Learn about Autism Care Partners!

Jim serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Autism Care Partners (ACP). With 20+ years of progressive executive healthcare leadership, Jim sets the operating and growth strategy of ACP. Inherent to his leadership is the core belief that all children with a behavioral need can live lives of fulfillment through evidence-based, individually tailored care. This philosophy guides ACP on a daily basis. Throughout his career, Jim has focused on improving the delivery of, and access to, healthcare for individuals with intellectual and behavioral needs. Prior to joining ACP, Jim was President of Beacon Health Options, where he oversaw over $600M in revenue and led a national team of over 1,000 employees.

Dr. Ivy Chong is a licensed Psychologist and doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D) with 30 years of progressive experience serving individuals with Autism and developmental disabilities. She brings extensive expertise in leadership, organizational growth, quality improvement, clinical outcomes, and the design of scalable systems that drive high-quality behavioral healthcare.

Prior to joining Autism Care Partners (ACP), Dr. Chong served as Chief Clinical Officer of Little Leaves Behavioral Services and Senior Vice President of Children's Services at May Institute, where she led large-scale clinical operations and strategic initiatives across multi-site, multi-region service organizations. Earlier in her career, she held leadership and faculty appointments at the Scott Center for Autism Treatment and the Florida Institute of Technology.

Dr. Ivy Chong earned her Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis from Western Michigan University and an MBA in Healthcare Management from the Florida Institute of Technology. She has been a Subject Matter Expert with the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) since 2005 and currently serves on its Board of Directors as Treasurer. She also holds academic appointments at Brock University and the University of Massachusetts Lowell and has presented extensively at national and international conferences. Throughout her career, Dr. Ivy Chong has been recognized for advancing clinical excellence, developing future leaders, and building systems that improve access to high-quality care.

Kris Gochenour is a healthcare finance executive with more than 17 years of leadership experience across Applied Behavior Analysis, behavioral health, home health, physical rehabilitation, and post-acute care. He has led finance organizations through periods of rapid growth, reimbursement transformation, and operational change, building the financial infrastructure, discipline, and analytical capabilities that enable provider organizations to scale while maintaining a focus on clinical quality and patient outcomes. A collaborative leader and trusted partner to operational and clinical teams, Kris is recognized for translating complex financial data into actionable insights that support informed decision-making across the organization.

Prior to joining Autism Care Partners, Gochenour served as Chief Financial Officer of Verbal Beginnings, a multi-state provider of comprehensive Autism services, where he strengthened financial operations, enhanced revenue cycle performance, and advanced data-driven decision-making to support continued organizational growth. Previously, he served as Chief Financial Officer of the Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP), the nation's oldest accrediting body for home and community-based care and held senior financial leadership roles within large integrated health systems and post-acute care organizations. These experiences provided deep expertise in reimbursement strategy,
multi-site healthcare operations, financial planning, and the economics of care delivery.

Kris is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (FHFMA), and holds an MBA in Finance from Saint Joseph's University and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Temple University.

Cathy Weigle is Chief Operating Officer at Autism Care Partners and leads the organization’s enterprise operational support divisions including People Operations, Talent Acquisition, Brand and Marketing, Community Outreach, Payor Relations and IT. Cathy joined ACP in April 2021. Prior to coming to ACP, Cathy served in leadership positions in government funded insurance programs managing integration and strategic operational growth initiatives. She leads with wonder on how we can continually improve operations for our clients, our internal teams and our wider stakeholders, and tenacity to implement the changes to make this happen.

Lauren is a Licensed and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She joined Autism Care Partners in February of 2019 as a BCBA in our Rhode Island centers, becoming the Regional Clinical Director in January of 2021 and VP of Service Delivery in 2024. She graduated from Rhode Island College with an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and Special Education, a master’s degree in special education and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Applied Behavior Analysis from Salve Regina University. Lauren worked as a special education teacher in Providence Public Schools for 7 years before joining ACP.

