QBS Staff

David Lennox, Ph.D.
President/CEO

Email dlennox@qbscompanies.com
Office (855) 727-6246 x201
Mobile (617) 240-1234

Dr. David Lennox, founder and President of QBS, Inc., received his Ph.D. from Western Michigan University specializing in Applied Behavior Analysis. With over 20 years of organizational, management, clinical, and marketing commitment, he has worked toward improving the services and outcomes for a vast array of healthcare organizations. Dr. Lennox has developed, directed, and consulted in organizations and programs treating children, adults, and geriatrics in a variety of settings including schools, community and group homes, long-term care, academic research programs, day treatment programs, and hospitals. He has managed services for individuals with a variety of rehabilitation and behavioral needs resulting from developmental disabilities, autism, head injury, Alzheimer's, psychiatric conditions, and a number of neurological disorders. Dr. Lennox has served as Vice-President of Behavioral Health Services for one of the largest national healthcare providers, developing and directing a nationwide network of over 80 specialty programs. He has conducted hundreds of presentations, published numerous articles, and has appeared on the PBS series entitled "Abnormal Psychology." In addition, has taught at numerous colleges and universities, has served on governmental committees for clinical change, and is active in numerous professional and healthcare organizations and associations.

Jeff Kupfer, Ph.D
Chief Clinical Officer

Jeff Kupfer received his doctoral degree in psychology from the University of Florida, specializing in the experimental analysis of behavior. He has conducted research in animal models of complex learning and psychopathology, as well as research examining environmental influences on bipedal travel in persons with visual loss. Jeff is a licensed psychologist in Massachusetts, Colorado, and Nebraska, a doctoral-level Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and a lecturer at the University of Colorado-Denver. He was the first president of the Four Corners Association for Behavior Analysis and is a Founder and Trustee for the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies. Jeff has been practicing behavior analysis since 1984 specializing in the treatment of severe behavioral disorders in persons with brain injury, developmental disabilities, mental illness, and other neurological disorders. He has published in the areas of behavior analysis, pharmacology, and visual impairments, and has served as a guest reviewer and guest editor for professional journals including The Behavior Analyst, Perspectives on Behavior Science and Brain Injury.

Patty Pruden-Lennox, MBA
Chief Operating Officer

Patty Pruden-Lennox joins QBS, Inc in 2016 after having consulted with the company since its inception as well as being an officer.  Patty received her Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Communication from Ithaca College and an MBA from Northeastern University.  Prior to joining QBS, Patty has held many sales leadership positions in National Long-Term Care companies over the past 25 years.  Her experience includes Admissions Management, Sales, Business and Program Development, Customer Service and Sales Training, and Network Development, toward the end goal of driving revenue and census development.  Patty has also been licensed as a Nursing Home Administrator and an Instructor for Lasell College in their School of Business teaching Healthcare courses.

Jack McLellan, MBA
Chief Finance Officer & Human Resources

Email jmclellan@qbscompanies.com
Office (855) 727-6246 x202

Jack McLellan joined QBS in July 2005 with over 10 years of management experience with a background in marketing, advertising, and graphic design. Jack received his Master's in Business Administration and has worked in Marketing and Communication roles in the Human Services field with responsibilities for the development of marketing collaterals, promoting corporate imaging, recruitment advertising, tradeshows, creating and executing conferences, seminars, and trainings for profit and non-profit organizations throughout Massachusetts. His clients included residential schools, early intervention programs, adult day programs, daycare centers and behavioral education programs. Jack is also a Notary Public for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

David Rourke, M.S.
Director of Training

David Rourke earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Pennsylvania and his master's at Villanova University. For more than 20 years, he's worked to provide behavioral support to adults and children with a wide range of diagnoses, including developmental disabilities, autism, brain injury, and psychiatric disorders. He has expertise in functional assessment individuals with challenging behaviors and the development and implementation of behavior support plans to enhance their ability to function. He has served as the Director of several treatment programs and has experience in community, residential, K-12 school (public and private), and inpatient settings.

Maria Ferlick, MS Ed., BCBA, LABA
Master Trainer/Consultant

Maria is a licensed teacher certified in Intensive Special Needs Education, as well as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a Licensed Applied Behavior Analyst.  She received her Master of Science in Education at Simmons College and completed the BCBA coursework through Endicott College.  Maria has worked with children, adolescents, and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities for almost 20 years.  She has worked in a variety of settings including, public schools (pull-out, sub-separate, and inclusion models), private residential and day schools, and in home consulting.  Maria’s experience includes training and supervising staff, curriculum development, completing assessments, and parent training. 

