Leslie Neely, PhD, BCBA-D, LBA
Leslie Neely is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Psychology and Coordinator for the UTSA Applied Behavior Analysis Program. Dr. Neely is a also a Doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D). Dr. Neely’s research focuses on the application of applied behavior analysis to the functional assessment and treatment of challenging behavior for individuals with autism and developmental disabilities. Her research also evaluates ways to improve the acquisition and sustained use of evidence-based practices by parents, teachers, and other interventionists working with individuals with developmental disabilities. Dr. Neely serves as the UTSA Director for the San Antonio Applied Behavior Analysis Project.
Melissa Svoboda, MD
Dr. Svoboda is the Chief of Pediatric Neurology and an Assistant Professor with Baylor College of Medicine & The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio, where she is also Director of the Comprehensive Autism Program. She received her medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, where she also completed her pediatric residency. She completed her Child Neurology/Neurodevelopmental Disabilities fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon. Dr. Svoboda focuses her practice on autism, but also sees a lot of neurological conditions including epilepsy, spinal muscular atrophy, and migraines. Dr. Svoboda is also rotation director for the Pediatric Residency developmental rotation at CHofSA and has won numerous teaching awards including 2017 CHofSA Teacher of the Year and the 2018 American Academy of Neurology’s AB Baker Teacher Recognition Award. She was also selected in 2020 as an Early Career Committee Mentorship awardee for the International Society for Autism Research.
Andrew Martinez, PhD, LP, LSSP
Andrew Martinez is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Martinez received his doctorate degree in school psychology from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. He completed fellowship at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. He also obtained Texas State Licensure as a Psychologist and as a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology. Dr. Martinez is the Clinical Director of The Children's Hospital of San Antonio Autism Program. In addition to Autism, Dr. Martinez specializes in neuropsychological evaluations with children who have a neurological or neurodevelopmental disorder.
Sierra Stegemann, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA
Sierra is the on-site Behavior Analyst at the Children's Hospital downtown location. She began working at the Autism Treatment Center in 2019 as an ABA therapist. Since then she has worked her way up the ladder in the ABA field by first obtaining her RBT credential and then her BCBA. She has a Master's in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Applied Behavior Analysis. She enjoys working with children and adolescents who are diagnosed with autism and hopes to make a difference in their lives as well as the lives of their families
