Barber National Institute Behavior Specialists play a crucial role in enhancing the overall functioning and success of individuals with behavioral health challenges. Beth Vieira is one of Barber’s most experienced Behavior Specialists having worked over 20 years in the field. She is known among her colleagues as a professional dedicated to life-long learning and developing best practices. She mentors new staff and helps all staff members develop skills to manage stress, build resilience and grow professionally.  

She takes the time to develop genuine relationships and always goes above and beyond in supporting the individuals she serves. When supporting individuals with difficult behaviors, there is no one more gifted in collaborating with interdisciplinary teams as a leader in finding creative ways to support the person’s vision of their future.  

Beth was instrumental in helping one individual maintain her family and community relationships through many trying years. The client routinely had behavioral issues including aggression, property destruction and elopement. Her behavior jeopardized her community placement and law enforcement was frequently involved to maintain safety.  

Beth developed an effective behavior support plan that helped bring stability to the individual’s life. Beth worked alongside the individual’s mom to strengthen her relationship and develop stronger ties to her daughter. Beth coached the mom in recognizing positive behavior and social skills and developing tools for coping with negative behaviors. Beth spent time mentoring other team members on appropriate interaction and steps to implement the support plan.  

Through Beth’s keen insight into her individual’s behaviors over time, she initiated target behavioral interventions that lead to substantial behavioral outcomes including self-journaling, structured positive reinforcement plans and pictorial schedules.  

Beth remains this person’s longest-standing team member, besides mom, and continues to lead and meet with the team regularly to ensure success.  Due to Beth’s dedication and commitment, this individual enjoys interacting with her family and accessing her community. 

Marikay Zimmer is one of those people who just get it. She’s wired to stand up for what she believes and doesn’t stand silently when something is unjust. When she learned that an individual was living with food insecurity, she contacted the local food bank and now takes him weekly to pick up food. She meticulously follows medical directives and when she notices a medical change, she completes the change of health report and follows through until the change is made. Only someone with innate people skills can feel when something is off. She gives the individuals 100 percent of her attention and is knowledgeable of all their needs. Just the other day, someone arrived without his compression socks and Marikay noticed right away! We made a call and notified his group home staff who brought the socks. Marikay is an extraordinary example of a dedicated advocate to ensure the rights, needs and interests of individuals are recognized and addressed.   

Valerie Bennett has made a name for herself as the “staff to be like”. She provides consistent care across different environments and openly discusses needs with families. This information is invaluable for tailoring interventions and support to the individual’s needs. She is in-tune with those she supports and when she notices changes, she quickly reaches out to their family. She believes that open and regular communication with families fosters trust and ensures that any changes in the individual’s circumstances are promptly addressed. 

This profession can be difficult. But Valerie recognizes that building strong family relationships creates a support network that can provide emotional and practical assistance, reducing burnout and enhancing overall well-being. 

One family has this to say about Valerie, “Our son Samuel, 26, has been at the Barber National Institute's Adult Day Program for five years. In those past five years, there have been challenges for everyone, especially adults with Sam’s diagnoses.  The Covid Virus made things difficult for clients like Sam due to the state mandated restrictions.  To say Sam had difficulty would be understating his and our challenges.  Sam is nonverbal, has CP, and is incontinent.  To say the least, he needs a lot of care throughout the day. After a few difficult years, we have been blessed with his current DSP Valerie.  Valerie was assigned to Sam shortly after lifting COVID restrictions.  She has been incredible.  The support and care she provides for Sam each day brings tears to our eyes.  Her approach with Sam has been special from the beginning and her constant communication with us has been superb.  When we bring Sam to the program, we feel like we are leaving him with a family member.  We receive a thorough recap of his day when we pick him up.  We could not be happier with the nurturing demeanor that Valerie provides for our Sam! "

First impressions are formed within the first seven to 10 seconds of meeting someone. Barber National Institute’s first impression of Tomari Glover led Tomari to find a new career as a direct support professional.  On the Barber team for seven months, Tomari juggles the daily responsibilities of the job with a balance of skill and ease. She is an effective planner and squeezes the fullest of every minute. She makes coordinating two outings for two separate groups seem like a piece of cake! Her diligent work ethic rubs off on her co-workers and her coaching of individual’s vocational development. She is admired for her respectful approach and genuine interest in individuals. 

