About Us – Illumine Collaborative, LLC

Meet Our Growing Team.....

Tenisa Turnbaugh, MS, BCBA, LBA (CT and VT)- Clinical Director/Founder:

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Tenisa started her career in education by earning a B.S. in Early and Elementary Education from Lyndon State College in Vermont. While a licensed educator, she developed a desire to support students with disabilities and became a Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) in 2012. After raising her two young boys, Tenisa went on to earn a M.S. in Applied Behavior Analysis from Western Connecticut State University and is now a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She has also recently served as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB).

As a BCaBA, Tenisa worked under the supervision of highly skilled and experienced BCBAs in Vermont and Connecticut. She served children and young adults, providing ABA services in their home, school and community settings. She was also the Program Coordinator for a private ABA special education school in Vermont before moving to Connecticut in 2019.

While Tenisa has extensive experience working with those on the autism spectrum and other developmental disabilities, she also focuses her practice on culturally responsive and trauma-informed ABA consultation within dozens of school districts throughout Connecticut and Vermont.

Since the pandemic shutdown, Tenisa has shifted her focus to help students “catch-up” academically utilizing a practice of ABA called Precision Teaching. The success of her students is the motivation for the founding of Illumine Collaborative, LLC. She believes that through the collaboration of educators, behavior analysts and other service providers beyond the treatment of autism and challenging behavior, all students can benefit from the effective application of behavior analysis.

Gabi Davis, MEd, Licensed Special Educator (VT)- Education Director/Co-Founder:

Gabi is proud to be a licensed special educator that is certified to teach individuals with intensive needs aged birth through 21 years old. She has been a teacher for 44 years in both public and private schools. She also directed summer camps and provided direct consultation to families. In her personal life, Gabi has also been a foster parent through Department of Children and Families (DCF) and a professional parent through local mental health agencies.

Gabi has a true passion for working with individuals who learn differently and are challenged by their different abilities. Helping individuals in all areas of their development- academic, social, emotional, behavioral, language and motor skills- across all settings- school, community and home- is a challenge that she has committed to since 1972. She strives to help individuals know that they are capable learners and have a place in our communities.

She looks forward to working together with families and educators as partners in each shared student’s growth and development. Her motto has always included knowing that everyone needs to have people who are irrationally crazy about them.

Abigail Howard, M.Ed, BCBA, LBA (VT)- Staff Training Development Director

Abigail began her career in applied behavior analysis in 2015 in Vermont. She provided direct service to children and teens in a private school setting and within homes and communities. After earning her Masters in Education from Arizona State University, she went to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Abigail now lives in Coupeville, Washington.

Throughout her career, Abby has found that teaching and training others to implement treatment and lesson plans has been her favorite part of the job.

Abby specializes in and particularly enjoys organizing complex behavioral concepts into visual aids and illustrations. She also has developed her practice to include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for children and teens to address a variety of social and emotional challenges.

She looks forward to utilizing this talent in her development of dynamic staff training resources.

Jennifer Omelianoff, MA, BCaBA, LABA (TX)- Parent Training Development Director

Jennifer grew up in Los Angeles, California and dreamed of being an English teacher, so she packed up and moved to rural Vermont where she obtained a degree in English Literature. From there she taught middle school in Vermont and then English in China. After a stint as a dog walker in New York City, she ventured into her current career serving children and adults with disabilities.

She started in the field as a vocational skills educator and has been an ABA therapist/Registered Behavior Technician for the past 9 years. She gained the Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst credential in the spring of 2021 and obtained a Master of Arts in Behavior Analysis in Practice in 2022.

She has worked extensively with early learners using the ESDM (Early Start Denver Model) and has lead social skills groups for the past 4 years. When asked what she is passionate about she will say, “advocacy, teamwork and most of all, transparency”.

A focus of her current practice is on parent training and RBT assessment and supervision. She will be bringing this skill to developing parent training materials and content.

Kaitlyn Wright, MS, BCBA, LBA (VT)- Behavior Analyst

Kaitlyn has lived in the state of Vermont her entire life and became a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) in March of 2023. She holds an Associates in Early Childhood Education, a Bachelors of Arts in Behavioral Science and a Master of Science in Psychology-Applied Behavior Analysis.

She has six years of experience working with children in public schools, homes, daycares, clinical settings and preschools. From these experiences she has found that the support of a behavior analyst within any setting can provide children with a well-rounded team of professionals who are there to meet them where they are and work toward getting them to where they want to be. To truly make an impact in communities and develop lasting behavior change, Kaitlyn is aware of the need to teach others how behavior operates and collaborate to create individualized treatment plans that are supported by the entire team so individuals can experience success in all areas of life to the best of their ability.

Kaitlyn strives to utilize behavioral techniques to also address the internal events that are barriers to an individual in being successful in all areas of life. She believes it is truly amazing to support others and provide them with the knowledge in understanding that every person is unique, and the change that happens when people are treated as such.