Staff

Ann-Louise Ellwood

Dr. Ellwood is a registered psychologist who completed her Master’s (2000) and Doctoral (2006) degrees in Clinical Psychology at the University of Calgary.  Her clinical internship focused on outpatient psychiatry, psychosocial oncology, and family therapy.

Dr. Ellwood is a cognitive-behaviour therapist whose private practice is focused on providing psychological services to those living with chronic or life-threatening illness, adults and youth with depression and anxiety, and families in distress.  She is also the clinical director of Reach the Peak Behaviour Intervention Services. This program provides behaviour consulting, behaviour therapy, and cognitive behaviour therapy to children with Autism Spectrum and related disorders.

Dr. Ellwood is a former Izaak Walton Killam scholar whose doctoral work identified factors that mediate the desire for hastened death among terminally ill cancer patients.  Following completion of her doctoral degree, she worked as both researcher and clinical practitioner at the BC Cancer Agency. In this role Dr. Ellwood served on provincial and national groups including the National Cancer Institute of Canada’s Clinical Trials Group and was instrumental in the creation of a multidisciplinary research team investigating the neuropsychological impact of brain cancers.  During this time she also held an adjunct professorship at UBC Okanagan in the department of Psychology. Dr. Ellwood also worked at Okanagan Ability Centre and Diversified Rehabilitation Group before opening her own private practice in 2009.

Guifré Calderer

Guifré fell in love with Behaviour Intervention in 1998 when, after realizing that he was not suited to being stuck in a chemistry lab all day, he started a job working one-on-one with a preschool age girl with Autism. He liked the collaboration with her family and the consulting team, as well as the way the treatment was adapted to utilize her strengths to address areas of need. The amazing children he has worked with have been inspiring him to learn and develop advanced Autism Intervention skills ever since.

Guifré started work in the field with on the job training in Applied Behaviour Analysis with Autism Partnership in Calgary, Alberta. Working out of family homes, he learned quickly and became a Lead Behaviour Therapist within 18 months. Guifré became a Behaviour Consultant at Renfrew Educational Services in 2005 where he taught the Floortime Model to 300 staff members.

He moved to Kelowna, BC in 2006 and started working at the Central Okanagan Children’s Development Association (later re-branded as Starbright). Guifré attained his Master’s degree in Education in 2012 and became the Registered Autism Service Provider of Starbright’s Autism Program until its closure in December 2019.

He continues to do the work that he loves and now provides clinical oversight of Reach the Peak Behaviour Intervention Services.

Jaimee Bryce

Jaimee’s passion for helping families stems from her own experiences raising four children, two of whom have ASD.  She studied psychology at Vancouver Island University, and received an Autism Spectrum Disorder certificate from Okanagan College in 2012.

Jaimee is an eager learner and has attended many workshops including intensive ABA training through Autism Partnership and many workshops on topics such as Social Thinking and Executive Functions.  In addition to several years experience doing intervention in people’s homes, Jaimee worked for 7 years in Starbright Children Development Centre’s Autism Program as a Behaviour Interventionist and as a Senior Behaviour Interventionist.

Jaimee is keen to use her over 12,000 hours experience as a Senior BI and her extensive training to continue to serve the Autism community in the Okanagan through Reach the Peak.

Clarissa

Clarissa graduated from the University of Victoria in 2014 with a Bachelor of Child and Youth Care. During this program she worked in a variety of practicum settings, including a community centre and an Elementary School. Her degree focused on a training in running one-to-one and group therapy sessions, a variety of therapeutic techniques, and working with children and families at all ages and stages.

She worked as a Behaviour Interventionist and a Senior Behaviour Interventionist at Starbright Children’s Development Centre for over 4 years, prior to the closure in December 2019. She loves watching each client learn and grow in their own way, and will do her best to help them in their journey.

When she is not working, Clarissa is an avid baker and board game enthusiast.

Autumn

Autumn graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. She has spent the last 5 years working with people with a wide range of needs. Autumn worked as a Behaviour Interventionist at Starbright Child Development Centre from 2017 until the closure of the Autism Program in December of 2019. She was a starting member of our Reach the Peak Team in January 2020.

Autumn brings enthusiasm and energy to every session, and is always thinking about the best way she can further the independence of the clients she works with. She has worked for several years with clients who use Augmented Communication, and is well versed in the use of applications such as Touch Chat. Outside of work, Autumn is an avid movie buff and enjoys spending time with friends and family.

Bianca

While Bianca has worked for Reach the Peak since January 2020, she has worked with kids with special needs for 17 years.  Her experience allows her to excel working with high needs children by creating a calm, stable environment.