Robyn Shimmin, MS, BCBA, LABA
Master Trainer/Consultant

Robyn received an MS in applied behavior analysis from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and is a board certified behavior analyst from Chicago. Before joining the QBS team, she spent more than 10 years working with adults with developmental disabilities in home, day program, community and workshop settings. In addition, Robyn has provided consultation for programs that support individuals diagnosed with dementia.  Previously, she was a case manager for children in a specialized foster care program.

Mike Perillo, MS, BCBA
Master Trainer/Consultant

Michael is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who is originally from Chicago, IL.  He completed his MS in Educational Psychology from The University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2008.  After completing his MS he has worked in a variety of settings including a summer camp, a school, helped coordinate services and provided consultation services for students in Junior High and High School, in-home, residential, and a clinic providing therapeutic behavioral services to individuals with special needs and their support systems.  Over the years he has worked with a very wide variety of diagnoses, ages, and functional abilities of clients.  Some current areas of interest for Michael include staff development/training, the use of applied behavior analysis to individuals who are not diagnosed with disabilities, and the possibility of future research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) specifically within the population of individuals who have engaged in chronic self-injurious behavior.

Carolyn Houze MS, BCBA
Master Train/Consultant

Carolyn is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 5 years of experience working with individuals with disabilities. Carolyn received her Bachelors in Communication Disorders and Sciences from Eastern Illinois University and her Masters in Applied Behavior Analysis from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Her professional experience has been in a variety of settings including: schools, homes, clinics, and community based settings, as well as, providing continuous consulting with a variety of other disciplines.

Makeita Laurent MS, BCBA, LABA
Master Trainer/Consultant

Makeita Laurent received her M.S. in Applied behavioral analysis from Simmons College and is a board certified behavior analysis from Boston Massachusetts. Prior to working for QBS Inc. she worked with clients of varying ages within home base services. She has also worked within a private institution for students on the autism spectrum as well as clients with developmental disabilities, helping clients develop skills needed to obtain employment upon graduation from high school. Makeita has also provided private consultation to families within the inner city providing assistance with social skills building, vocational skill development and daily living skill acquisition.

Brian Sidelnick MA, BCBA
Master Trainer/Consultant

Brian has worked with individuals with mental health diagnoses and developmental disabilities for over 12 years. He began his career working with children and young adults in special education and alternative education at the elementary, middle, and high school level, before providing private behavioral consultation with children and adults presenting severe behavior problems. Brian has experience designing and overseeing behavior treatment plans across a variety of settings, including home, community, residential and educational programs. Brian received his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, and his Master’s Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Penn State University. He is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Cassie Herman, MS, BCBA, LABA
Master Trainer/Consultant

Cassie has worked with individuals with developmental disabilities for over 13 years. She discovered her passion for this field during while attending Bradley University and working in home-based services. She continued her career by moving to Massachusetts to work at New England Center for Children and attend the graduate program at Northeastern University. After graduating with her Master's in Applied Behavior Analysis she has worked within home-based services in Illinois, center-based services in Indiana and Massachusetts. Due to working in different locations, Cassie was able to broaden in knowledge in behavior reduction and skill acquisition using verbal behavior, precision teaching, and fluency-based instruction.

Noelle Drake, MS, BCBA
Master Trainer/Consultant

Noelle is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and has worked with individuals with disabilities and their families since 2006. She received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Missouri – St. Louis and her Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from The Sage Colleges. Noelle has worked in a variety of settings including home, center, school, and community based settings and has also collaborated with other professionals in related fields. She has several years of experience working in schools with students and consulting with school staff. Most recently, Noelle worked at a private center for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, designing and overseeing interventions to teach new skills and decrease problem behavior.

Allison Moore, MS, BCBA
Master Trainer/Consultant

Allison began her career in Indiana after completing her Bachelor’s degree in Speech and Hearing from Indiana University. She received her MS in Special Education from Ball State University with a focus in Applied Behavior Analysis. She has worked with individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities for almost 7 years. She has worked in centers, schools, and in-home. She also has coached basketball in the Special Olympics for adolescents with special needs. Most recently, Allison worked as a Safety Care Trainer, Training Coordinator and Training & Program Specialist at an autism center in Indianapolis.

Lisa LaMela, M.S.Ed., BCBA
Master Trainer/Consultant

After earning her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Saint Joseph’s University in 2006, Lisa began her career by providing early intervention services in Philadelphia, PA. As she gained experience utilizing the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis, her passion for the science, and for improving outcomes for individuals with special needs, led her to pursue her MS.Ed. in ABA from Temple University. As a BCBA, Lisa has worked with individuals across the lifespan within home, center, school, community, and residential settings, with particular interest in providing coaching, training, consultation, and clinical supervision to treatment teams and stakeholders. Additional interests include use of behavior analytic approaches for the promotion of physical health, nutrition, and wellness.

