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School & Hospital Services Executive Director
James L Nicolaus, BA, MBA, MACP, LMHCA, MHP, and Psychologist Associate for the State of Washington.
James L Nicolaus, (Founder and President), started Hopeful Hands on July 9th, 2005. James has two bachelor's degrees, one in Anthropology and one in Sociology. He also has two master's degrees, one in Business Administration and the other in Counseling Psychology. Providing mental health therapy services and behavioral support to the community and school systems are the cornerstone of Hopeful Hands, Inc. James has been working directly with children and adolescents with mental health challenges, autism, and significant behaviors of concern across many settings for over 20 years. James has also worked for the State of Washington at Children's Administration as a Social worker 3. He ran investigations, provided community resources and helped families who were without hope. His many years of work with neurodiverse individuals fuels him to continue learning and pursuing education.
Applied Behavior Analysis
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Executive Director of Clinical & Camp Services
Hayley Waltz, MS, BCBA, LBA
Hayley is a board certified behavior analyst (BCBA) and licensed behavior analyst (LBA). She also maintains a Washington state counseling credential (CCC). She is a Seattle native and has worked locally in the field of applied behavior analysis since 2002. Hayley has varied experience providing behavior analytic intervention in a variety of settings, through many modalities, across the lifespan. Her areas of clinical interest are tweens through adulthood, working specifically on soft skills in executive functioning, self management and regulation. Hayley is the Executive Director of Clinical & Camp Services at Hopeful Hands, Inc overseeing all clinic, community and in-home services as well as camp organization and programming.
Edmonds Clinic BCBA's
Grace Lee, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA
Grace is a board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA) and licensed behavior analyst (LBA) in the Hopeful Hands clinic. She obtained her M.Ed in Applied Behavior Analysis in 2019. She began her career in ABA as a registered behavior technician (RBT) and continues to pursue further studies.
Grace has worked with children and adolescents with special needs since 2016. She has experience providing crisis management and positive behavior support plans for children and adolescents with challenging behaviors.
Grace can provide behavioral services in English and Korean to individuals and their families.
Jennie Kahl, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA
Jennie is a board certified behavior analyst (BCBA) and licensed behavior analyst (LBA) who has been providing services to individuals with ASD and their families since 2004. She is originally from New Jersey and graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Education in Counseling Psychology.
Jennie is a certified K-5 educator with extensive experience working in private and public schools and has provided supervision, consultation, and training to families across home and community settings. Jennie’s areas of expertise include behavior and classroom management, skill acquisition programming, and staff training. Her interests include the assessment and treatment of challenging behavior. Jennie is the clinical supervisor of the morning day program at Hopeful Hands, Inc.
ALIESE POOLE, MS, BCBA, LBA
Aliese worked as a certified behavior technician for 6 years before completing her Master's of science in psychology with a focus in ABA in 2021. She finished her practicum hours in 2022 and became a BCBA in January 2023. She has experience with learners from toddlers to adults. Outside of work Aliese likes to read books, watch movies, and do puzzles with her family.
Clinic Speech & Language Pathologist
Ally Wong Largent, MS, CCC-SLP
Originally from Anchorage, Alaska, Ally is a speech-language pathologist who graduated with an MS in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Baylor University. She has experience working in the areas of language, cognition, articulation, fluency, voice, swallowing and AAC with individuals from all walks of life spanning from infancy to senior adulthood. She is also certified in LSVT Loud. Prior to becoming an SLP, Ally was an educator who taught preschool and 5th grade. In addition to English, she also speaks Mandarin and Japanese. In her free time, she participates in a few adult hockey leagues in the Seattle area and is an avid boardgamer.
Edmonds Clinic Behavior Technicians
Amelia Cunningham, RBT, CBT
Amelia is a CBT and RBT that graduated from the University of Washington in 2020 with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. She will be pursuing her Education Specialist degree in School Psychology in 2023. She has a year of ABA experience and has worked in both schools and clinical settings with kids aged 2-18. Outside of work, she enjoys outdoor activities such as backpacking and paddleboarding, as well as spending time with friends and family.
Emelia Fournier, CBT
Emelia is a certified behavior technician who has a broad range of experience working with school aged children who are vocal and non-vocal. Outside of work, Emelia enjoys being in nature, animals, art, and spending time with friends.
