Clinical Advisory Board

BlueSprig’s Clinical Advisory Board comprises a dedicated assembly of esteemed healthcare professionals. They play a pivotal role in offering invaluable guidance and counsel to the BlueSprig clinical team. Drawing from diverse and complementary backgrounds, these industry experts share a profound alignment with our mission of “Changing the World for Children.” Their collective wisdom actively contributes to the sculpting of the clinical program’s strategic vision.

Meet the board members

Dr. Amber Valentino, Psy.D., BCBA-D
Chief Clinical Officer
Dr. Jane Howard, Ph.D., BCBA
Board-Certified Behavior Analyst and Licensed Psychologist
Dr. Shahla Alai, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Associate Professor at the University of North Texas
Dr. Candice Allen, M.D.
Developmental Behavioral Pediatrician at Texas Children’s Hospital
Dr. Michael R. Cummings, M.D.
Janell Van Cleve, M.S. Ed., CAS
Clinical Director of the University run APIC Program

BlueSprig is growing! Find out where we can be there for you.

Dr. Amber Valentino, Psy.D., BCBA-D

Chief Clinical Officer

Dr. Valentino is the Chief Clinical Officer for Trumpet Behavioral Health (now Bluesprig Pediatrics) where she develops workplace culture initiatives, supports clinical services, leads all research activities, and builds clinical standards. Her research and clinical work span a variety of topics including verbal behavior, ways to connect the research to practice gap, professional ethics, and effective supervision. She has published several peer-reviewed research articles, invited book chapters, and she recently published a book in partnership with New Harbinger Publications titled: Applied Behavior Analysis Research Made Easy: A Handbook for Practitioners Conducting Research Post-Certification.

Dr. Valentino has served as an Associate Editor for Behavior Analysis in Practice and for The Analysis of Verbal Behavior. She is on the editorial board for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA) and serves as a frequent reviewer for several behavior analytic journals.

Dr. Jane Howard, Ph.D., BCBA

Board-Certified Behavior Analyst and Licensed Psychologist

Jane Howard, Ph.D., BCBA, is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D®) and a licensed psychologist. She is the Co-Founder of Therapeutic Pathways and Senior Advisor to Blue Sprig Pediatrics and Trumpet Behavioral Health. Dr. Howard is the lead author of several widely cited outcome studies regarding treatment outcomes for individuals with autism. She serves on the Board of the Council of Autism Service Providers and is a member of the Advisory Board for the National Autism Law Center. In addition, Dr. Howard is the Past President of the Board of Directors for the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.

Dr. Howard is also a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at California State University, Stanislaus, where she spent decades training graduate students in behavior analysis and clinical psychology. In that capacity, she published multiple research papers examining various intervention strategies to support independence in individuals with developmental delays. Dr. Howard also established several university-affiliated community programs to improve access to services for individuals with learning disabilities and cognitive impairments. These various roles reflect Dr. Howard’s long-standing commitment and passion for developing the clinical infrastructures needed to support access to high-quality care by those who need services.

Dr. Shahla Alai, Ph.D., BCBA-D

Associate Professor at the University of North Texas

Shahla Alai received her B.S. from Southern Illinois University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Behavior Analysis at the University of North Texas. Shahla and her students collaborate with community partners to serve under resourced populations through caring and science-based interventions. Shahla is a member of an interdisciplinary social justice collective that includes faculty and students from Woman’s and Gender Studies, Applied Anthropology and Behavior Analysis. Shahla teaches technology transfer, ethics, autism intervention, parent training, behavioral systems, applied research methods, behavior change techniques, and assessment courses. Shahla served on the governing board of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB) and as a subject matter expert on supervision and ethics.

She also served on the ABAI Practice Board, the ABAI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Board, and the Experience Standards Committee and is currently on the PBAAC and the OAR scientific council. She has published and presented research on social justice, ethics in early intervention, play and social skills, family harmony, and change agent training. She is co-author of two books, one on supervision and the other on love and science in the treatment of autism. Shahla has over four decades of experience working with families and has trained hundreds of master’s level behavior analysts who have gone on to serve families and communities with honor. She was awarded an Onassis Foundation Fellowship for her work with families, was the recipient of UNT’s prestigious “Fessor Graham” teaching award, received the 2019 Texas Association for Behavior Analysis Career Contributions Award, and the UNT 2020 Community Engagement award.

Dr. Candice Allen, M.D.

Developmental Behavioral Pediatrician at Texas Children’s Hospital

Shahla Alai received her B.S. from Southern Illinois University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Behavior Analysis at the University of North Texas. Shahla and her students collaborate with community partners to serve under-resourced populations through caring and science-based interventions. Shahla is a member of an interdisciplinary social justice collective that includes faculty and students from Woman’s and Gender Studies, Applied Anthropology and Behavior Analysis. Shahla teaches technology transfer, ethics, autism intervention, parent training, behavioral systems, applied research methods, behavior change techniques, and assessment courses. Shahla served on the governing board of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB) and as a subject matter expert on supervision and ethics.

She also served on the ABAI Practice Board, the ABAI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Board and the Experience Standards Committee and is currently on the PBAAC and the OAR scientific council. She has published and presented research on social justice, ethics in early intervention, play and social skills, family harmony, and change agent training. She is co-author of two books, one on supervision and the other on love and science in the treatment of autism. Shahla has over four decades of experience working with families and has trained hundreds of master’s level behavior analysts who have gone on to serve families and communities with honor. She was awarded an Onassis Foundation Fellowship for her work with families, was the recipient of UNT’s prestigious “Fessor Graham” teaching award, received the 2019 Texas Association for Behavior Analysis Career Contributions Award, and the UNT 2020 Community Engagement award.

Dr. Michael R. Cummings, M.D.

As one of the leading practitioners in the child and adolescent psychiatry space, Dr. Cummings has impacted many roles and institutions in his storied 17+ year career. In that time, he has developed a keen focus and dedication to those affected by intellectual and developmental disabilities, solving incredible challenges faced by individuals on the autism spectrum, and their families. He is passionate about developing and integrating systems of care, especially for individuals who are at high risk of avoidable hospitalization or incarceration. Dr. Michael Cummings holds multiple esteemed roles in the mental health industry locally and across the state with institutions such as University at Buffalo, Erie County Medical Center (ECMC), OLV Human Services, and NYSTART.

Janell Van Cleve, M.S. Ed., CAS

Clinical Director of the University run APIC Program

Janell Van Cleve is the Clinical Director of the University run APIC Program (Access to Psychiatry through Intermediate Care), where she supports the Medical Director in providing care to developmentally disabled individuals with a specialty in the autistic spectrum. Through APIC she has helped to create an innovative and unique model of mobile care to treat a vulnerable and highly overlooked population, and has provided direct clinical care to 1,600+ patients across New York State. She supports further impact in the industry through national consultation and training of mental health professionals, delivering clinical oversight to multiple staff and interns, and has helped acquire sustainable funding for APIC.