing video games with his wife and 6-year-old daughter. He loves the opportunity to be with The Next Step Academy to continue servicing the community. As the Executive Assistant, Ben helps with onboarding new families, verifying insurance, recruiting, and scheduling at...

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    Hanh Nguyen / Clinical Administrator

    Hanh Nguyen is a motivated team player with a high level of professionalism and work ethic. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education and began working with children in 2007. Her career working in the field of ABA started in 2010 and she has experience working with various developmental disabilities with individuals ranging from ages 1 to 35. She loves to work with children and is passionate about helping others. In her spare time she enjoys cooking and spending quality time with family. She enjoys making a positive impact with the families and the organization.

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