While there are countless management styles, one thing underpins the behavior of all great managers. A great manager shows he sees his people for who they are. This personal investment not only motivates employees but also galvanizes the entire team. 

Ronald Duffley has worked in direct care at Barber National Institute for 22 years. His reputation as an exceptional manager is comprised of thousands of daily interactions and decisions that get the best out of his people and acknowledges the value each of his employees brings to the house. 

Ron recently took over the management of a home of a high acuity individual whose team was struggling with plans to improve his health, behaviors and ability to access his community. Ron tapped into the staff’s unique abilities and worked alongside them to develop strategies to redesign the setup of the home. He incorporated their ideas into a new layout that maximized staff capacities and efficiencies, enhanced safety and increased the individual’s independence.  

To improve the health of the individual, Ron lead conversation with his team to develop a community-based exercise program that assisted the individual in connecting to his community AND improving his health. In fact, he has decreased the number of supplements he takes.  

Ron’s management style brings out the best in his people. He uses his years of experience to train staff and work alongside them until they reach a level of confidence and comfort.  

In the span of a career, a professional is faced with obstacles, more questions than answers and a deep sense of responsibility for another’s success. As a supported employment job coach at Barber National Institute’s Bedford campus, Carissa College feels the weight of that responsibility as she strives to help adults reach goals of self-worth, importance and greatness. 

She's developed inventive strategies to help adults throughout the employment process so they may realize their goals. Employer outreach and relationship cultivation are important aspects to the supported employment program. She has helped plan and coordinate positions. 

Carissa adds value to the workplace and is admired by her colleagues. She is dedicated and is described as a person that “lights up” when she is working alongside an adult through the employment process. She considers herself a life-long learner and has developed her professional acumen.  

Fueled by other’s success, Carissa finds professional and personal fulfillment each time an adult achieves their goals. She recently helped an adult gain 100 percent independence by helping her learn how to read bar codes to place items correctly on shelves and use a cart when moving heavy items at a grocery store. She also creatively used a dry erase board to create a schedule for an adult to stay on task without needing constant verbal prompting. 

Every team needs staff who quietly work in the background. They are not seeking public recognition; they just want to get the job done.This work ethic describes Barber National Institute Supported Employment Job Coach Quentin Ridley.  Since joining Barber National Institute in 2019, he is admired by his co-workers for his upbeat manner, patience, and work ethic. He very rarely sits. He is truly the definition of a go-getter.   

Described by his co-workers as gentle and caring, Quentin quietly performs his job duties and picks up the slack when he notices there are gaps. He puts the individual’s dignity first and advocates for their likes and preferences.  

The Supported Employment program has made tremendous strides this year in obtaining employment in the community for many individuals, thanks to Quentin’s efforts.  

Under Quentin’s coaching, James Fonash has made some very good improvements at the Courtyard Mariott.    

Quentin continually shows the ability to collaborate effectively with peers and works independently. Quentin works towards the team goals of “Making Dreams Come True” and puts his own interests aside to ensure that James has his preferences, always meets deadlines and gets the work done in a timely manner.  

Quentin’s commitment to quality in carrying out the job responsibilities is vital to the day-to-day operations of the Supported Employment program, and he is an asset to Barber National Institute. 

Simply put, Direct Support Professionals (DSP) give the gifts of self-sufficiency and independence. DSPs are far more than caregivers, aides or sitters. They’re trustworthy, dedicated people who want to help individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities claim the quality of life they deserve and are meant to have. 

Lacie Surdick chose a career as a DSP at Barber National Institute 11 years ago. Lacie is just one of those people who “get it”. She understands the unique partnership between the DSP and the individual. The central focus is not to do the tasks for the person she’s paired with but to teach and support them in learning how to do the tasks that are important for themselves.  

She works tirelessly to help the individual realize a level of independence they might not otherwise achieve. She always caters to the individual’s requirements, incorporating all aspects of their ISPs. 

When approaching her workday, Lacie goes out of her way to ensure the individual has a meaningful and enjoyable day. She uses creativity when engaging throughout the day finding unique ways to reframe card games, integrate art, music and exercise therapy and developing personalized modules. 

She is highly respected by her peers. She has trained countless staff over the years on how to encourage, promote and maintain the individual’s independence. She has created strong, trusting relationships with fellow staff and individuals. 

Lacie is cross-trained to work at the adult day and residential programs.