Molly James, M.ED, BCBA
Master Trainer/Consultant

Molly is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and received a Masters of Education in Applied Behavior Analysis at Texas State University where she served as a clinical research assistant. She has 6 years of experience working professionally in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis in various capacities including research design and implementation, supervision and training, and providing direct therapy across multiple settings. Before her work in ABA, she began her career as a resource specialist serving vulnerable populations for the state of Texas, including residential treatment facilities and group homes.

Tialha Nover, BCBA
Master Trainer/Consultant

Tialha is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who is originally from Michigan. She completed her MA in Behavior Analysis from Western Michigan University in 2010. She has worked in a variety of settings including home, school, residential, and center based services. Tialha has provided services to individuals ranging from 18 months to adulthood in Michigan, Vancouver, BC, California, and Hawai’i. She has worked as both a program supervisor as well as a clinical trainer prior to joining the QBS team.

Fatima Zaidi, BCBA, MS
Master Trainer/Consultant

Fatima is originally from Toronto, Canada and received her Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis from Western New England University. For the past 8 years, Fatima has worked with children, adolescents, and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities in community, home, day school, and residential settings around New England and Toronto. Fatima also teaches art and leisure skills to a variety of learners ranging in ages and abilities.

Beth Harlan, MS, BCBA, LABA
Master Trainer/Consultant

Beth received a master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Western New England University. She has worked with people with disabilities, professionally, for 5 years, across a variety of settings. Over the years she has gained experience in designing and implementing assessments, case management, supervision and staff training, as well as parent training. Before she began working in ABA, she was employed as a middle school and high school teacher for four years in New Mexico.

Clédia Caberlon
Master Trainer/Consultant

Cledia received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Ethnic and gender studies from Westfield State University, where she found ABA and got experience working with children with Autism. After receiving her Bachelor's degree she worked as direct care staff with adults with Autism for 2 years, where she also gained experience in administration, training, and supervision. Following this experience, she moved to Florida to pursue a Master's degree in Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) from Florida Institute of Technology. While in graduate school, Cledia worked with children with autism in early intervention, conducted research, and had two separate OBM internships where she gained experience in performance management, instructional design, coaching, and performance metrics.

Kayce Nagel
Master Trainer/Consultant

Kayce received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology at Indiana University Northwest where she competed in collegiate basketball. Following graduation she began working direct care with children and adults with various diagnosis (e.g., autism, schizophrenia, intellectual disabilities, etc.) providing in-home, clinic, and severe behavior services for 2 years where she also gained experience in administration, training, and supervision. Following this experience, she moved to Florida to pursue a dual Master's degree in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and Organizational Behavior Management (OBM) from Florida Institute of Technology. While in graduate school, Kayce worked with children with autism in early intervention, conducted research, and had two separate ABA internships where she gained experience in assessment, supervision, and parent training. 

Ronnie Riedel
Regional Sales & Marketing Representative

Ronnie joined QBS in January 2013 as recert coordinator and, after a year, moved into the role of Regional Marketing Representative for New England and Eastern Canada (ON, NB, NS). She handles customer service inquiries and handles requests for new training in her region. She regularly attends industry conferences to market and promote QBS training. Prior to joining QBS, Ronnie was an executive assistant for over 12 years in New York City, and most recently, spent six years as the office manager for an executive search firm in MA. She also spent one year as a special education aide for the Shrewsbury, MA school district.

Shelly DePina
Regional Sales & Marketing Representative

Shelly joined QBS Companies in September of 2016 as a Regional Sales and Marketing Specialist.  In this role, she coordinates the scheduling for all Safety Care trainings in the Central and West regions of the US. She regularly attends industry conferences to market and promote QBS trainings and assists with customer service inquiries.  She is a graduate of Bridgewater State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies.  While at BSU, she kept active and busy by participating on both the volleyball and basketball teams for all four years.  Prior to joining QBS, her professional experience has been made up of Sales, Marketing, Networking and Customer Service roles. 

Michael Magne
Regional Sales & Marketing Representative

Michael has over 7 years of experience working in human services as a special education teacher in an ABA based classroom as well as in residential settings for both children and adult programs. In addition to his role as a teacher, Michael was also a Safety-Care trainer. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts – Boston in 2009. Michael joined QBS Companies in October 2017 as a Regional Marketing Specialist. As a former teacher and Safety Care trainer, he is thrilled to have the opportunity to educate organizations on how they can reduce crisis situations while teaching alternative behaviors. Michael has a long term goal of completing all of New Hampshire’s 4,000 footers (mountains).

