Lisa Stoddard, M.A., BCBA
Executive Clinical Director
Lisa Stoddard is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, holding a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology, with an emphasis in marriage, family, and child therapy, from Loyola Marymount University. Ms. Stoddard oversees all FirstSteps clinical operations including the development and implementation of Program Director training and evaluation protocols and curriculum and program development. Ms. Stoddard also enjoys direct clinical work including consulting on the design and implementation of treatment plans for our children, functional behavior assessments, school observations and consultation, and collaboration with IEP and IFSP teams, as well as conducting clinical research.
Ms. Stoddard began her career in ABA in 1994. Ms. Stoddard’s area of specialization includes ABA as a treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder, with expertise in the development of comprehensive skill repertoires (including communication) and behavior management, and particular interest in the use of behavioral therapies to increase play skills, social behavior and perspective taking. To this end, she has designed a comprehensive curriculum for teaching complex social behavior, comprised of programs for teaching play skills (such as symbolic and imaginary play), perspective taking (“theory of mind”) skills, and social skills (such as responding to social cues, sharing and turn-taking, and conflict resolution), and continues program development to date.
In addition to her work at FirstSteps, Ms. Stoddard recently completed her second elected term on the Board of Directors of the California Association for Behavior Analysis in the position of Communications & Marketing Chair.
Ms. Stoddard lives in Los Angeles with her husband and daughter. In her free time, she loves cooking, paper craft, and exploring the art, architecture, and nature of our beautiful city.
