ABA Therapy
Center Tampa

Jay Katari

Jay Katari is married to Kimmy Katari and is the father of four wonderful boys. Jay was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  He moved to Florida in 1991 to finish his senior year of high school at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. After high school, he went on to Florida State University where he majored in Business Administration and Marketing.

Jay is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for building amazing companies with amazing company cultures. He is very excited to serve My Favorite Therapists’ clients and their families and do all that he can to help to make their lives better. Jay is very passionate about giving back to the community, sitting on the Board of Directors of Autism Speaks of Broward County, the Board of Directors of FAU’s Center for Autism and Related Disabilities, the Love Boca Homeless Charity, and the Board of Directors of The Boca Raton Police Foundation.

My Favorite Therapists is a very special place for Jay, having created a place where his passion for success translates to the clients getting the very best therapies available, all in one incredible place.

Kimmy Katari

Kimberly Katari, best known as “Kimmy” to those who know her, is the quintessential working woman turned parental advocate. She was a practicing commercial litigation attorney, licensed in the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Florida. She met and married her husband 21 years ago and gave birth to 4 boys. While pregnant with her middle twin boys, Kimmy’s mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Kimmy made the difficult but determined decision to leave the practice of law to focus her attention on her ailing mother and baby boys. Kimmy’s mother survived the breast cancer, but was diagnosed with ovarian cancer approximately two years later, when Kimmy was pregnant with her youngest son.

Having the twins provided a much different perspective as far as keeping track of her babies’ progression. Blake’s brother soon surpassed him on the pediatrician’s checklists of milestones. Kimmy and her husband brought Blake for early evaluation and were told that Blake simply had low muscle tone and was speech delayed. About a year later, however, Blake’s therapist suggested that they bring him to see a neurologist because it seemed as if Blake’s was “spacing out” often. That was the beginning of a whole new life for the Katari family…Blake was diagnosed on the autism spectrum with PDD-NOS.

Kimmy has been passionate about finding and doing all that she can for her son, Blake, since that diagnosis. Not one to give up, give in, or accept defeat, she became the voice, advocate, cheerleader, pincushion, and counselor for Blake. She watched, she listened, she learned, she read, she argued – all for her son. She cried often, yet maintained a strong, stable image and persona for the betterment of the rest of her family and those that she loved so deeply.

Kimmy quickly discovered that there is an entirely separate world out there for children with special needs and their families. In that world, values are different, priorities are different, relationships are different, and people are different. In that world, being different is good. It is special. Small things could be astronomical in that special world.

Over the next decade, Kimmy delved into the life of being a mom of a son with autism as well as a wife, daughter, and mom of three “typical” boys. She incorporated into their lives the gluten free casein free diet, doctors’ visits, RDI therapy, ABA therapy, OT therapy, equine therapy, speech therapy, social skills classes, Tomatis listening therapy, floortime therapy, and acupuncture because there was no telling what would be best for Blake.

She spent countless hours with therapists, teachers, paraprofessionals, school administrators, and doctors and even more on the phone with insurance companies in order to try to obtain the best services possible to help her son. It seemed as if time was passing by and yet Blake was at a standstill with the choices of local therapists and therapy clinics. Kimmy and her husband agreed to take a gamble and seek services outside of the state of Florida. She traveled alone with Blake and homeschooled him for months, leaving her supportive family behind, a very difficult and emotional time for the entire family.

Kimmy returned to Florida with the revelation that there needed to be better options for families like hers in Florida. Parents needed and deserved to focus their time and efforts on their special children and not drive around town from one appointment to another. It was rarely possible to describe and update each therapist on what another one had accomplished or noticed with Blake. Those therapists should be able to converse and share notes with one another. Kimmy strongly felt that children with special needs deserved to be in a caring, well-equipped environment conducive to optimizing the child’s capabilities and not in a small cluttered room. Most importantly, she wanted qualified, talented therapists who were not robotic or routine. She did not believe in leaving Blake with a “glorified babysitter”. She complained repeatedly to her husband, a self-made entrepreneur, and he encouraged her to “do something about it”. With his extensive business knowledge, acumen, and guidance, My Favorite Therapists began to emerge.

Jason Buckley

Jason Buckley is a married father with four wonderful children, one of whom was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. For years, Jason and his wife searched nationwide for “good ABA” for his son. Finding My Favorite Therapists in Deerfield Beach and seeing firsthand the success of comprehensive autism related services was a game changer. His family relocated to the state of Florida to fully support and provide the best services for Jason’s son. After years engaged in the practice of law, Jason found a passion for helping other families, such as his own, in need of autism services.

Jason proudly joins the MFT family, sharing his understanding, empathy, and knowledge of what it is like to live with autism.

Jennifer Lawrence

Jen majored in Education, is the mother of two amazing daughters, a master multi-tasker, a 3rd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and an obsessive perfectionist. Jen loves going to work each and every day to see the amazing progress of all of the clients at My Favorite Therapists.  She plays a vital part in the daily operations of the therapy center.

Mallory Lucillo

Mallory LucilloMembers is a Nationally Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She received her Masters of Science in Cognitive Behavioral Disabilities with a concentration in Emotional Behavioral Disorders from Nova Southeastern University and her Bachelors of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Sociology and Interdisciplinary Studies from Florida Gulf Coast University.

Mallory has been working in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis for over a decade. She has experience working with individuals with developmental disabilities ranging in ages from eighteen months to twenty-one years old. She has worked in the environments of clinic, school, home, and community focusing on improvement in the quality of life for every client.

Mallory has extensive background in increasing language and functional communication, reducing problem behaviors, acquisition of self-help skills, parent training, training of other clinicians, social skills, acquisition of new skills and generalizing them to be used in the real world, and vocational skills.  Her passion is to continually grow and learn as a clinician to make the biggest positive impact on the lives of others.

Mallory also leads the team at My Favorite Therapists in obtaining insurance authorizations for services as well as running the supervision programs for up and coming BcaBAs and BCBAs.

When you don’t see Mallory working, she is usually spending time with her family and friends exploring new adventures or working out in the gym. Mallory is a Crossfit nut with a passion for physical fitness. She has competed throughout the state of Florida in many state and local Crossfit competitions.

Marek Bubenik

Marek is driven by his passion for traveling, creativity and marketing. Since being a kid, he always knew that he wanted to travel and work abroad. While studying in Czech Republic, Spain, Austria and Ireland he completed a BA in Economics and Management, Film Production and a Masters degree in International Diplomacy.

By studying Internationaly, he was able to land an amazing job at Google. At Google he helped the biggest advertising agencies in the industry grow, by providing support and education around the newest trends in digital marketing. On his team he was responsible for the teams KPI´s in his CSAT role. He trained both colleagues and Google vendors to improve communication skills in order to provide the best customer support.

He is a founder of a creative co-working space called BOOX (located in Monterrey MX), which serves as a hub for talented creators who produce content, organize cultural events and creative workshops.

As a Director of Marketing he is on a mission to help My Favorite Therapists grow exponentially, so many kids with autism can succeed, and live happy independent life.

Shayli Gerard