Autism From The Start® is proud of their credible staff of highly educated individuals who have dedicated their lives and professional studies to Autism. Please take a moment and get to know the team and their respective Children’s House.
Executive Team
DR. MICHELLE MACRORIE, FOUNDER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, PEDIATRIC PSYCHOLOGIST
Michelle Macrorie approaches the world with the mind of a dreamer and the heart of a mother. Her happy place is spending time with her two kids and husband…anywhere…anytime. She also loves her butterfly garden, long walks, and chocolate.
In 1999, Michelle earned her Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Pediatric Psychology and Neuropsychology. She went on to spend years conducting developmental evaluations for young children which blossomed into a deep passion for, and specialization in, Autism. Given the marked needs that exist for these families, Michelle set out on a mission to do more….thus was born Autism From The Start®. Michelle took off the hat of psychologist in 2018 and donned the hat of CEO in order to give her full self to growing a strong, professional, compassionate, and thriving company. The results have been remarkable and the best part is that the wonderful journey continues to improve each and every year.
AMY SANNER, CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER, BEHAVIOR ANALYST
Amy Sanner is our “Lead Nerd”, the curator of our craft, and our resident ethics police. She loves research, all things chocolate, her three kids, and her super duper hubby (not necessarily in that order). Since 1996, Amy has enjoyed a varied history of working in the field of ABA that spans a wide range of ages, worldly locations (e.g., Taiwan), and settings.
Amy graduated from the University of Kansas in 2001 with her Masters degree in Human Development (the then ABA Department) and has been a BCBA since 2002. Amy joined Autism From the Start® in 2015 and jumped into the role of our Clinical Director in 2018. Since then, she has developed and expanded our Clinical Programs and our Professional Development Programs, thus earning her the coveted role of our Chief Clinical Officer in October, 2021. Amy carries our clinical world on her shoulders and with her strength, wisdom, and experience to lean on, she moves us forward in the right direction each and every day. She is undoubtably the right person in the right seat. We are so fortunate to have her at the clinical helm.
RACHEL FERBEZAR, CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER, BEHAVIOR ANALYST
Rachel Ferbezar is a beautiful balance of an intellectual, Type-A personality and a sweet, kind, and gracious soul. She and her highschool sweetheart husband are the proud parents of two children—one human and one canine. Rachel is a dependable worker, a great listener, and a sounding board for all.
A Shawnee-native, she and her husband relocated to Michigan for a time so Rachel could earn a Master’s degree in ABA from Western Michigan University in 2016. While in graduate school, she specialized in Early Intervention and Organizational Behavior Management and takes a special interest in our youngest children with new diagnoses. She worked as our senior BCBA for years before being promoted into the role of Clinical Director in 2021. Rachel was elevated again to the executive position of Chief Operations Officer in October, 2022 where she can fully shine—utilizing all of her knack for processes and people along with the vision and discipline to help the company grow. She is a rare fine and a gold mine for us!
Directors
ANNIE MARTIN - SHAWNEE CLINICAL DIRECTOR, BEHAVIOR ANALYST
Annie always thought she would grow up to be a doctor, so helping and caring for people has been a natural part of who she is. Luckily, Annie ditched the doctor goal and became a Behavior Analyst. Annie unleashes her creativity through cooking, baking, and painting. Sunlight, trees, and the sound of nature are her happy place; cheesecake is her life; and her two cats have her heart….well that was the story until 2023 when she was married and in 2024 became a mom. Her true happy places shifted. :)
Annie graduated from University of North Texas in 2018 with a Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis. While in Texas, she focused her studies on Autism Spectrum Disorder, Early Intervention, and aberrant behaviors. After graduating, she made her way back home to Kansas and started her journey as a BCBA. Annie joined Autism From The Start in early 2020, survived her career launch during a pandemic, and was promoted to Lead BCBA until earning her position as Clinical Director of our Shawnee Children’s House in September, 2023. Go girl, go!
