Our Team
Learn more about our compassionate team of experienced professionals.
​
Meet The Team
Ann Tinpan
Chief Operating Officer
​
S. Ann Tinpan is the Chief Operating Officer and handles all aspects of the company, ranging from phone calls with consumer families, monitoring the progress of all consumers, and all day-to-day operations. Ann is known by everyone in the company for her leadership skills, communication, empathy, and ability to act quickly and effectively. Her mission is to ensure that all consumers receiving services from Autism of America are seeing continued progress and meeting their goals. Ann is a true advocate for children with autism and her passion in life is to do whatever she can to ensure that all children in need of ABA services not only have access to ABA therapy, but effective, life changing ABA therapy.
Sandy Sitto
Chief Compliance Officer
​
Sandy Sitto is the Chief Compliance Officer and handles matters related to company policies and procedures. Sandy has been an attorney since 2010 and has experience representing numerous health care providers. Her primary focus now is to help children with autism reach their maximum potential. Based on her background, Sandy is quick to adapt and implement new policies as requirements change and employee and consumer needs arise. Sandy recognizes that in order to provide effective ABA services, receiving the required training and credentialing is critical.
Cara Gugliemella,MA,BCBA,LBA
Clinical Director
​
Cara Gugliemella received her undergraduate degree from Montclair State University in New Jersey, followed by going to New York University to earn a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology. She went on to Rutgers University in New Jersey to do graduate coursework in Behavior Analysis and became a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) in 2012. Cara has been working with adults and children with autism and other disabilities for 18 years. Cara has experienced working in psychiatric hospitals, residential facilities, schools, out in the community, and with families of individuals of varying age levels. She also has 10 years of experience as a Clinical Director and has assisted with opening various ABA centers in Indiana, Virginia, and New Jersey. Cara’s interests include conducting functional behavioral analysis, teaching adaptive living skills, and promoting independence for the individuals she serves. Cara has done many trainings, presented at conferences, and written a journal article pertaining to these interests.
Heather Gilmore, MSW, BCBA, LBA
Clinician/trainer
​
Heather is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She has also obtained a master’s degree in social work with a Graduate Certificate in Community Outreach and Engagement and a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a youth services minor. Heather has over 15 years of experience working with children and families in many capacities. Heather has provided children's mental health therapy, applied behavior analysis services, childcare, and much more. Heather is the mother of 4 amazing children who are all unique and awesome in their own way. Professionally, Heather aims to provide high quality services that support the well-being of the people she serves. Heather is also passionate about supporting neurodiverse individuals and their families through organizational management, creating informational content, and developing training resources. When Heather is not working, she enjoys reading, gardening, hiking, traveling, and spending time with her children.
Lindsay Maiani, MS, QBHP
Clinician
​
Lindsay Maiani has worked in the ABA field for 8 years. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Oakland University in Elementary Education and a Master of Science in Psychology with a specialization in Applied Behavior Analysis, from Capella University. She has a strong passion for working with children and young adults to help them reach their goals and learn new skills. At Autism of America, she is committed to her clients and their families, supporting them and helping her clients accomplish skills to become more independent and successful in their day to day lives. When Lindsay is not working, she enjoys golfing, singing, traveling and spending time with her husband. They are expecting their first baby (girl) very soon and are very excited for this next chapter!
Luke Lubbers MA, BCBA, LBA
Clinician
​
​Luke Lubbers is a BCBA at the Autism of America Grand Rapids Center. He earned his Bachelor's Degree at Central Michigan University, and began working with children with Autism as a Behavioral Technician. Later on, Luke completed his Master's Degree at Ball State University. He strives to provide quality and compassionate care to all of his clients, families, and staff. Outside of work, Luke enjoys spending time with his wife and cat, and playing video games.
Alison Mulrenin, MA, BCBA, LBA
Clinician
​
Alison has been working in the world of ABA for about 5 years with kiddos from 20 months to young adults up to 20 years! She lives in Grand Rapids, MI with her partner and her (almost) 1-year-old son. She enjoys spending time getting to know new people in the community and watching scary movies with friends. Alison takes pride in always having the best interest of the client and family in mind when creating treatment plans that are individualized for the specific needs of each individual.
