Meet the Staff

DrB Website Photo

Dr. Christine Biscardi, Ed.D., BCBA

CEO and Co-Founder

Dr. Biscardi is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst, and the founder and CEO of Stepping Stone Kids Therapy, LLC. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business, Master of Arts Degree in Education with an emphasis in curriculum design, and a Doctorate in Special Education and Applied Behavior Analysis from Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Biscardi’s dissertation focused on the investigation of screening procedures to identify developmental delays in children birth to age 3. Dr. Biscardi has over twenty years of experience working with children with autism and other developmental disorders with behavioral challenges. Dr. Biscardi is a member of The Collier County Council of Autism Service Providers (CCCA), the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis (FABA), and the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts (APBA).

Yelanis Hoyos Perez

Co-Founder/School Director

Originally from Cuba. Yelanis is a Registered Behavior Technician, and is a Registered Behavior Technician for Stepping Stone Kids Therapy. She holds a VPK Director Credential, a Florida Child Care Professional Credential (FCCPC), and she is certified to teach Early Childhood Special Education.  Yelanis served for three years as a preschool teacher, in addition to her teaching experience, she also has experience providing one-on-one therapy for children diagnosed with autism, and other developmental disorders with behavioral challenges.

a picture of Lisa Kolak director of operations at the FT Myers office

Lisa Kolak., M.B.A.

Co-Founder/Director of Academic Operations

Lisa has long had a passion for helping people, first getting involved in the home healthcare field with LPN qualifications. She became involved in ABA therapy when her oldest son was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Seeing how impactful ABA therapy was firsthand, she knew she had to be involved. While working as a clinic manager for an ABA therapy clinic in Fort Myers she earned her Master’s degree in Public Health Administration from Walden University. Her experience caring for those with Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease as well as her degree led Lisa to her position as Operations Director at Oasis Senior Advisors where she trained franchisees to build and operate their businesses. While working with Oasis Lisa became a certified instructor for the Virtual Dementia Tour and learned how to successfully operate a business in the most effective ways. Lisa has also been certified as a CPR Instructor and has years of experience working with children from various walks of life.  For the past five years Lisa has served as Director of Operations for Stepping Stone Kids Therapy.

Stephanie Leon

School Administrator Director

Stephanie joined Stepping Stone in July 2020.  She began her career at Stepping Stone as an assistant clinical manager and quickly moved up to clinic manager at the Naples headquarters. Stephanie managed a team of over 30 therapists. Prior to joining Stepping Stone, she was an office manager at a well-known physician’s office where she assisted the owner with their launch of a non-profit organization H.EL.L.P. for mental health. Stephanie has over 11 years’ experience of working in the healthcare field. Stephanie has earned an Associate degree from the University of Tampa. She is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Florida Gulf Coast University. She loves spending time with her dog, Ace, along with traveling, golfing, and fishing with her husband Joey. 

 

Staff and Faculty Minimum Requirements

All SSkids Academy Staff are trained in CPR and First Aid and pass a Level II VECHS – Department of Law Enforcement / FBI / Interpol Background Check.

All SSKids Academy Teachers are subject to the following required qualifications: a Bachelor’s Degree or higher in any subject; and/or a minimum of 3 years K-12th grade teaching experience; and/or special skills, knowledge or expertise that qualifies them to provide instruction in K-12th grade subjects.