Meet Our Team
At Frankenberger Associates, our team of specialists work with children, teens and young adults at all educational levels, both virtually and in-person.
We work collaboratively to evaluate each student’s unique learning profile documenting strengths, and areas that need to be developed, and we support them by building the specific cognitive, academic, social emotional and executive function skills that they need. We use cutting-edge practices to identify and address roadblocks to learning and then we create a unique plan for each student so that they can achieve greater academic and life success.
Caryl Frankenberger, Ed.M.
Executive Director
Caryl Frankenberger is the Executive Director of Frankenberger Associates, an educational consulting firm that was established in 1986. For over 30 years, Caryl has been assisting families in identifying and understanding their child’s cognitive and educational profiles. She is a master clinician, psychoeducational diagnostician. Caryl has committed her life’s work to educating individuals in understanding evaluation and children who have complex learning profiles. She is an expert in the field of learning disabilities and a recognized national speaker with over 200 professional presentations.
Ted Backes, B.S. B.A.
Director of Cognitive Training
Ted Backes, The Director of Cognitive Training at Frankenberger Associates, has supervised the trainings of hundreds of individuals, using protocols that improve the full range of cognitive skills and abilities. He has worked with individuals from ages 8 to 80 and has created more than a dozen school based programs in well-known places such as The Greenwood School, Winchendon School, Oxford Academy, Cheshire Academy, Wolf School and Thames Academy. He entered the field of applied neuro-science in 2012 based on a life changing and personal experience with brain training and its healing and restorative effects.
Ben Backes, LCSW, LADC
Assistant Executive Director
Ben, the Director of Social-Emotional services at Frankenberger Associates, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and Licensed Drug and Alcohol Counselor (LADC). Ben oversees the PEERS® Social Skills program and he provides counseling services to adolescents, young adults and adults as well as individual crisis management for schools. In addition to these roles, Ben is the co-founder and President of the Board of Directors for Winning Ways Inc., a non-profit organization designed to aid individuals returning from incarceration. He is also the co-creator of the “Falling Up Podcast,” a forum for conversations about how obstacles in life can be transformed into opportunities.
Alicia A. Piselli, M.A.T.
Director of Executive Function/Tutorial Services
Alicia Piselli is an expert and accomplished educator. She has deep and broad experience as an instructor, designer, presenter, and implementer of cutting-edge educational approaches. She has been working with students in the classroom, in small groups and individually for more than twenty years. Alicia earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Albertus Magnus College, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Quinnipiac University and holds a State of Connecticut Professional Educator Certificate in English. Prior to joining Frankenberger Associates as an Executive Function Coach/ Learning Specialist, Alicia taught on the middle school, high school and collegiate levels.
Erica Hocking, B.A., Certified K-12 Special Educator
Director of Social Learning Services
Erica Hocking has a broad range of experience working with students and families as a social skills and executive functioning interventionist. As a licensed special educator, she works with students who have a variety of learning disabilities, as well as ADHD and autism spectrum disorders. She has conducted social skills groups and one-to-one sessions for students struggling to understand the social world around them and she has been trained in Social Thinking by Michelle Garcia Winner. In addition to her work at Frankenberger Associates, Erica also works in the North Haven Public School system as an executive functioning intervention teacher, where she assists at risk students at the high school level. She is a strong advocate for students.
Christina Davino, MOT, OTR/L
Occupational Therapist & Social Learning Coach
Christina Davino is an occupational therapist, who received her Bachelor’s Degree in Health Sciences, and Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy from Quinnipiac University. Christina is certified through the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy and a licensed occupational therapist through the State of Connecticut’s Department of Public Health. Christina has years of pediatric experience in various settings, including outpatient clinics, schools, and sensory gyms. She has additional experience in special needs child care, as well as integrating children with Sensory Processing Disorders and Autism Spectrum Disorders into dance classes with typically developing peers.
Katherine Bartlett, M.A.
Executive Function Coach, Academic Tutor
Katherine Bartlett is an Executive Function Coach/Tutor at Frankenberger Associates. She is an expert at teaching Executive Functioning Skills, Reading/Writing and Life Skills based on the individual needs of her students. Katherine has a passion for helping students find joy and success in learning. Her greatest personal joy is in the moment when students are able to grasp the skills and strategies, that she has imparted, the moment that things "click."
Stacey Beyer, M.A.
Board Certified Behavior Analyst
Social Learning and Executive Function Coach
Stacey Beyer is a passionate educator with a Master’s degree in Early Childhood and Childhood Education from Nazareth College, and an Advanced Certification in Applied Behavior Analysis from The University of Rochester. Stacey has spent the entirety of her career as a Special Education Teacher and Behavior Specialist in the Pittsford Central School District in Pittsford, NY. During the summer months, she provides behavior support for her district’s Extended School Year program working with students in grades K-12.
Andrea Brunsman, M.Ed.
Executive Function Coach, Academic Tutor
Andrea is a Learning Specialist and Executive Function Coach at Frankenberger Associates. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in understanding each of her students’ needs. She has a deep understanding of reading, writing, and math, as well as, executive and study skills including, goal setting, initiation, planning and organization, self-monitoring, and strategizing. Andrea readily guides children and young adults, and she is an expert in helping them access their curriculums, particularly through the appropriate use of technology.
