Bridge Collaborative Members
Aubyn Stahmer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at UC San Diego and Rady Children's Hospital. She is the principal investigator of the BRIDGE research programs and leads several other federally funded projects. Her research interests include the study of early intervention systems for children with ASD and the translation of evidence-based practices into community settings. 
Dr. Barbara Caplan is a licensed psychologist and an Assistant Professor of Psychology at CSU Long Beach. Her work focuses on the implementation of evidence-based practices for autism in community settings, and the engagement of caregivers and families in child autism services. Dr. Caplan has a specific interest in identifying and addressing service disparities experienced by Latino families and other historically underserved populations.
Beth Calarco, MA, BCBA is the director of a private agency, ABACUS Behavioral Health, which serves San Diego Regional Center. She provides a behavioral perspective from a private early intervention agency. Her interests include early intervention, naturalistic teaching, and parent training.
Josh Feder, MD is a psychiatrist experienced in relationship-based interventions for infants and young children with social difficulties. Dr. Feder has extensive experience teaching parents and therapists in relationship-based therapies, including use of reflective supervision and feedback. Dr. Feder is also the parent of a young adult with ASD.
Karyn Searcy is semi-retired and was the founder/director of Crimson Center for Speech & Language with 5 clinics in San Diego and Imperial Valley counties from 2003-2020. She has been a community speech and language therapist since 1989 and had worked as a therapist for more than 45 years. She taught undergraduates in the Chicago area from 1981-1988, supervised graduate students at SDSU from 2010-2022 and taught a CEU course throughout the country from 2006-2010. She is the author of Early Intervention for Speech and Language: Empowering Parents, and is the author of two publications on The BRIDGE Collaborative. She currently provides telehealth and is active in a local advocacy group
Laura Cervantes, a bicultural and bilingual parent of a young adult with autism, is an active member in the Autism Society of America, San Diego Chapter. Laura has lead support groups for Hispanic families through the South County Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) for the past fifteen years and has extensive knowledge of resources for families throughout San Diego County.
Lauren Brookman-Frazee, PhD 
Marilee Burgeson, MA, CCC-DIR/SLP
Monica Corrales, MA, BCBA is the director of Behavioral Services at Motiva Associates, serving Spanish speaking families in San Diego, CA and the Imperial Valley. Motiva Associates employees bi-lingual, bi-cultural therapists and serves many children in San Diego whose families are monolingual Spanish. 
Sarah Rieth, PhD is an assistant professor in the Child and Family Development department at San Diego State University. Her interests include long-term influences of early intervention, active ingredients across treatment approaches for children with autism, and the promotion of social-emotional skills in early development.
Sarah Dufek, PhD, is a psychologist and behavior analyst specializing in diagnostic assessment and intervention for individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities. She has special expertise in parent coaching and naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions (NDBIs). Dr. Dufek's research focuses on the development and community implementation of high quality evidence-based assessment and intervention practices for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities with a special emphasis on services designed for families who traditionally have not had access to feasible and acceptable options.
Sherry Casper, PhD, BCBA-D, is the founder and clinical director of the Center for Thoughtful Lasting Change, Inc. She is a licensed clinical psychologist who has worked with children and families with simple to complex challenges for over 21 years. Prior to establishing in CTLC, Inc. she coordinated autism services at San Diego Regional Center, providing diagnostic and service recommendations. In 2009 she completed a fellowship expanding her skill set to include reflective practice/supervision and intervention and treatment of very young children.