Kathy Trainor
Regional Sales & Marketing Representative

Kathy joined QBS in October 2017. She began working as a Recertification Specialist focusing on the Western region. Recently, Kathy moved into the role of Regional Sales and Marketing Representative. Originally from the Boston area, Kathy has enjoyed living all over the country. She has recently moved back to Massachusetts in order to be closer to family. She enjoys learning about different cultures, traveling the world, and spending time with her three children. Kathy previously held roles in management, sales, and operations.

Ellen Dampf
Regional Sales & Marketing Representative

Ellen joined QBS, Inc. in November 2018 as a Regional Sales & Marketing Representative. In this role, she coordinates the scheduling for all Safety-Care trainings in the Southeast United States, as well as handling all customer service inquiries. Ellen earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Providence College and a Master's of Science Degree with a concentration in Organizational Development from Bridgewater State University. Prior to joining QBS, her professional experiences include positions in sales management, operations, and training. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and family time.

Josh Whitney
Regional Sales & Marketing Representative

Josh joined QBS, Inc. in March of 2019 as a Regional Sales and Marketing Representative for the Great Lakes region. In this role, he schedules and coordinates region-specific Safety-Care trainings and attends industry conferences to promote and market Safety-Care in the community. Prior to joining QBS, he enjoyed years of success in both automotive and e-commerce sales, and worked as a mentor and supervisor for a small mental health organization on South Shore, MA. He is a graduate of Bridgewater State University with a Bachelor of Arts in English. In his spare time, Josh enjoys playing in local soccer leagues and spending time with family and dogs!

Samantha Manning
Senior Recertification Specialist

Samantha joined QBS in June of 2014. She graduated from Worcester State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Education. Samantha started out as the first point of contact for QBS as the Receptionist and has been instrumental with the development and implementation of Trainer Connect. In 2016, Samantha was promoted to Sales/Marketing Specialist and now coordinates the scheduling logistics for Safety-Care Recertification trainings and customer service across the Southeast Region.

Jill Tragno
Recertification Specialist

Jill Tragno joined QBS in March 2018 to assist with Trainer Connect and Marketing responsibilities. Over the summer, she was promoted to a Recertification Specialist role. Jill spent 6 years in the cosmetology industry as a hair stylist before making a switch to administrative duties in salons and spas. Building relationships with the public is one of her biggest passions in life which is what led her to joining the Human Services field at QBS. Outside of work Jill enjoys painting, allowing her artistic creativity to flow and going on hikes with her dog.

Taylor Grant
Recertification Specialist

Taylor joined QBS in January 2018 as a Recertification Specialist. In this role, she coordinates the scheduling for all Safety-Care recertification trainings in the New England area.

Paige Denis
Digital Marketing Manager

Paige Denis joined QBS, Inc in April 2018 as the Social Media Manager. She is responsible for our digital marketing efforts and website management. Paige graduated from Bridgewater State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. Prior to joining the QBS team, Paige was the Marketing Assistant at a local premium outlet center. In her spare time, Paige enjoys teaching barre, being active with her two dogs, and traveling.

Natalie Demma
Data Entry Specialist

Natalie Demma is a Data Entry Specialist and has been with QBS since October 2013. Natalie is the powerhouse behind sending all materials to the training sites. She is responsible for receiving post training information and logging it into the system. In her spare time, Natalie likes to read romance and mystery novels. She resides in Ashland MA with her two teenage boys and her husband.

Mark O'Brien
Accounts Receivable Specialist

Mark Upham joined QBS in 2017 as the Accounts Receivable Specialist. Mark went to Central Connecticut State University where he received his Bachelors in Business Administration. He has over 20 years’ experience and has held several office manager roles throughout CT, MA, and RI. One of Mark’s latest passions include renewable energy. Mark has worked in various fields such as human resources, payroll, training, and orchestrated several trade shows for a National Solar company before joining the QBS team.

Chris Donners
Trainer Connect Specialist

Chris worked four years in Human Services working with group homes and day rehabilitation programs. He joined QBS, Inc. October 2017 to help assist with Trainer Connect. His hobbies include hiking, walking on the beach, and traveling to new places.

Brianna Dunham
Trainer Connect Specialist

Brianna joined October 2018 as our Office Coordinator. In July 2019, she was added to our Trainer Connect team as the second Trainer Connect Representative. Her hobbies include hiking, traveling the world, and spending quality time with her family (and dogs). She enjoys reading fiction novels and painting on canvas.

Rosalind Nilsson
Office Coordinator

Ros joined the QBS team in July 2019 as our Office Coordinator. She is currently a student at CCRI and is passionate about cardiology. Her hobbies include writing, ice skating, organizing, and traveling.