LAUREN DAVIS - LENEXA DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, BEHAVIOR ANALYST
Lauren is a foundational block of AFTS and can be described as our hardworking ‘Steady Eddie’. She is motivated, dependable, consistent, level-headed, and responsible. In 2020, she married a man who loves her to the ends of the earth. Lauren loves him right back along with their beautiful baby girl born in 2024, their two dogs, KU basketball, and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Graduating from the University of Kansas with an undergraduate degree in Behavior Sciences and a minor in Psychology, Lauren has been an integral part of our Autism From The Start family since April 2017. Two years later, she earned her Master’s degree in ABA and became one of our rockstar Behavior Analysts (BCBA) in February 2021. In September, 2022 due to an overwhelmingly positive reviews and pleas from the administrative team, Lauren was promoted to Lead BCBA of our Lenexa Children’s House. After a year of crushing this position, she naturally elevated herself to Director of Operations in Lenexa. This location is in such good hands thanks to the exemplary work of Lauren.
SAMANTHA INGRAM - SHAWNEE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, BEHAVIOR ANALYST
Samantha is a dedicated, friendly, easygoing fountain of happiness at Autism From The Start. You can often find her caught up in a good book, creating art, or hiking a new trail. She has a natural ability to connect with, and gain adoration from, any child. She is an avid learner, a consummate professional, and a darn tootin’ nice person!
Samantha graduated in 2011 from the University of Kansas with a degree in Applied Behavioral Science with a focus in early childhood intervention. After working with children at a center-based location and later on special needs cruises around the world, she joined our family in early 2019 as a behavior technician. Samantha completed her Master’s degree in 2021 and rolled right into passing her board exam in just a few months. From the beginning, as one of our home-grown BCBAs, you could tell she had the AFTS DNA in her through and through. Given her interpersonal charm, humility, intuition, and astute clinical acumen, Samantha was promoted to Director of Operations at our Shawnee location in 2024. We couldn’t be more grateful for her!
BRYNN EKINS - LENEXA CLINICAL DIRECTOR, BEHAVIOR ANALYST
Brynn is our red-headed spark with a warm and friendly personality, team-focused vibe, and purpose-driven nature. She has noted that she is in the field to make a difference in kids' lives and plans to do so for a very long time. Brynn is a dog-mom, loves to travel, and enjoys reading. Her hidden talents include her skills as a great conversationalist and a talented violin player.
Brynn graduated from Brigham Young University in 2017 with a Bachelor’s degree and in 2021, she earned her Master’s degree from Florida Institute of Technology. Prior to joining the AFTS Family, she worked at the New England Center for Children, the Lovaas Institute for Early Intervention Midwest, and an in-home ABA provider. We were blessed when Brynn joined our team in 2023 and she’s been a rockstar with our kids, techs, and parents ever since. Her BCBA Superpower is connecting with kids, wooing them into play, and decreasing food selectivity (aka…getting kids to try new foods!). She was so skilled on all fronts that she was promoted to Lenexa Clinical Director in January 2025. Now she is off to do even more grand things!
Behavior Analysts
Morgan is a caring, down to earth, and authentic soul. She wholeheartedly loves her large family, her pets, her fiance, and kids. She has nannied, babysat, and worked with children most of her life. From these experiences, she has developed a superpower of being able to read children’s cues, and use humor and play to get the most out of them. Morgan also has wicked organizational and cleaning skills….just a part of her DNA and we love it!
Morgan graduated from the University of Kansas with an undergraduate degree in speech and language and a minor in applied behavioral sciences. She started working with children with autism in the public school system as a para-educator until AFTS scooped her up and hired her as a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT). While she was a fabulous RBT, Morgan had bigger and better things in mind…she wanted to have more impact and become a BCBA…so she did. Morgan obtained her master’s degree from Arizona State in 2021 and passed her board exam in October, 2022. She is our newest BCBA and perhaps the kindest one we have. She is a true asset to our company and to the children and parents with whom she works.
Megan is complex and cool…. she is chill and easy going, while also being finely tuned to details and deeply analytical. Just the kind of traits we look for at Autism From The Start….no wonder she felt like family on day 1!
