Professional Development, Training, and Supervision in Human Services Organizations

Helena Maguire serves as the Executive Director of Melmark New England. She oversees the development and implementation of programs and services, as well as the daily operations for Melmark New England. She develops strategic objectives for the Massachusetts division, and provides leadership to direct reports in order to assure the achievement of these objectives. Ms. Maguire supports the CEO and Board of Directors through various committees and activities, and assumes responsibility for policy development, quality assurance, risk management, regulatory compliance, fiscal integrity, and excellence in care and delivery of all services. Ms. Maguire has worked extensively in the field of community-based human service delivery systems in Massachusetts. She has served as a Program Director at Vinfen Corporation and as the Director of Adult Services at the May Institute. In both positions, Ms. Maguire was responsible for the development and implementation of staff orientation curriculum, as well as supervisory personnel education and in-service training for all staff. Ms. Maguire has presented numerous papers on staff management and staff training techniques, both at the local level and at the national level. Ms. Maguire is an Adjunct Professor at Endicott College, where she teaches all Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)-based courses for its Master’s program, and the University of Massachusetts-Boston, where she leads a five-course graduate series on ABA.

Rita M. Gardner, Rita Gardner is the President and CEO of Melmark, and leads operations and management of Melmark service divisions in New England, Pennsylvania and the Carolinas. Prior to her appointment as President and CEO in2015, Ms. Gardner served as Executive Director of Melmark New England, based in Andover, Massachusetts, which she co-founded in 1998. In 2018, Ms. Gardner and Melmark New England were honored to be named #35 on The Commonwealth Institute’s (TCI’s) list of the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA) and has devoted over 35 years of her professional career to the field of community-based services for children and adults with the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder(ASD), acquired brain injuries, neurological disorders and severe challenging behaviors. Ms. Gardner has provided project consultation to the Pediatric Alliance for Coordinated Care (PACC), under the direction of the Chief of General Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital. In addition, she has provided organizational consultation to a program for children with Asperger syndrome at McLean Hospital and the Crossroads Center for Children, a school for children with autism. Prior to her work at Boston Children’s Hospital, Ms. Gardner directed the service center of Behavioral Health and Rehabilitative Services for The May Institute in Massachusetts. Ms. Gardner is an accomplished legislative advocate, and her work has positively impacted services for individuals diagnosed with autism throughout the United States. One of her most notable accomplishments asan advocate is her involvement in the establishment of the Autism Medicaid Waiver through the Division of Autism. Ms. Gardner also serves on advisory committees with the Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC) and Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts (AFAM). She is an Advisory Board member to Autism Speaks and a founding Board member of the National Council of Autism Providers (CASP). Ms. Gardner also serves on the Advisory Board of the Virginia Institute of Autism. She is an appointed member of the Governor’s Autism Commission in Massachusetts and is Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Association of Approved Private School (MAAPS). Ms. Gardner is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Massachusetts-Boston, leading a five-course graduate series on Applied Behavior Analysis.

Frank Bird serves as Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer for Melmark. He oversees clinical services at our service divisions in New England, Pennsylvania and the Carolinas. Mr. Bird is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA) with over 35years of experience in developing behavioral programming for challenging behaviors for children and adults with the diagnosis of autism, mental retardation and developmental disabilities, acquired brain injury and mental illness. He has developed over 50 programs of treatment in support of individuals with disabilities over the course of his career. His research focusing on the evidence-based practices of Applied Behavior Analysis has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, impacting systems of care not only at Melmark, but at providers around the world. Mr. Bird, with Ms. Rita Gardner and Mr. Peter Troy, was instrumental in the establishment of Melmark New England in 1998.

James K. Luiselli, Ed.D., ABPP, BCBA-D is a licensed psychologist, diplomat in cognitive and behavioral psychology, and board certified behavior analyst. He currently serves as Director of Clinical Development and Research at Melmark New England and Adjunct Faculty within the School Psychology Program at William James College. Dr. Luiselli has published 16 books, 50 book chapters, and more than 260 journal articles in the areas of applied behavior analysis, organizational behavior management, performance improvement, professional training, and clinical practice. He is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Child and Family Studies, and serves on the Board of Editors for several other journals such as Education and Treatment of Children, Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, and Mindfulness.