About Us

A message from the President

Dr. Guilhardi is the Senior Vice President of Operations at Beacon ABA Services of Massachusetts. He received his Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Experimental Psychology from Brown University. Dr. Guilhardi is responsible for the day-to-day business operations and expansion of the Beacon practice. Dr. Guilhardi works to ensure families have access to the highest quality and intensive Applied Behavior Analysis services.  Dr. Guilhardi oversees the business operations of Beacon satellite offices representing multiple regions across the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Dr. Guilhardi has extensive clinical experience working with children affected by the Autism Spectrum and their families in homes, schools, and residential environments

Dr. Ross is the Chief Clinical Officer at Beacon ABA Services of Massachusetts and Connecticut. He received his Master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis from Northeastern University and his Doctorate from Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Ross oversees all research activity at Beacon. He also provides direct and consultation services to families, schools and educational programs throughout the U.S. and Canada. He is a founding member and current Past President of the Massachusetts Association for Applied Behavior Analysis. Dr. Ross is also the President of the Autism Special Interest Group (SIG) of ABAI, and has served three terms on the ABAI Practice Board.

Daniel Almeida is the Executive Vice President of Clinical Services and Graduate Study.  He is also the Program Director for the Ph.D. in ABA program at Cambridge College.  Previously, he was the District Supervisor of ABA Services for a major public school district in Greater Boston and held a variety of director level positions at private, ABA-based schools is Massachusetts. He received his Ph.D. in ABA from Simmons College. Dan has provided ABA services to students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and related disabilities for over 30 years.  He has published original research on staff training and interventions for students with autism in peer-reviewed journals and has presented research at national and regional conferences.  He has also conducted professional development workshops in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).  He served as adjunct faculty since 2002, teaching classes in certificate and graduate degree programs in ABA.  Dan is passionate about training and supporting staff to provide culturally responsive, evidence-based ABA treatment to families.

Susan Rapoza-Houle is the Associate Vice President of Employee Development at Beacon ABA Services. She received Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work from Bridgewater State College, a Master of Science in Special Education from Simmons College, and a post master’s certificate in Behavior Analysis from Pennsylvania State University. She has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst since 2006 and is a Licensed Behavior Analyst in Massachusetts. Sue has more than 25 years of experience in the field of behavior analysis, working with learners with intensive special needs between the ages of 18 months to 25 years of age. Sue served on the Massachusetts Autism Commission’s Workforce Development Sub-Committee, has presented her research work at local and national conferences, and has worked at Beacon for more than 18 years. As the Associate Vice President of Employee Development, she is responsible for designing and implementing professional development trainings.