Our Team

Director – Susan Petrie

Susan moved to Adelaide from New Zealand in 2011 with her husband. She has been working in the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) for over 15 years. She has worked around the world helping children with Autism Spectrum Disorder reach their potential through the most effective evidence-based interventions available. Susan is the Director of Beanstalk Child Psychology and is also a guest lecturer within the University of Adelaide’s Learning and Behaviour course. Susan is a Registered Psychologist and South Australia’s first Board Certified Behaviour Analyst.
Susan is passionate about providing the highest standard of therapy possible to her clients and was delighted to receive an award of excellence this year from the Behavioural Health Centre of Excellence. She is pleased to be the first provider in South Australia to employ and train Registered Behaviour Technicians (RBTs).

Director of Early Intervention – Joey Lim

Joey moved from Malaysia to Adelaide in 2008 to further her studies in this area. She holds a Bachelor of Psychological Science from the University of Adelaide and Bachelor of Arts (Honours), majoring in Psychology, from Flinders University. She was also the first Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) in South Australia. Joey specialises in early intensive behavioural intervention based on the science of ABA for children on the autism spectrum. Her work includes conducting VB-MAPP assessments, developing behaviour intervention plans, implementing individualised programs, and making decisions based on data to ensure her clients are learning new skills as fast as possible.

Program Supervisors

Felicia Clarke

Felicia moved to Adelaide from Boston Massachusetts in 2016 to join the Beanstalk team. Felicia has been in the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis since 2009. She received training through the New England Center for Children and the Carbone Clinic. Felicia completed her Msc in Occupational Therapy from Queen Margaret University and completed graduate coursework in behaviour analysis through Clemson University. Felicia is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst. Felicia’s passion is utilising verbal behaviour to increase functional language and skills across age groups.

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Kayleigh Smith

Kayleigh joined the Beanstalk team in 2014 after 2 years’ experience in Applied Behaviour Analysis. Kayleigh has completed a Bachelor of Psychological Science at Flinders University as well as an additional year of ABA study through the Florida Institute of Technology. She is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst and has completed her Masters of Education in Applied Behaviour Analysis. Kayleigh is passionate about increasing independence in daily activities and using a Verbal Behaviour approach to increase independent communication. Her area of specialty is in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for children with autism.

Koomal Kaur Ranjit Singh

Koomal joined the Beanstalk family in 2015. She has 6 years’ experience working within the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis. She studied Psychology at Flinders University, then furthered her study in Applied Behaviour Analysis at Florida Institute of Technology. She is Board Certified Behaviour Analyst and has completed her Masters of Education. She specialises in Positive Behaviour Support and is experienced in conducting functional behaviour assessments, individualised behaviour support plans as well as training parents, caregivers and educators in implementing behavioural interventions. Koomal is passionate about giving her best to make a positive transformation in the lives of children that she works with. Her favourite part of this role is being able to witness firsthand all the positive, effective and functional skills that develop as a result of Beanstalk’s interventions.

Hannah Lewis

Hannah moved to Adelaide from the UK in September 2017. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University West of England in the UK. She completed her Postgraduate diploma in Positive approaches to challenging behaviour in 2010 at Cardiff University.
Hannah became a Board Certified Assistant Behaviour Analyst (BCaBA) in 2014 and currently has over 11 years’ experience working within the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis. Hannah has worked with children of all ages, as well as some adults and is passionate about making a difference using the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis and verbal behaviour. Her work includes designing behaviour intervention plans and conducting relevant assessments to design and implement individualised programmes that are tailored to each individual to ensure the best outcome.

Penny Schulz

Penny holds an honours degree in Psychology from The University of Adelaide. She began her training in Applied Behaviour Analysis in 2014 and joined the Beanstalk team in early 2017. She is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst and has completed her Masters of Education in Applied Behaviour Analysis. Penny is passionate about teaching children to use functional language for requests and assisting children to develop their social skills. Penny loves making a difference in the lives of her clients and their families.

Jacqueline Abela DeGiovanni

Jacqueline moved to Adelaide from Malta with her husband and 2 children. She has been working in the field of Early Intervention and Applied Behaviour Analysis for over 20 years.

Jacqueline Abela DeGiovanni has obtained a Diploma in Individual Educational Needs (Malta), a Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education (UK) and a Post Graduate Diploma in Play Therapy (UK). She has completed her Masters of Science in Applied Behaviour Analysis (Belfast). She is also a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst. She has worked in different organisations in Malta, Holland and Ireland and has also set up the only ABA service available in Malta. Her area of speciality is early intervention and verbal behaviour.

Alisha Banks

Alisha has worked within the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis since 2013. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge about the NDIS and the disability sector as a whole in SA. She holds a Master of Science in Applied Behaviour Analysis and Autism from the Sage Colleges in New York and is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst. Alisha’s passion for working with children with developmental disabilities started over 10 years ago and she has been volunteering and working in the field ever since including travel overseas as part of a specialist intervention team and working with individuals from 18 months to 18 years of age. Alisha is passionate about evidence-based interventions and ensuring that clients have access to the best possible therapy for their child. Her favourite part of the job is training parents, teachers, other allied health professionals and therapists to create fun and effective learning environments to help their children learn functional communication, adaptive behaviours and to gain greater independence.

Caitlin Ambrosia

Caitlin moved to Adelaide to work for Beanstalk in 2018. Originally from California, Caitlin began working in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis in 2008, and gained her Master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Arizona State University in 2016. She is also a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst. Caitlin’s passion has always been serving others and one of her favourite things about traveling the world is getting to observe human behaviour across so many different cultures, environments, and circumstances. As a therapist and supervisor, Caitlin strives to help families understand and work through challenging behaviours, as well as promote functional communication skills and improve speech with her clients. Caitlin is thrilled to live in Adelaide and be a part of the Beanstalk family.

Sara Elcic

Sara joined the Beanstalk family in 2017. She holds a Bachelor of Psychological Science, and a Master of Education in Applied Behaviour Analysis. Sara is the first certified Level 3 Talk Tools therapist in Australia. Her specialisation and passion is centred around helping her clients say their first sounds and words. Sara’s therapy sessions involve applying the science of behaviour analysis to systematically work through a hierarchy of prompts to teach first sounds and improve speech clarity. Her favourite and most rewarding part of her job is hearing her clients speak for the first time.