Our Team
We believe in PERFECTING our skills.
AP implements a multi-tier supervision system to ensure our children receive only the best quality teaching available. Our professional team of Behavioral Consultants maintain their current knowledge and high-level expertise through Autism Partnership’s commitment to ongoing training in Los Angeles. Training is conducted regularly in the US and in Kuwait.
Vu Calvin Tran
Site Director, Kuwait
Alzeena Pinto
Treatment Coordinator
Arevig Keoshgeryan
Parent Trainer
Ashraf Abdel-Hafez
Administrative Director
Site Director, Kuwait
Vu Tran started working with children and adolescent with Developmental Disabilities including Autism Spectrum Disorder and Learning Disabilities in 2008. He provided intervention in a variety of settings including high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools helping students integrate into classroom settings. Vu joined Autism Partnership in 2013 in the United States providing direct services to children with ASD. Two years later, Vu promoted as a consulting therapist for a child in Kuwait.
In 2015, Vu became a co-founding member of Autism Partnership in Kuwait. As Site Director, Vu is responsible for providing training and support for staff, development curriculum, and overseeing intervention in the clinic and schools. Vu collaborates with Autism Partnerships International Consultant Team, Dr. Leaf, Toby Mountjoy, Jeremy Leaf, Christine Miline and Zahira Ali. Vu received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from San Diego State University in 2013. He is pursuing a Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis at Endicott University
Treatment Coordinator
Alzeena Pinto started working with children and adults with a variety of disabilities including various mental health, neurological disorders and Developmental Disabilities in 2008. In 2010 she began providing ABA services to children with ASD. Alzeena has worked with clients between the ages of 18 months to 17 years diagnosed and has provided intervention in multiple settings including schools, clinics, and hospitals.
Alzeena joined Autism Partnership in Kuwait in 2015 as a co-founding member. As a Treatment Coordinator she develops and implements program curriculum for our clients and provides on- going supervision and staff training in the center and in schools. Alzeena collaborates with Autism Partnerships International Consultant Team, Dr. Leaf, Toby Mountjoy, Jeremy Leaf, Christine Miline and Zahira Ali. Alzeena received her bachelor’s in Occupational therapy from Manipal University, India in 2012. She is pursuing a Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis at Endicott University.
Parent Trainer
Arev Keoshgeryan received her bachelor’s in Psychology from Yerevan State University, Armenia in 2013. While receiving her undergraduate, Arev gained extensive experience in different approaches of psychology including analytical psychotherapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. In 2012, Arev interned at Armenian National School, where she practiced psychological analysis and treatment for students (ages 5-8) with psychological problems including ADHD and ASD. In 2013, she started her career in Applied Behavioral Analysis working with children ranging in ages from 2 through 12. She has provided in intervention in a variety of settings including clinics, school and home.
In 2015, she joined Autism Partnership where she continued working with children with ASD. As a Parent Trainer, Arev provides individual parent support, which is aimed to help parents understand the principles of ABA, prepare them for the time outside of treatment to help manage everyday situations to ensure that the child is receiving consistent intervention. Arev collaborates with Autism Partnerships International Consultant Team, Dr. Leaf, Toby Mountjoy, Jeremy Leaf, Christine Miline, Zahira Ali and Marlena Boehm.
Administrative Director
Ashraf joined Autism Partnership - Kuwait office in March 2017 to provide administrative support, working alongside with Vu Tran, Site director of Autism Partnership - Kuwait office to coordinate strategy development and implementation. Managing the overall daily operations of Autism Partnership, including office management, human resources, finance, marketing, contracts, clients relationships and lead long term organizational planning.
Previously Ashraf had a 13 years experience in the corporate sector included roles with functional responsibilities in the area of Management, customer service, marketing, operations and Administration. This vast experience provided him a great ability to implement supervisory and leadership, in addition to other managerial skills to handle Autism Partnership responsibilities. Ashraf collaborates and reports to both Co-Founders and Board Members, Dr. Ronald Leaf & Eng. Ghosson Al Khaled.
Ashraf holds a B.A. in English Literature from Mansoura University, Egypt.
Our Therapists
Our frontline staff /Therapists plays a key role in the success of our agency. They work with our families and children in one-on-one, group and school settings, and carry out program goals as identified by our Supervisors and Consultants.
All our Therapists have at least a bachelor degree; some of them have master degree from local or overseas universities. They have gone through a minimum of 400 hours of training in the first year and receive intensive and ongoing training for about 200 hours every year thereafter by local and overseas experts in the field. Our Therapists are highly skilled and experienced, and receive extensive support and training to perform their duties with passion, expertise and confidence.
Training comes in many forms, including:
- Pre-service Intensive Training and Orientation
All new hires are required to complete 240 hours of pre-service orientation and training on implementing Applied Behavior Analysis with students with ASD. Training and orientation are in the form of lectures, case studies, role-play, case observations, and practical hands-on sessions closely monitored by our Consultants. - Monthly Training
All Therapists are required to attend monthly training sessions to further their knowledge and enhance skills. On-the-job trainings are both didactic and practical, consisting of lectures, case studies, videos, evaluations, and role-play. Our Director Dr. Ron Leaf, also visit Kuwait quarterly to provide direct training to staff. - Weekly Supervision
Our Therapists receive over 400 hours of induction training and 1:1 supervision by our Supervisors and Consultants in their first year on the job. Thereafter, staffs continue to receive over 200 hours of supervision per year with weekly supervisions, regular clinics and team meetings specific to the child they are working with. Weekly supervisions allow us to monitor and evaluate the quality of our services, and track progress of our students. - Performance Evaluation
Our Therapists are formally evaluated through supervision and review meetings with our Director of Training on an ongoing basis. Evaluations are based on Therapists’ practical skills, programming skills, work attitude, communication skills, organization skills as well as professionalism and leadership skills.