CASP Elects Natesh Kumar, Dr. Heather O’Shea to Board of Directors
Boston, MA—The Council of Autism Service Providers (CASP) has elected Natesh Kumar and Dr. Heather O’Shea to its board of directors. Kumar is the CEO of Empower Behavioral Health (EBH) and has 15 years’ executive leadership experience. Dr. O’Shea is president of Verbal Behavior Associates (VBA) and has 20 years’ experience as an autism service provider.
Kumar has led EBH since 2015, making it a premiere provider of applied behavior analysis (ABA) services for the treatment of autism. He is also CEO of Circle of Care, which provides speech, physical, and occupational therapy to children. In 2019, Kumar co-founded The PodCASP, a podcast discussing the latest developments in evidence-based autism treatment.
As president of VBA, Dr. O’Shea is a leader in the field of ABA and among CASP membership. Most recently, she led the development of session note templates that have been made freely available to the entire autism provider community. Dr. O’Shea holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. She enrolled in California’s very first BACB course sequence and is a BCBA-D.
“We’re so proud to welcome Natesh and Heather to our board of directors,” said Lorri Unumb, chief executive officer of CASP. “For years, they’ve been two of CASP’s most active members, fostering collaboration with their peers on crucial issues. It’s only natural that they join our board, where they’ll make an even greater impact for people with autism.”
Kumar said, “I am honored to serve on the CASP Board and remain deeply committed to advancing support and care within the autism community. Together, we can create lasting impact and empower every individual to reach their fullest potential.”
“This is truly a thrill for me,” said Dr. O’Shea. “My mission is to impact the field and leave a lasting positive impact on all of those impacted by and committed to improving the lives of those touched by autism. There’s no better way to do that than on CASP’s board.”