Karlie Ormiston, RBT, CBT
Karlie Ormiston is a CBT/RBT who began her work in the field of ABA in Southern California back in 2017. Her background in ABA consists of working with a variety of ages and diagnoses in a clinic, home, and school settings. She has experience using Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) in a naturalistic ABA setting, as well as life skills teaching within a classroom setting. In 2021 Karlie returned to Washington State with her husband, where they were able to welcome their first child. After going back to work in the ABA field, Karlie soon joined the Hopeful Hands team and has recently begun a Master's program with the goal to become a BCBA. In her off time she enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter, and their zoo of animals.
Drake Mitby, CBT
Drake has worked with children in a special education setting before but is newer to the field of ABA. He graduated from the University of Washington in 2021 with a B.S in psychology. In his free time he enjoys building with Legos and watching sports.
Yasmin Ziranda, CBT
Yasmín is a behavior technician who is new to ABA but has a lot of experience working with kids as a para-educator . She is very passionate about teaching and is on the road to getting her bachelors in education!
Wesley Elzea, CBT
Coming Soon!
Behavior Technicians
Emiley Travers, CBT
Emiley is a certified behavioral technician with a broad array of experience working with school-aged children. Currently, she is a student at the University of Washington-Bothell, studying psychology. In her free time, Emiley likes to read, play piano and snuggle with her cat.
Javi Thode, RBT, CBT
Javi is a CBT and RBT that graduated from the University of Wyoming with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She has three years of ABA experience and has worked in schools, in home, and clinical settings. She has worked with clients in a wide age range from preschoolers to adolescents and can provide services in both English and Spanish. Javi has experience teaching various skills that have led to improved quality of life for her clients. Outside of work, Javi enjoys being in nature and spending time with her pets, family, and friends.
Riley Ellinwood, CBT
Riley is a CBT who is new to ABA but has worked as a swim instructor teaching kids with a variety of ages and needs in the past. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington in 2022 and plans to go back for a Masters in special education.
Natasha McCrackin, CBT
Natasha McCrackin is an Autistic Adult who is compassionate and patient. She loves to teach skills through play and role playing. She enjoys making videos for her youtube channel, going to baseball games, road trips, swimming, and hanging out with family and friends.
Joshua Leben, CBT
Joshua is a CBT with years of experience working with kids within the foster care system. He is excited to continue growing and learning here at Hopeful Hands, desiring to support the mission of enhancing the lives of the neurodiverse and those with personal challenges. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in strategic communication from Northwest University in 2021.
Alexandra Fisher, CBT
Alexandra is newer to working in the ABA field but has been around ABA most of her life due to family members receiving services. Alexandra is working on her undergrad degree and is considering continuing on for a graduate degree in occupational therapy or behavior analysis.
Zak Kaohu, M. A., LABA
Coming Soon!
KeKe Johnson, CBT
Keke is a Dallas Texas import that has been living in Washington for 10 years now! She's been working as a Behavior technician for 2 years supporting a wide range of learners across various age groups. She is truly passionate about what she does and making a difference. She strives to make learning fun and creative and continues to learn herself every day. When not working, her hobbies include beauty and reading.
Kate Johnson, RBT, CBT
Kate became an RBT/CBT in early 2023. Kate is majoring in Society, Ethics & Human Behavior at the University of Washington Bothell and plans to graduate in 2024. Kate plans on getting a Master’s in Teaching with an endorsement in Special Education after finishing undergrad. Kate’s favorite free time activities are soccer, karaoke, and going to the movie theater.
Deirdre Rosete
Coming Soon!
Our Doctors
Craig Jensen, Ph.D, BCBA-D, LBA
In addition to being a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Dr. Jensen brings the added perspectives of a Licensed Psychologist and a background in behavior genetics to his analysis and treatment of challenging behavior. He is a Past President of Northwestern Association for Behavior Analysis. Dr. Jensen has extensive consulting experience, having worked with over 50 agencies in Washington and nationally, including over 20 school districts in the Seattle area. He has provided over 400 in-home consultations and has provided ABA and psychological services to seven group homes.
Tore Lydersen, Ph.D, BCBA-D, LBA
Tore Lydersen has a Ph.D. in psychology and specialized in behavior analysis. He is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D) and a Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA). Tore has extensive experience in behavior analysis in both academic and applied settings. He has published research in applied and experimental analysis of behavior and has presented this work at various conferences. Tore has worked for more than three decades with children and adults who exhibit challenging behaviors. Currently, his focus has been on helping children who are having difficulties benefiting from educational experiences in school.