About
History
I am Ruth Tello-Di Leva, MS, BCBA, founder of Familias First. During the years that I served individuals with autism, and their families, I witnessed firsthand the families’ dedication and commitment to the services they received. These experiences touched me and fueled the passion to create Familias First, an agency whose mission is to ensure all families receive quality Applied Behavior Analysis services. Our office was initially located in the Mid-Cities area of Los Angeles. However, thanks to our high volume of satisfied clients, our practice grew. Familias First is now contracted by multiple Regional Centers, school districts (Non-Public Agency Behavior services), and major Health Insurances. Thank you for your interest in our services and welcome to our family!
Ruth is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She received her Master of Science degree from California State University, Los Angeles in Counseling with an emphasis on Applied Behavior Analysis. Ruth’s Bachelor of Arts degree is in Psychology. She obtained a certificate in Family Violence and Child Maltreatment.
Ruth is a frequent presenter at seminars and workshops sponsored by CALABA, ABA International, Fiesta Familiar, and Fiesta Educativa. Her work was incorporated in the Autism Parent Education Program (APEP). The APEP is used by Regional Centers to educate parents of children with autism on the various services they provide.
Mission Statement
Our mission at Familias First is to provide high quality evidence-based applied behavioral services to individuals with disabilities regardless of their culture or socio-economic background and to build a strong multicultural and inclusive workforce.
Meet our Executive Team
Ruth Tello-Di Leva, MS, BCBA is the Familias First founder and President. Ruth received her Master’s degree in Counseling, with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) from California State University, Los Angeles. She is also a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Additionally, she earned certificates in the areas of Domestic Violence, and Child Neglect and Maltreatment. Before founding Familias First, Ruth provided ABA services to individuals diagnosed with autism, across the lifespan, as a direct service provider, a supervisor and subsequently a Behavior Program Director. These years ignited the passion that lead Ruth to found her own company. Ruth is also a co-founder of the Latino Association for Behavior Analysis (LABA), an organization dedicated to defining the best practices in the provision of ABA services to the Latino population. Ruth also co-authored the Autism Parent Education Program (APEP), a curriculum that is currently used by select Southern California Regional Centers to educate families about services available to individuals diagnosed with autism. Ruth has been a presenter at the Association for Behavior Analysis International, California Association for Behavior Analysis, and Fiesta Educativa, among other reputable organizations.
Alba is the Familias First’s Clinical Director. She received her Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology, with emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis from the Chicago School of Psychology in Los Angeles. Alba’s thesis focused on the development of effective parent training through video feedback. She has 15 years experience providing ABA services to children with autism, and other developmental delays. Ms. Novoa started as a Behavior Specialist at Familias first. Her work ethic and dedication to our clients set her apart and she was promoted to Supervisor, and subsequently Clinical Director. Alba’s fluent abilities in the English and Spanish languages allow our agency to provide supervision and treatment plan programming to Spanish-speaking clients in their native language. Though Ms. Novoa enjoys all aspects of behavioral services, her special interests focus on the development of the Familias First’s staff training curriculum, and the development of the individualized treatment plans included in the Functional Behavior Assessments. Alba is also recognized in the field for the creating data collection forms that ensure our direct staff collect accurate data, in a time-efficient manner. Her data collection forms have been adopted by a major health insurance carrier as the standard for ABA provider they contract. Alba firmly believes that training and education are keys to a client’s progress. An avid learner, Alba is currently pursuing the certification in Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Monica Gaytan is a licensed and board-certified behavior analyst (BCBA), parent trainer, and mentor. Driven by her passion to help people, she has been working to help a wide range of individuals who struggle with a variety of challenging behaviors and skill deficits since 2007. She prides herself in leading and continuing to develop a talented group of dedicated clinicians. As a Clinical Coordinator for Familias First, her goals include providing professional services tailored to each of our clients and their families by combining behavioral interventions with a comprehensive knowledge of best practices, capitalizing on her wealth of experience, and parent training and development. In addition to her primary job functions she has also been part of several projects and programs geared towards educating the underrepresented communities about services available to their children and families.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from California State University, Long Beach, and a Master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
Our Therapists
We employ a diverse group of professionals. We are a multicultural and multilingual agency with 90% of staff being bilingual in English and Spanish. If you need services or translations in a specific language, please contact us. Our therapists must successfully complete an in-depth, 11-day training that covers major behavior analytic principles, and consulting skills to become effective parent trainers. To ensure client and staff safety, our therapists must pass the FBI and the DOJ background checks. They are also First Aid, CPR and CPI certified before serving clients. Our therapists have the opportunity to continue their education throughout their employment. Clinical supervision is provided to our therapists on a regular basis, by our Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA).
Join Our Team
Are you interested in a career that will help you grow and learn, while making a positive change in others’ lives? If so, come and join our team! We always are looking for individuals who are compassionate and dedicated to serving others.