Meet the Officers

President

Misty Gilbert-Romo, BCBA

Misty Gilbert-Romo is originally from the small town (500 people small) of Le Roy, Kansas. She moved to Austin in 2017 after an ABA/RBT job "fell on her lap" upon graduating with her bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas (Rock Chalk!). Misty worked as an RBT from 2017-2020 in a variety of settings serving a variety of ages, primarily children ages 2-14, while completing her Master's degree at KU and accruing experience hours to become a BCBA. Misty has been an active member of ATX ABA SIG since her RBT days (starting in 2019) after wanting to be part of and assist in growing a community of like minded professionals and advocates. In doing so, she helped advocate for a motion for RBTs to become official voting members of ATX ABA SIG, of which was passed. Misty has been a BCBA since 2020 and currently works as a Senior BCBA at ABA Connect. Misty is passionate about providing "televisable" compassionate ABA practices, providing quality supervision, and learning something new every day to grow her clinical skill set, with her specialties including: PEAK, ACT, supervising candidates pursuing their BCBA certification, and utilizing the PFA/SBT approach (of which she has recently received mentorship from members of Dr. Greg Hanley's team to ensure clinical integrity of these practice). In her free time, Misty enjoys spending time with her husband, new baby, and family/friends, eating all the Tex-Mex Austin has to offer, reading, learning new things, attempting to keep her plants alive, traveling, cheering on her favorite teams (including her two time Alma Mater KU) in all things sports, and adventuring with their two dogs, "Rufus" (their stubborn Corgi) and "Oso" (their mellow GoldenDoodle). 


Vice President

Natalija Milutinovic, BCBA

Natalija Milutinovic graduated from Southwestern University in 2006 with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics. Natalija's interest in the field began prior to this, when a close family member was diagnosed with Autism. As she learned about various available treatments for individuals with disabilities, she became passionate about ABA. In 2008, she started working with an early childhood population, and has not stopped since. Natalija completed her Master’s degree in Special Education in 2009 from Texas State University and became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in 2011. Natalija’s experience in the field includes program implementation in the home, community, tele-health, and clinical settings, with a variety of learners ranging from 18 months – 20 years of age. Natalija also supervises staff and oversees ABA programs in Serbia utilizing tele-health services in order to increase awareness and understanding of ABA. 

Natalija is currently a Chief Training Officer at Children's Autism Center. She trains graduate students who are completing their fieldwork experience to sit for the board exam. Through the apprenticeship program, Natalija meets with her supervisees to establish short and long term goals, leads weekly group meetings, organizes monthly all-staff meetings, collaborates with trainers, helps create applied projects, and leads interviews with experts in the field. Natalija also heads research projects at CAC in collaboration with Arizona State University (ASU). She continues to advocate for, hang out with, and support her adult family member with Autism. During her spare time Natalija enjoys hanging out with her daughter, husband and dog, doing yoga, watching true crime documentaries and listening to podcasts. 

Treasurer

Sarah Weisshaar, BCBA

Sarah Weisshaar supervises and empowers regional directors, clinic directors, and their BCBAs at BrightPath Behavior. She develops strong organizational leaders and ensures excellent client care through ongoing training, support, and mentorship for the clinical team.


Sarah’s career began in research, where she gained a foundational understanding of ABA and its potential to improve people’s lives. She is dedicated to providing therapy for underserved populations, including socio-economically diverse groups and overlooked age ranges. Her passion for teaching meaningful life skills and providing compassionate care shapes her leadership, thereby enhancing the lives of children with autism.


Outside of ABA, Sarah enjoys cooking, baking, hiking with her dog, and spending time on the lake paddleboarding or kayaking.



Secretary

Jennifer Lopatowski, M.Ed., BCBA

Jen Lopatowski graduated from Sam Houston State University in 1993 with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice while playing collegiate softball. Following graduation, she spent two years as a restaurant manager for El Chico Mexican Restaurant before beginning her career in law enforcement.  In 1997, Jennifer joined the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and served as a State Trooper until 2006, when she shifted her focus to family life after having her son in 2005 and daughter in 2008. 
Her passion for helping others led her to transition into the field of social services, starting as a Service Coordinator with ATCIC in 2007. In 2010, she joined Bluebonnet Trails Community Services to work closer to home and simultaneously pursued her Master’s in Special Education at Texas State University. She graduated in 2012 and earned her BCBA certification in 2013. 
Jennifer has since dedicated her career to supporting individuals with autism and behavioral challenges. She currently works with Bluebonnet Trails’ Crisis Unit and Behavior Supports Program, where she combines her expertise in behavior analysis with her commitment to making a positive impact in her community. 
Jennifer is passionate about empowering individuals and families through her work and continues to be a strong advocate for evidence-based practices and compassionate care.



CEU Coordinator

Amanda Tami, BCBA

Amanda Tami is a Board Certified and Licensed Behavior Analyst and a Licensed Professional Counselor providing direct service to neurodivergent individuals and their loved ones in the Austin area. She has experience treating complex cases that include autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions and their co-occurrence with major mental health conditions. Amanda has provided training and consultation locally, nationally, and internationally to parents and providers on topics including building emotion regulation, support across the lifespan, employment success, sexuality, and trauma-informed ABA, and she has been an ACE provider for several years. Dedicated, detail-oriented, and well-versed in the requirements for offering CEUs, Amanda is passionate about sharing meaningful information to improve quality of care in the ABA field.



Marketing Coordinator

Jessica Quintanilla, M.Ed., BCBA

Jessica graduated from University of Texas at Austin with a BS in Human Development and Family Sciences in 2010 and with a Master of Education in Autism and Developmental Disabilities in 2013. She earned her BCBA in 2016. Before joining CTAC, in 2014, she worked with children ages 18 months to 5 years in child development centers in Austin for 5 years and volunteered for the Down Syndrome of Central Texas for many years. Jessica has now worked with children with autism and other developmental disabilities for over 10 years. During her free time, her favorite things to do are traveling, trying new restaurants, hiking, reading, singing karaoke, and acting.