Doctor William Brandon, Founder and Executive Director

Will Brandon has been working with children with autism and other developmental disabilities for the past 20 years and is the co-founder of Learning ARTS. Dr Brandon has a Doctorate in Early Education, a Master's degree in Special Education, and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology.  

Dr. Brandon is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst – Doctorate, a Nationally Board Certified Teacher in Special Education, and he holds several California Teaching Credentials. He has been recognized for teaching excellence from the U.S. Congress and from the State of California. Dr. Brandon has sat on several state and local committees including the Superintendent’s Autism Advisory Committee that helped develop protocols and implement Assembly Bill 2513 http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/se/as/saac.asp.

In addition to his work with Learning Arts, Dr. Brandon is an adjunct professor at National University where he teaches graduate level coursework in Behavior Analysis and Assessment; and at the University of Phoenix where he teaches Gifted Education and Teaching Mathematics. 

Dr. Brandon’s research interests include skills acquisition, cultural and familial issues in working with the developmental disabled, curriculum and assessment, and distance education for children with disabilities.

“Behavior Analysis is a powerful science; there is universality to the science that permeates all other social and educational sciences. Incorporation of behavior analytic principles with an understanding and appreciation of how other social and educational sciences work creates an unparalleled learning environment for all students.”

 Ian Wilson, Director of Client Services

Ian Wilson came to Learning ARTS in 2002. He worked as a Behavior Technician and learned how to weather an extinction burst, backwards-chain a dressing goal, and set up an effective establishing operation. Ian became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in 2008, at which time he created standardized program implementations based on published Verbal-Behavior based curriculum. As the Director of Client Services of Learning ARTS, Ian’s programs have taught hundreds of children effective language behavior and minimized the intrusiveness of data collection systems. His responsibilities at Learning ARTS include program development and supervision, classroom teaching, staff training and developing business practices that conform to ethical standards and the principals of organizational behavior management. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences, a Master’s degree in Human Behavior and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. He has also worked as a classroom teacher in regular education, and an Information Technology systems and network engineer.

Monica Avila, Director of Operations

Monica Avila has been with Learning ARTS since 2002 and has worked her way up through field positions and now provides administrative support to the Behavior Specialists and is the principal contact with funding agents including regional centers and insurance providers. Monica has a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and is a Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst.

Kelly Alvarez, Director of Personnel

Kelly Alvarez came to Learning ARTS in 2007. She brings with her 25 years experience in business operations as a business owner and upper management employee. Her experience as a pre-school teacher stretches over 8 years. At Learning ARTS all office management duties are her responsibility including but not limited to receptionist, controller, research and development of new projects, schedule manager and administrative assistance.