Karen D. Bopp, PhD – Director of Provincial Outreach
Dr. Karen Bopp is the lead author for the CIRCA Professional Development Programs. She has a PhD in Special Education and was trained as a Speech-Language Pathologist. Karen has worked extensively with autistic and neurodivergent individuals and their families for over 28 years. She is serving a 4-year secondment (2018-2022) with CIRCA/UBC from the BC Ministry of Children and Family Development where she served for 10 years in the positions of Senior Behaviour Consultant, Autism Policy Lead and, most recently, Director of Autism Information Services BC.
Sharon Hu, B.A. – Instructional Designer
Sharon is the Instructional Designer for the CIRCA Continuing Professional Development Initiative. She has over 12 years of combined experience as a learning designer for the Justice Institute of BC, UBC Faculty of Education, and Vancouver Coastal Health. She specializes in using media and interactive activities to create impactful online learning experiences.
Pat Mirenda, PhD. – Past CIRCA Director
Dr. Mirenda is a Professor Emerita at UBC. She is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst and taught graduate courses on autism, augmentative communication, positive behavior support, and inclusive education. In 2004, she was awarded the Killam Teaching Prize in the Faculty of Education at UBC and was named a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. In 2008, she was named a Fellow of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. She has published over 150 research articles and chapters related to autism, and co-authored two texts on autism and augmentative communication.
Ross J. Harvey – Videographer
Ross Harvey of Jazzfly Video Productions is an accomplished videographer with over 25 years of experience producing corporate and learning videos. He was particularly happy to be a part of this project as it opened his eyes to the abilities of people on the autism spectrum.
Kayla Ragosin-Miller
Kayla has partnered with CIRCA to develop the program “Autism and Neurodiversity in Dentistry.” She is a Dental Hygiene graduate from the University of Manitoba. Currently, she works in private practice; is a part-time instructor in the Faculty of Dentistry at UBC; a provincial examiner with the CDHBC; and is the Hygienist for BC Children’s Hospital. At BCCH she developed the successful Behavioural Dental Intervention Program to assist children with support needs to successfully receive basic dental treatment without the use of general anesthetic. She has been recognized for her work and has received the Dental Hygiene Superhero Award from Johnson and Johnson and the Dental Hygiene Making a Difference Award from the BCDHA.
Rae Morris, MSW, RCSW – Project Assistant
Rae assisted in the cross-jurisdictional scan of existing resources to inform the development of all CIRCA pro-d programs. When Rae worked on this project she was a PhD Candidate in the School of Social Work at the University of British Columbia, and an individual and family therapist specializing in neurodiversity and mental health. Her dissertation is exploring mental health service provision in Canada for autistic adults with co-occurring mental health challenges.
Valerie Goodman – Research Assistant
Valerie assisted in the literature review and the cross-jurisdictional scan of existing resources to inform the development of all CIRCA pro-d programs. She has years of experience working with neurodivergent youth and adults. When Valerie worked on this project she was an M.Ed student in the Special Education program at the University of British Columbia where she was pursuing coursework to become a BCBA. Valerie worked concurrently as a research assistant for CIRCA, as well as a Junior Behaviour Consultant supporting families and individuals on the autism spectrum. Valerie has since graduated and will soon be a practicing BCBA in BC.