Dr. Costa is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Dr. Costa joined Autism Care Partners as a post-doctoral trainee in 2019 specializing in assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorders and ADHD. Upon completing her post-doctoral training, Dr. Costa joined Autism Care Partners as a full-time Clinical Psychologist and currently serves as the Director of Psychology. Dr. Costa developed an early passion for supervision and training and serves as the training coordinator for pre-doctoral interns and post-doctoral fellows. Dr. Costa earned her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology with a focus on children and families and global mental health in 2019 from William James College.

Melanie is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who has worked with the company since 2011 across centers, homes, schools and the community. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Keene State College in 2011 and master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Ball State University in 2016. She has worked with children ages 2-16 with ASD and has ABA licensure in Vermont and Massachusetts.

Caitlan is a Licensed and Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She joined Autism Care Partners in September of 2021 as the Clinical Director of our Worcester, MA center. She graduated from Arizona State University with an undergraduate degree in Psychology and went on to pursue her master’s degree in psychology with a concentration in Applied Behavior Analysis from Capella University. Caitlan has worked in the field of ABA for over 15 years in a variety of settings and is passionate about early intervention and compassionate care. She is currently an AVP of Service Delivery.

Nicole is a licensed Board Certified Behavior Analyst in Rhode Island. She joined Autism Care Partners in September 2018 as a Treatment Coordinator, becoming the Clinical Director in Warwick, RI in June 2022 and an AVP of Service Delivery in December 2025. She graduated from Southern New Hampshire University with an undergraduate degree in Psychology, a master’s in Mental Health Counseling, and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in Applied Behavior Analysis from Salve Regina University. She has been working with people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) since 2010.

Courtney is a Board Certified and Licensed Behavior Analyst. She has been working in the field since 2013 and is passionate about ABA and the growth of her clients. She worked as a Clinical Director and later became the Assistant Vice President of Service Delivery. Courtney earned her bachelor’s degree from Lesley University and received her master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis from Simmons University.

Cameron started at Autism Care Partners in 2020 as an Operations Manager. He is a licensed BCBA in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. He has been working with people with developmental delays and/or ASD as a Direct Support Professional and later as a Behavior Technician since 2011. He obtained his BCBA certification in 2018. He received his undergraduate degree in Psychology from Fairfield University and his master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Salve Regina University.

Jill graduated from the accelerated bachelor’s to master’s program in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Rhode Island in 2017. She joined the ACP team in 2020 as a Speech-Language Pathologist in the Warwick, RI center and is now Director of Speech-Language Pathology across our insurance-funded Speech Therapy services. Jill is licensed in RI and MA and provides direct care to clients in addition to leading the team of SLP providers. She is passionate about clients accessing high-quality care to support their development in all areas.

Emily is a Licensed and Board Certified Occupational Therapist. She graduated from D’Youville College in Buffalo, NY with her master’s degree in occupational therapy. Emily previously worked in an early intervention and preschool setting before joining the Autism Care Partners team in September of 2020 at our Warwick, RI center. Emily brings clinical experience in supporting client independence in the areas of fine motor, visual motor, sensory regulation, social participation, and self-help skills through a client-centered and play-based approach. She also specializes in Feeding Therapy working on supporting oral motor development and oral sensory processing delays.

Elizabeth entered the ABA field in 2009. Today, she brings the same commitment to ethical practice, an investment in supporting families with diverse needs, and boundless enthusiasm for the science of behavior. Elizabeth has contributed across ACP’s clinical scope as BCBA, Clinical Director, Regional Training Coordinator, and now Director of Training and Quality. Her community connections and special interests have resulted in partnerships with universities, applied research opportunities, and redesigned supervised fieldwork and RBT training curricula. Her favorite time at work is spent problem-solving with fellow BCBAs and student-employees and uncovering new ways that behavior analysis can improve the lives of others.