Hallie H. Cohen, CALT, SLDI
Certified Academic Language Therapist
Hallie Cohen is a Certified Academic Language Therapist, a reading specialist, and an Orton Gillingham Practitioner. Structured Language Literacy is the approach used to teach struggling readers in K- college. Hallie transforms reading instruction to meet the individual needs of each student, focusing on all aspects of the reading process as she provides students with the skills and knowledge needed to become lifelong readers.
Margo Lofaro, M.S.
Social Learning Coach
Margo is a seasoned Special Educator at Frankenberger Associates with over 16 years of experience working with students who have diverse learning needs, including ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Holding a Bachelor of Science in Education from Salve Regina University and a Master of Science in Special Education from Southern Connecticut State University, Margo is certified in both K-8 Elementary and K-12 Special Education.
Maria Doubrovskaia, Ph.D.
Executive Function Coach, Academic Tutor
Maria is an experienced executive function specialist who loves to help clients of all ages achieve their academic, professional, and personal goals. She holds a Ph.D. in Literature from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Fine Art from Cornell University. Maria received initial intensive training in art education and pedagogy when she worked as a museum educator in some of New York City’s greatest museums. As fascinated with literature and languages as she is with art, she went on to study and teach literature and writing at the university level. She became interested in one-on-one coaching because as a teacher she observed the impact that learning challenges make on her students’ experiences of learning and of their sense of self.
Jennifer Frost, M.A.
Executive Function Coach, Academic Tutor
Jennifer Frost is an Executive Function Coach and Literacy Tutor at Frankenberger Associates. She is a skilled and talented educator who has more than 30 years of experience in the field of education. Jennifer is certified by the State of Connecticut as a special education teacher, literacy specialist, and school administrator. Her areas of expertise include planning and implementing instruction for learners with complex learning profiles, specialized reading instruction including Multisensory Structured Language Education, Orton-Gillingham based instruction, writing process coaching, executive function skill acquisition and teacher training.
Caroline Hopenwasser, Ph.D.
Executive Function Coach, Academic Tutor
Caroline Hopenwasser is an experienced learning coach whose passion for instructional coaching stems from her deep desire to maximize student success. After working as an elementary school teacher for several years, Caroline earned her PhD in Literacy from Alabama A&M University. From there she went on to serve as a professor of literacy education at the State University of New York, New Paltz. During her 14-year tenure as a professor, she taught introductory and advanced level college courses focused on reading and writing. Additionally, she coordinated a literacy tutoring center for students in grades K-12.
Jesse Lloyd, M.S.
Mathematics & Science Coach/Tutor
Jesse Lloyd is a passionate Science and Mathematics Educator with experience at all levels, K – graduate school, including introductory and advanced courses. He is skilled in the development and tailoring of teaching techniques to meet the individual needs of students at all educational levels, in both virtual and traditional classrooms. He is an expert at teaching to students with all styles of learning, including the gifted and twice exceptional, and students who have a wide range of learning challenges.
Annie Quest, B.A.
Social Learning Coach
Annie Quest has over thirty years of experience teaching Social Emotional Learning. While working at The Greenwood School, a private middle and high school for students diagnosed with ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder and other learning differences, Annie developed the Social Emotional Learning curriculum and steered its evolution for three decades.
In addition, she has maintained a private regional SEL practice during this time. A warm, empathetic teacher, Annie uses her deep experience and command of a broad array of current SEL practices to effect significant improvement in the social skills of her students.
Annie is a PEERS® certified professional and has received specific Social Skills and Executive Functioning training over the past 30 years with an array of experts in the field, including Michelle Garcia Winner (Social Thinking Methodology)
Kate Scott, Ed.D.
Psychoeducational Diagnostician; Parent Coach
Dr. Kate Scott is a developmental psychologist who is an expert in the fields of special education/learning disabilities and adult development. Kate is a talented educator and diagnostician. Early in her career, Kate taught and held administrative positions in schools specifically designed for students with language-based learning disabilities, such as the Landmark School, and the Churchill School in St. Louis. While in the master’s degree program in Reading and Language at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), Kate participated in a year-long internship with a speech language pathologist/reading specialist in the Learning Disabilities Clinic at Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CHMC) where she conducted sophisticated reading/language evaluations and participated on an interdisciplinary clinical team.
Kristen Laurito, M.Ed.
Social Learning Coach
Kristen Laurito is a Social Learning Coach at Frankenberger Associates Learning Solutions Center. She is a dedicated learning specialist with a background in developing behavioral intervention plans and helping children, adolescents, and adults achieve their academic, social, and career goals. One of the most rewarding aspects of her work is celebrating the social and academic achievements of her students as they progress through high school, and complete four-year degree programs, after having been told they could never attend college because of their challenges and/or disabilities.
Macy
Our Pawtner
Macy is a key member of the Frankenberger Associates team! When she is in the office, she sets the tone by helping make it the warm, friendly, and inviting place that it is.
As a Jackapoo, Macy is half Toy Poodle and half Jack Russell Terrier. Because of this, she is friendly, enthusiastic, smart (by dog standards) and hypoallergenic. Thank goodness for the Poodle in her lineage, this is what gives her the ability to curb her Jack Russell enthusiasm and energy, an off switch, so to speak.
Like most dogs, Macy spends most of her day sleeping. Her interests include squirrels, chasing after stuffed animals and watching TV. For Macy, TV is all about the dogs; if you are not aware, there are a lot of dogs on TV! Macy even knows the commercials that have dogs in them and is sure to come running if she hears one from another room. Be sure to say “Hi” whenever you are in the office.