She loves doing crafts and experiments with her clients and enjoys teaching her older clients in natural environments.  On top of being a behaviour interventionist she also holds a Fine Arts degree from Okanagan College.

Braxtyn

Braxtyn has been working as a Behaviour Interventionist for Reach The Peak since May 2020, and will be graduating in December 2020 from UBC Okanagan with her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. Braxtyn’s passion for working with children with ASD has motivated her pursuit of graduate studies in School and Clinical Child Psychology.

Lama

Michelle

Michelle completed her university degree at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in 2018. She has her Psychology Honours degree with a focus on happiness and habits.

Michelle joined the Reach the Peak team in May 2020. She had previously worked with adults with complex and comorbid neurologically based behaviours. The change to early intervention has inspired Michelle to see the impact we can have on children, and the belief in preventative and safety planning, as opposed to reactive problem solving. She tries to bring her creativity and love of all things cute to each session.

When not working, Michelle loves hiking, creating dishes in the kitchen, and all things equine and feline related.

Maddie

Maddie started with Reach the Peak in October 2020, and brings creativity and enthusiasm to her sessions. She is always thinking of innovative ways of engaging and motivating her clients in order to help them learn in ways that are exciting and tailored specifically to their interests. Maddie is always looking to learn, and is dedicated to improving her skills everyday. 

Outside of work, Maddie enjoys spending time with her dog Peaches and experimenting in the kitchen. 

Annekatrin

Annekatrin graduated from the Bochum University of Applied Science in Germany with a Bachelor in Social Work. After moving to Canada, she began working at a private school, where she had the opportunity to work closely with children on the Autism Spectrum. This experience inspired her to become certified as an Education Assistant at Okanagan College in 2006.

After working as a CEA for the school, and privately as a Behaviour Interventionist, she joined the team at Reach the Peak in March of 2020.

She is passionate about encouraging her students to learn and grow, and does this with patience and creativity. Outside of work, she enjoys taking on new projects, and spending time with her friends and family.

Sheryl-Lynn

Sheryl-Lynn has been a member of the Reach the Peak team as a Behaviour Interventionist since September 2020. She graduated from the University of British Columbia Okanagan in April 2020 with a Bachelors’ degree majoring in Psychology. Sheryl-Lynn has developed a passion for Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) since her first introduction to that branch of psychology. She strives to use ABA to help our clients learn and enrich their lives.

 When not at work Sheryl-Lynn can be found either trying to perfect her cooking skills or cozy on the couch with her dog watching T.V.

Debra

Growing up, Debra’s family welcomed many children with varying abilities into their home. During her teen years she enjoyed assisting her mother, and started doing respite on her own for some of the clients. As an adult, Debra volunteered with Errington Therapeutic Riding Association, and became a Mother Goose Facilitator. It was during this time she decided to change her career path, and focus on working with children.

Debra graduated as an Early Childhood Educator in 2017, and ran a classroom in a multi-age center. During this time she realized she wanted to specialize in working with children who needed an extra hand to learn. This led her to take online courses and transfer to another center to become a Supported Child Worker. Working as part of a team with the local supported child development center.

Debra was excited when she moved to the Okanagan, and found the opportunity to join our team at Reach the Peak as a Behaviour Interventionist. She has been part of Reach the Peak since October 2020. When Debra is not working, she enjoys spending time in the woods or on the lake in the summer, and baking and sewing during the winter months.

Arianna

Arianna has been working with children with autism and their families for over 3 years. Her passion for this job stemmed from growing up with her brother who is on the autism spectrum. She loves being able to open up opportunities for kids to discover and have fun, while providing a safe learning environment and setting them up for success.

Hira

Hira brings her experience not just as a BI but also as an Autism parent. She believes in continuous learning and has taken several trainings and workshops on Discrete trial teaching, ABA with Verbal Behavior, Addressing challenging behaviors, Theory of Mind, ‘More than Words’ (The Hanen Program), Non violent crisis intervention, and many more. She also has a Masters degree in English Literature as well as certificate in Teaching English as Second/ foreign Language ( TESL/ TEFL). Hira is multilingual and can speak in English, Urdu, and Punjabi. Outside of work, she loves reading while sipping cup of tea and spending time with her family.

Rahaf

Rahaf is bilingual, in both Arabic and English. In her home country of Syria, she earned her Bachelor of Science and was on a scientific career path. Upon coming to Canada, she followed her passion and interest in children’s learning and care. In 2019 she earned her Diploma in Early Childhood Education with Special Needs from Okanagan College. After graduation she worked as a Behaviour Interventionist for the Autism Program at Starbright for six months, where she gained significant experience working with children with Autism.