our mission
The mission of SEE Educational and Behavioral Consultation is to provide behaviorally derived services to schools and families using compassion, care, and trauma-informed interventions. The team is dedicated to excellence with all consultative staff having expertise in a variety of areas that will enhance programs for students and their families. The staff use their expertise creating evidence-based programs that are legally defensible and demonstrate success. The team uses ABA as a foundation to all programs and supports the use of PBIS, MTSS, CPI, and value-based decision making and care. We proudly adhere to the 3C’s: collaboration, communication, and commitment to excellence!
we love what we do and it shows!
Meet The Team
Syndi Ecker, M.A.
Behavior Specialist
Founder & President
Syndi Ecker, M.A., has served as a BCBA and educational consultant in schools for over 25 years. She has been trained in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Practical Functional Assessment/Skill Based Treatment, and is a mentor for Social Thinking.
Her training includes advocacy work in coaching parents to navigate the often difficult system to help their child get the services that are much needed to advance each child’s potential. She is the owner of Syndi Ecker Enterprises, Inc that also includes SEEFun, a social-emotional and executive functioning program for individuals of all ages.
For 30 years, Syndi has served individuals across the life span from Early Childhood to PhD students. She has worked as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in schools where I targeted behaviors for change and provided training for all staff members.
Syndi’s Superpower
Syndi knows how to build bridges between schools and families to serve the student’s needs.
Erin Blair, M.A.
Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)
Erin has 30 years of experience in education. She started her career as a general education teacher in a small rural town with a high population of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. This experience led her to return to school and earn an education specialist credential with an added authorization to teach children with autism. She also earned a Masters degree in education and later moved into a special education Program Specialist position for a medium sized school district. She quickly realized that she was spending the majority of her time working with the staff that was supporting their students with the most challenging behavior. She decided to go back to school in 2011 and completed her course work in Applied Behavior Analysis. She became certified as a Behavior Analyst in 2013. She has worked for a private behavioral company supporting children with challenging behavior in school and home settings. She is currently teaching and coordinating the Masters of Arts in Education program at CSUMB in the education and leadership department. She teaches courses in educational law, curriculum and instruction, classroom behavior support, and using educational assessments to promote student learning. She also teaches in the Applied Behavior Analysis course sequence for UMass Global (formally Brandman University).
Erin’s Superpower
Erin is a master in building relationships with school-based teams.
Deborah Cleere, M.S.
Speech/Language Pathologist
A speech/language pathologist and former private school teacher and administrator, Deborah has a thirty-plus year career in education. Most recently she served for 14 years as a program specialist in the area of special education for the San Luis Obispo County Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) where she honed her skills in consulting, compliance, facilitation, and team coaching. She states that she is first and foremost a child advocate, and says, “in order to work for the needs of children, we must always advocate for the people who support them, including educators, healthcare providers, child care workers and especially parents.” Deborah has additional expertise in Assistive Technology and Augmentative/ Alternative Communication.
Deborah’s Superpower
Deborah celebrates the unique individuality in every student, finding joy, magic, and wisdom within.
Karen Gardner, M. Ed.
Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)
Karen has 12 years of experience providing social and behavioral consultation, training, and coaching to schools and individuals. Karen received her Bachelor of Arts with a major in English from UCLA and her Master of Education with an emphasis in Special Education from Vanderbilt University. She also has an Education Specialist Teaching Credential in Moderate/Severe Disabilities. Karen is passionate about the whole person care and using behavioral strategies to support social and mental well-being. She is trained in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and PFA/SBT.
Karen’s Superpower
Karen believes in holistic behavioral interventions using ACT and PFA/SBT in compassion driven care.
Loretta Butterfield, M.A.
Trauma-Informed Educational Spacialist
Loretta has more than 36 years of Special Education teaching, behavioral specialist, and child advocacy work. She prides herself in making meaningful connections with learners who have had a history of trauma. She enjoys creating teams that demonstrate compassion while progressing the needs of the learner.
Loretta’s Superpower
Loretta’s passion is that all children feel safe and that they belong and find the joy in learning.
Kim King, M.A.
Educational Specialist
Kim is passionate about special education and holds her BA in Psychology, MA in Education, and an Education Specialist Mild-Moderate Teaching Credential. She has been in Special Education for 15 years, serving six years as a Special Education Teacher and nine as a Program Specialist in a local school district. Kim is a native of the central coast who married and raised their three boys in northern SLO County. Her special education experience started in high school where she served as a Teacher’s Aide in a special education class and developed an interest in becoming a special education teacher. This interest was furthered after she married her high school sweetheart and started her family, gaining experience as a parent, but also as a parent of a neurodiverse child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). In addition to having completed her BCBA coursework, Kim served on the CAPTAIN Cadre for years and is also PEERS certified. Social skills teaching is Kim’s love and area of focused interest.
Kim’s Superpower
Having the keen insight to best support students, and their teams, based on her dual perspective gained from having been both a parent IEP team member for 19 years and a school IEP team member for 15 years.
Kelly Givan, M.A.
Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)
Kelly has a Master’s degree in Special Education with an emphasis in Behavior Support. Her undergraduate degree is in Psychology. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst experienced working in schools, homes, and community settings to support individuals with developmental disabilities from early intervention through adulthood. Currently, she provides consultation and support to School Special Education Programs, ABA supervision and direct intervention. She is experienced and skilled in supporting the needs of individuals with Autism and other disabilities as conducting assessments, developing programs, overseeing behavioral treatment, and providing training to school staff, providers and caregivers on the effective implementation of behavioral strategies. Kelly is committed to all learners, creating individualized robust skills programs and effective behavior support programs. Her dedication to each individual and their support team encourages collaboration focused on improved behavioral and academic outcomes.
Kelly’s Superpower
Kelly feels it is a privilege to support each individual as they strive to gain skills, thrive, and reach their potential.
Sonja Timm, M.A.
Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)
Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA)
Sonja graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara receiving her Bachelors of Science in Psychology. Inspired to further her knowledge and expertise in the field of special education, she went on to attend San Diego State University receiving her Masters in Special Education with emphasis in Applied Behavior Analysis. While earning her graduate degree there, she began providing in-home ABA services in the San Diego area. She studied, studied, and studied some more to pass the rigorous exam required to receive her Board Certified Behavior Analyst certificate in 2014.
For nearly a decade since, she has continued to improve the lives of children and their families diagnosed with autism throughout the greater San Diego area. As a clinical supervisor of ABA programs, Sonja has had the opportunity to work with a wide range of clientele while consistently creating meaningful change in the lives of those in need. She has specialized in Verbal Behavior, through which she has improved the communication and language development of children afflicted with autism. Sonja designed, implemented, and supervised behavior modification programs for therapy in-home, throughout the community, and within public and private schools. She is particularly proud of the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence Award that her and her team at MeBe received.
After her daughter Zeta was born in August 2019, Sonja and her family sought a retreat from crowded San Diego county and moved to California’s central coast to slow things down and enjoy this quiet community. After working remotely through the pandemic, she realized a passion to bring her knowledge and expertise to the local school districts, which led her to join Syndi’s growing team. She continues to learn and develop as her and this outstanding team apply best practices of ABA in the local schools in their effort to bring positive change to those in need.
Sonja’s Superpower
Connecting with others! Using her natural gift of gab (she gets it from her dad!) she is capable of walking into a room of strangers and leaving with a mutual feeling of connection and rapport. This superpower allows her to effect meaningful change through relationships with students AND their families as well as school teams, teachers, and support staff, ensuring trust and communication are at the center of their programs.
Bonnie Drysdale, M.Ed.
Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)
Bonnie’s Superpower