Fun facts about Megan--she comes from a long line of musically talented family members, she has never broken a bone, she collects cups, has two dogs, and wants to travel the world with her partner one day.
In 2016, Megan earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of Central Arkansas. She went on to obtain her Master’s in 2018 from the University of Arkansas with a degree in Special Education and a certification in Applied Behavior Analysis. She has ten years of experience in the field of ABA as both a Behavior Technician and a Behavior Analyst.
Megan joined us in September, 2024 and boy are we lucky! She says her super power is her patience when working with kids, but we think it’s also her hard work, dependability, kindness, and smarts!
Brianna, or “Bri”, is our California Girl with sunshine in her heart and soul and super strength in her bones. She earned a black belt at the age of 14, was an All-American wrestler in high school, and loves to still hit the weights these days. She and her husband grew up in the Golden State but moved to the midwest for career endeavors. The self-proclaimed foodie couple loves to go camping, thrifting, and to flip furniture. They are also the proud parents of a beautiful girl who was born in 2023.
After graduating from California State University, Fullerton in 2017 with her undergraduate degree, Bri earned her Master’s degree in Psychology with an emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis from Capella University in 2021. She worked at three other ABA organizations before joining the Autism From The Start family in September, 2024.
Bri’s super power is getting children to laugh and her favorite thing to teach is social skills. Bri is a warm, approachable, kind, and helpful human and a calm, knowledgeable, and driven BCBA. We send thanks to California for this gift!!
Outreach
Speech
Clinical Trainers
JESSICA BENNETT - DIRECTOR of OUTREACH, BEHAVIOR ANALYST
Jessica is a person of great empathy, strength, and love for others. She has a giving nature and selfless spirit that is appreciated by all around her, including her husband and her furry family. Jessica is a prolific reader—often times reading multiple books within one week. She enjoys venturing around KC in search of new places to explore and is especially eager for overseas travel.
With a Bachelors degrees in English and Psychology from UMKC and a Master’s degree in Professional Behavior Analysis from Florida institute of Technology, Jessica was a perfect fit for our team. She has accumulated 13 years of experience in the ABA field, having worked in multiple clinics, schools, and in-home settings before eventually landing at the doorstep of AFTS. Jessica jumped right into creatively leading social groups, helping our children learn functional communication, coaching parents with a high level of clinical acumen and empathy. With that, Jessica was promoted to the Lenexa Clinical Director in mid-2024 and in January, 2025 moved into her current role as Director of Outreach. Her heart is huge, her desire to reach underserved people, and her work with Autism Society of the Heartland makes her a perfect fit for this role!
KALEIGH
Kaleigh is a dedicated mom of two, an independent thinker, a lover of all things in nature, and a loyal rule follower. We count on her to keep our place safe, to ensure we are adequately caring for the environment, and to share with us a host of random facts.
Kaleigh is a 2012 graduate of the ABA program at the University of Kansas and worked in the field of autism ever since. Kaleigh has been a consistent and dependable figure at Autism From The Start since the opening of the first Children’s House in 2016. She was been a trusted veteran RBT for years and then earned a long-standing role as one of our Program Coordinators. In the fall of 2022, Kaleigh was promoted to Clinical Trainer and all we can say is HALLELUJAH for that! Kaleigh shows up every day with a positive spirit and ‘can-do’ attitude. She is a problem-solver, a motivator, a protector, and steady source of support, humor, and camaraderie. We love her so!
SKYLAR
Skylar is a bubbly, compassionate, and reliable member of our AFTS family who helps to make a difference every day. She has a knack for seeing the good and making the kids of AFTS laugh. In 2021, she married her husband—and best friend— after dating long distance throughout college. She is a great gamer, played collegiate soccer, and loves to read.
Skylar graduated from Colorado State University in 2021, where she focused on counseling with a specialization in PTSD. In fact, she was heading down that road to become a trauma counselor….until that beautiful day when she interviewed with us. It was an immediate match made in heaven and Skyler turned her life’s plan on its head and dove into ABA. Her overall mission in life is to have a positive impact on children and she found the path to do so through ABA. Skylar soared from being a Registered Behavior Technician to serving her peers in her current role as a Clinical Trainer. She has a natural gift in working with kids and is an incredibly kind soul and works amazingly with our entire team. What a dream she is!
