Meet Our Team

Maryam Abedi, Ph.D., LMFT, BCBA-D

Clinical Director/President

Dr. Maryam Abedi is the Founder and Clinical Director of ABEDI, Inc. She has over 30 years of experience in the management of services for people with complex behavior challenges as well as providing behavior consultation and training. She spends much of her time consulting with families of individuals with developmental disabilities, schools, residential facilities, and adult foster family agencies. In addition, Dr. Abedi has conducted various seminars and workshops on the topics of non-aversive behavior management strategies and staff development, both locally and nationally.

Dr. Abedi is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She is the co-author of The Periodic Service Review, a book on the total quality assurance system for human services and education.

For a complete list of Dr. Abedi’s presentations and publications, click here.

Julia Shaull, LCSW, BCBA

Senior Clinical Consultant

Julia is a licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She is the co-author of The Periodic Service Review: A total quality assurance system for human services and education, as well as competency based staff training programs.

Julia has been working to improve the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities throughout her career. Her experiences include clinical, administrative, leadership, staff training, parent education and organizational behavior management. Julia has worked in schools, homes and communities with pre-school to adult clients and their support teams. She developed a day training service for adults, from an idea to a service for hundreds of people in a multi-county area. She is certified in Pivotal Response Training through the Koegel Autism Center.

Katie Bruellet, M.A., BCBA

Director of Behavior Services in Orange County

Katie has been with ABEDI Inc. since 2011 and our Director of Behavior Services since 2016. Katie has nearly 20 years of experience working with children and adults with developmental disabilities, having extensive experience with those with significant challenging and dangerous behaviors. Katie takes pride in providing leadership and mentoring to the employees of ABEDI Inc., encouraging and empowering each to reach their goals and potential. In her free time Katie enjoys hanging out her wife and two children and coaching the Jrs. Challenger Baseball team.

Lizeth Corral, M.A., BCBA

Manager of ABA/AST Services in Los Angeles County

Lizeth is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She earned her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from California State University, Northridge. Lizeth has extensive experience teaching social skills to adolescents with Autism within clinic settings and has conducted parent education classes to help parents create social opportunities for their children while coaching them to be more social. Lizeth joined ABEDI in 2012 and has worked as Behavior Interventionist and later as Consulting Supervisor overseeing both AST and ABA services in the North Los Angeles area. This year Lizeth took on yet another position as manager of ABA/AST services in the North Los Angeles area. Lizeth’s interest lies in research involving family dynamics/ecological factors and their impact on children’s development and growth.

Rebecca Woode, M.S., BCBA

Clinical Supervisor

Rebecca is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst. She has been working with children with and without developmental disabilities since 2010 when she graduated Whittier College with her BA in Psychology. She has experience in and outside of the classroom and has been involved in swim programs and surf camps for children and young adults with ASD. In 2014 she was introduced to the field of ABA and since then gained experience in multiple teaching methodologies including DTT, PRT, and naturalistic teaching. In 2017, Rebecca decided to further her education and went back to school for her MS in Applied Behavior Analysis. One of her passions in the field is teaching functional communication to early childhood learners along with the use of functional communication to decrease a variety of severe challenging behaviors. In her free time, Rebecca enjoys hiking with her husband, cooking and spending time with her family.

Neomi Garzon, M.S., BCBA

Manager of PRIDE Adult Day Service and Behavior Respite in Los Angeles County

Neomi is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She earned her Masters Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from California State University Northridge. She first started volunteering with individuals with disabilities while she completed her Bachelors degree in 2012. Following this she joined the ABEDI team in 2014. She has worked with both children and adult, and currently she is working  as Consulting Supervisor overseeing the provision of ABA and AST services in the North Los Angeles Area. She also has experience consulting with group homes. She is passionate about what she does and is interested in both parent and staff training.

Rachel Kearsley, M.A., BCBA

Consulting Supervisor

Rachel is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She earned her Master’s degree in Behavior Clinical Psychology from California State University- Northridge. Rachel joined ABEDI in 2009. She initially worked as a Behavior Interventionist and later as a Consulting Supervisor overseeing the implementation of ABA services in North Los Angeles area. Rachel has  worked with  toddlers, preschoolers, elementary school children, teenagers and adults with developmental disabilities, mainly those with Autism throughout her career.

Taryn Magdaleno, M.S., BCBA

Consulting Supervisor

Taryn is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She earned her Masters Degree in Counseling with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis from Cal State University Los Angeles. Taryn has extensive experience working with persons with developmental disabilities. Her experience expands across 10 years and includes working in settings such as a clinic with pre-school age children, multiple ABA agencies as a Behavior Technician, a Paraprofessional and Behavior Intervention Assistant at a non-public school, and Lead Job Coach at a community-based day program. Taryn joined the ABEDI team in 2021 and works hard to ensure that all consumers, families, and staff are supported. In her free time, Taryn enjoys spending with her nieces and nephews and watching Netflix with her soon to be husband Kyle and their dog Kimba.

Judy Pawid, M.S., BCBA

Consulting Supervisor

Judy earned Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health from Cal State Fullerton in 2015. In 2016, She was introduced to the field of ABA. She became a RBT and focused mainly on early intervention and working with neurodiverse individuals between the ages of 2 to 10 years old. Judy decided to go back to school for her Master’s Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis in 2018. She earned her BCBA certification in 2021 and since then, She has expanded her experience and collaborations with various populations and stakeholders. Outside of work, Judy enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and dogs. She likes hiking and exploring new trails and going to the beach. Judy also enjoys making time to travel and explore new places.

Trace Goslin

Manager of PRIDE Adult Day Service and Behavior Respite Service in Orange County

Trace joined ABEDI in 2017 as a manager of PRIDE Adult Day Service and Behavior Respite Service. Trace was born, raised and educated in Wellington, New Zealand. She earned her bachelor degree from Wellington Teachers College in early education.She came to America in 1992 when she began her teaching career working with individuals with special needs primarily in the private sector. Trace has worked with preschoolers, elementary school children, teenagers and adults with developmental disabilities, mostly those with Autism throughout her career. Her interest has always been in Customizing Employment for people with disabilities.

Trace is also a yoga instructor to special needs children which she enjoys tremendously. She has earned ACRE Certification which is a national certification in basic employment services including customize employment .

Rhonda Rivas

Manager of Administrative Services

Rhonda Rivas comes to ABEDI, Inc. with over 20 years of medical office administrative experience. As our point person for Human Resources, she provides support for all our staff.

With her extensive knowledge of health insurance and insurance billing, our families have found Rhonda to be very helpful and supportive in navigating the insurance maze.

Rhonda will be happy to help you with determining eligibility and benefits with your specific insurance plan. She is ready to assist you to secure services for a family member or yourself with ABEDI, Inc.

Marjan Abedi

Business Administrator

Marjan has joined ABEDI team with more than 20 years of administrative and financial experience. She manages the day to day   operation of North Los Angeles office and oversees ABEDI accounts payable and receivable as well as managing purchases and expenses.