George Jeffrey Children’s Centre
Agency Description
George Jeffrey Children’s Centre is a pediatric outpatient health facility located in Thunder Bay, Ontario. George Jeffrey Children’s Centre (GJCC) is dedicated to meeting the communication, developmental, physical, and behavioural needs of infants, children and youth from birth to 21 years of age across the District of Thunder Bay. GJCC is one of twenty-two Children’s Treatment Centres in Ontario, and a proud member of Empowered Kids Ontario.
Therapist Descriptions
Tara Wheatley, Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA)/Registered Behaviour Analyst (RBA)
Tara brings more than a decade of experience as a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst to her role in supporting children of all ages with Autism Spectrum
Disorder. With a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Masters of Science in Applied Behaviour Analysis and Autism, Tara is a passionate advocate
for supporting children and families with diverse needs in a variety of settings.
Ashley Pitchuck, Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA)/Registered Behaviour Analyst (RBA)
Ashley is a Registered Behaviour Analyst in Ontario with 15 years of experience supporting families of children with autism. She has expertise in direct service delivery, individualized assessment and goal setting, and parent coaching and consultation.
Shelby Arvelin, Instructor Therapist
Shelby Arvelin has worked as an Instructor Therapist (IT) with George Jeffrey forthe past 3 years. She has a background in Recreational Therapy and has worked in a school setting most of her career as a Student Support Professional. At GJCC, she currently provides school-based behaviour support services
programming, facilitates workshops, and provides 1:1 and Entry to School Programming utilizing the principles of ABA.
She likes working with a variety of different aged children and values supporting children and their families to become more independent in their daily lives.
Amanda Pollari, Instructor Therapist
Amanda has worked as an Instructor Therapist for 16 years and is deeply passionate about the field. She has experience in providing 1:1 therapy in
home, school and centre-based environments. Amanda especially enjoys individual sessions and values opportunities to continue learning and expanding
her skills to facilitate groups and workshops. She finds her work in the ABA field incredibly rewarding, helping children and families build meaningful skills that support long-term success.
Nicole Rivera, Instructor Therapist
Nicole Rivera has been working with children since 2020 and is currently an Instructor Therapist in the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA). She is
working toward her master’s degree with the goal of becoming a Registered Behaviour Analyst in Ontario. Nicole has experience supporting children with
Autism Spectrum Disorder in different settings and is passionate about using evidence-based, progressive ABA strategies that make a meaningful difference for kids and their families. She especially enjoys working closely with families and providing one-to-one therapy.
Chantal Lesschaeve, Behaviour Support Services Coordinator
Chantal began her career working in daycares after achieving her Early Childhood Education Diploma in 2011. Through positive interactions, she built
many connections with the children in the school years program most particularly those with diverse needs. In 2014 she graduated from the
Developmental Services Worker Program and went on to work as an SSP at the local school board. While working with children of all needs, she became more interested in learning more about Autism. This started her journey, where she completed the Autism and Behavioural Sciences Program in 2020.
Alicia Dumais, Instructor Therapist
Alicia has worked at as Instructor Therapist for over 3 years. She has a background in Developmental Services Worker and previously worked as an SSP. Alicia is experienced working with children in 1:1 settings, in group programs, centre-based therapy and community sessions. She especially enjoys working with children in 1:1 settings and building rapports with families and clients.