Office Managers
Wizards
JESS FERRELL, LENEXA OFFICE MANAGER
Jess is a friend to all. She has a warm, generous, and massively kind soul that is endearing and infectious. She loves our kids and team with her whole heart and serves as a steadfast protector, a cheerleader, a counselor, and an anchor for the Lenexa Children’s House inhabitants. She is humble, grateful, hard-working, and diligent.
Jess earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications, Film, and Digital Media from Avila University and spent time as a film editor for a local news channel. Jess worked for a large corporation for a number of years before AFTS came a callin’ and scooped her up. She has been our Office Manager since 2021 and served at both our Shawnee and Lenexa locations. She keeps us on-track, well-supplied, entertained, and well-supported. We just love our Jess!!
LACY HILL, SHAWNEE OFFICE MANAGER
Lacy is a spunky and enthusiastic soul who brings light and cheer into our Shawnee Children’s House. She is a child at heart and a mom of two young girls, so she easily connects with all the kids in our care. Beyond her daughters, she’s also a mom to all sorts of animals and an anchor for her cool husband. Lacy loves to craft and bake with her girls and watch movies with her hubby.
Lacy was born and raised in Texas and is a graduate of Texas A&M, where she studied early childhood education with an emphasis in Autism. She first graced the AFTS team in 2018 as an RBT and rose to the position of our first-ever Office Manager. After a break due to that pesky little virus, COVID-19, and to have her two children, Lacy returned to the helm and was hired to manage the day-to-day in our Shawnee Children’s House once again. She keeps our parking lot safe, the supplies stocked, and the people well-fed and loved. What a gem she is!
Karen is much more than just our talented billing manager—she is a funny, fast paced worker, with deep loyalty and passion. Karen has expertise and talent in working with animals, aesthetics and makeup artistry, and photography. In her free time, Karen enjoys working out, traveling, raising her daughter, and caring for her pets.
Karen graduated from the University of Missouri in 1993 and joined the AFTS team in 2018. She now spearheads our Billing Department and keeps this complicated part of the business in check.
SARAH GREGAR, OPERATIONS SPECIALIST
Sarah has a wicked sense of humor, an easygoing nature, and a laid-back vibe. She and her husband love to travel and she is a superfan of all things sports. Sarah is the leader of our March Madness Pool, and advocate for Red Fridays (go Chiefs!), and a diehard loyalist to our local sports teams. Her superpower is connecting with people and remembering all of their details.
Sarah graduated from Avila University in 2010 with a degree in Middle School Education. She has worked with children of all ages since 2002 and focused exclusively on children with autism since 2011. She has been part of our Autism From the Start family since June 2017 and quickly stood out as a leader in our clinical staff. In the fall of 2023, Sarah was promoted to Operations Specialist and is the organizational ‘wizard behind the curtain’ of much of the business. Sarah is a support beam in our structure—we count on her to keep us strong, centered, and totally cool.
ABA Interns
MICHAELA
MEME
JESSICA
Registered Behavior Technicians
LEXI - Clinical Floater
CARISA - Program Coordinator
JULIA - Program Coordinator
BAILEY - Program Coordinator
IZZY
MCKINSEY
KELSEY
SAM - Program Coordinator
CIARA
RATHI - Program Coordinator
EMILY - Special Interest Groups Coordinator
DESTINY
CARA
BRYLEE
SHELBY
BROOKE - Program Coordinator
SARAH - Program Coordinator
SARAH
JENNA
MEGHAN
ELLIE
IOVANI “JUNIOR”
MALLORY
GABBY
SAVANNAH
DARA
KAT
AMANDA
BREE
ALEX
CALEB
DESTINY
KENDRA
LIBNI
EMILY
For our employees: https://mrf.healthcarebluebook.com/trustmarksb