Morghan Minnick, MS, BCBA, LBA
Clinician
​
Morghan Minnick is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) from Stanton, MI. She attended Northern Michigan University where she worked in a variety of settings, including schools, center-based therapies, and in-patient drug rehab facilities for youth. She's presented research at multiple conferences across the country. Previously, she worked at Central Michigan University providing therapy to clients while supervising students training to become BCBAs. She has supervised and mentored over 20 clinicians in training. Currently, Morghan works as the Lead BCBA of the Montcalm County Region for Autism of America and rotates between the three centers located in Montcalm. Her specialty is in Early-Intensive Behavior Intervention (EI-BI) providing comprehensive therapies for 3-5 year olds in order to promote early learner skills and language acquisition. Morghan has worked with clients from as young as 18-months old all the way up to 21-years old. While not providing ABA therapy, Morghan is often found training her dogs in multiple competitive sports, reading a good book, or playing some video games.
Madison Bonaminio, MA, BCBA, LBA
Clinician
​
Madison Bonaminio, BCBA, is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, providing supervision and ABA therapy at Autism of America. She was introduced to the field in 2018 as an undergrad from Siena Heights University where she started working as a behavior technician. Madison's passion for ABA quickly grew and in 2021 she graduated with her master's degree of Applied Behavior Analysis from Ball State University. Madison's clinical experience includes working with individuals between the ages of 2 - 20 years old on the autism spectrum. Madison strives to be an advocate for her clients and provide them with the tools and skills needed to live their most independent life.
Brittany Arnold MS, BCBA, LBA
Clinician
​
Brittany Arnold is a BCBA with Autism of America. She has been in the field for 10 years. She graduated from Ohio Dominican University with a Bachelor’s of Art in Psychology and University of Michigan-Dearborn with a Master’s of Science in Clinical and Health Psychology. She then received her Applied Behavior Analysis specialization from Michigan State University. She has experience working with individuals aged ranging from young childhood to young adulthood. She has participated in various research projects and presented research findings. She has experience working in centers, homes, in the community, and schools. Brittany’s interests include research, working with comorbidities, in particular anxiety, and animal assisted therapy. She looks forward to contributing her experiences and knowledge with her team.
Kristen Schoonover, M.A., BCBA
Clinician
​
​Kristen is a passionate Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with nearly 8 years of experience in the ABA field. She excels in writing behavior intervention plans, creating treatment objectives, and helping her fellow BCBAs and team members succeed in their work. She finds that some of the most rewarding parts of the job are the relationships built with the clients and families, and the observable progress made over time. She has a master's degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Ball State University. Prior to her work as a BCBA, she spent 4 years as an RBT, doing 1 on 1 therapy, and providing clinical support. Kristen has a proven track record of having great domain knowledge, creativity to think outside of the box, and unbeatable dedication to helping out her clients.
Miagrace Biretta Somsel,
MA, BCBA, LBA
Clinician
​
Originally from Metro-Detroit, Miagrace began working in the ABA field in 2016. She moved to Grand Rapids with her husband a few years later. She loves spending time outdoors, and spending time with her husband, daughter and dogs. She has worked with a wide variety of clients varying in ages, behaviors and independence. She loves getting to know families through assessments and watching ABA impact their lives throughout services.
Hailey Albert, MS, BCBA, LBA
Clinician
​
Hailey has her Masters in Psychology from Capella University in 2019. She has been working in the field of ABA with people who have autism, TBI, RAD, eating disorders, ODD and other disorders since 2015. Hailey got into working with children, teens, and adults with autism in 2016 after the expansion of coverage for ABA therapy. She has experience from a child's perspective in ABA, to a technician, and now as a clinician. Hailey obtained her BCBA and LBA in 2020. She has stated that her goal is to help every person she interacts be the best version of themselves by meeting them where they are at and listening to what they have to say or to show.
Caitlyn Passino MA, BCBA, LBA
Clinician
​
Caitlyn Passino is a BCBA with Autism of America. She has been in the field of ABA for 5 years. She graduated from Central Michigan University with a Bachelor's of Science degree in Education and then completed her Masters of Arts in Special Education with a focus in Applied Behavioral Analysis from Arizona State University. Since being in the field, she has worked directly with individuals aged ranging from young childhood to young adulthood. She is passionate about providing client focused and trauma informed care to the clients and their families. When she is not working, she spends time with her husband, baby, and their 2 dogs and 2 cats.
Samantha McKinnon, M.Ed, BCBA, LBA
Clinician
​
Originally from Metro Detroit, Sam McKinnon, BCBA, is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with Autism of America. Sam has been in the field for 7 years. She graduated from Central Michigan University in 2019 with an undergrad in Childhood Development, and graduated from Arizona State University in 2021 with a Masters Degree in Special Education with a concentration in Applied Behavior Analysis. She has experience with children from ages 2-18. Sam loves supporting clients with reaching their milestones and building their independence through ABA concepts. At home, Sam loves spending time and snuggling with her Golden Retriever pup Bentley!