Our Team
Grace is Vision Beyond Autism’s first Chief Executive Officer, starting in the role in January 2024. Working for over 15 years in social care across England and Northern Ireland, Grace started as a support worker and then working through various levels of social care management to where she is today.
Working in support funded by local authorities, education and health means that she has a vast amount of knowledge and experience, which she uses in her role to expand and grow the provision at Vision Beyond Autism.
Originally from Northern Ireland, Grace now lives in Liverpool with her partner and children. She’s family orientated and down to earth, and her passion for this sector comes from the sense of job satisfaction she gets from working to support individuals to live active and rewarding lives in our community. She is also passionate about recognition for those working in the sector, in particular those who work directly with our clients who deserve huge applause for their commitment, empathy and dedication to improving the lives of others.
Rebecca Hurst is a Supervisor at Vision Beyond Autism, developing programmes for the school and 19+ model. She is also a Board-Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA).
Her role includes staff training as well as developing curriculums for home, transitions from school to college, inclusion in work experience and leisure activities.
Rebecca has worked in the field of applied behaviour analysis (ABA) since 2012, working with both children and adults in education, community and workplace settings. With an MSc in ABA from Bangor University and an MA in Psychology from California State University Stanislaus, Rebecca has a wealth of experience. While studying for a Masters in ABA through the Atlantis student exchange programme Rebecca studied in Wales, Poland and California for a two-year period.
In the US Rebecca worked with leading behaviours analysts in an ABA centre, working in clinical and 1:1 settings. In the UK Rebecca worked in a primary school for a number of years, implementing ABA in both the resource provision and in mainstream classrooms, working closely with the teachers and other professionals. During this time, she supported social skills, SALT and OT sessions and collaborated on numerous IEPs and behaviour support plans.
Marianne supports the senior clinical team at Vision Beyond Autism, providing clinical supervision, supporting new referrals, and overseeing a number of individual specialist packages.
She has worked in the field of Behaviour Analysis for over 26 years, supporting more than 100 children and adults with complex needs across the UK, ranging in age from 12 months to 85 years.
Her experience spans early intervention, school and community based support, and adult services. Before joining Vision Beyond Autism, Marianne held national clinical roles with a leading provider of social care, where she developed supported living placements, trained staff teams, and promoted independence and quality of life for adults with autism and complex needs.
Marianne is passionate about delivering compassionate, evidence-based support that empowers individuals and families to achieve meaningful and lasting progress.
Olivia is a senior lead tutor at VBA and has been working with VBA for the past 2 years. She has 8 years’ experience supporting both children and adults in a range of different settings.
Olivia has a passion for ABA and enjoys being able to put all her theoretical knowledge and experience into practice with the young people she supports at Vision Beyond Autism. As a senior Lead Tutor she assists our supervisors (BCBA’s/ UKBA(cert) with the programmes, this includes; supporting to set up new work-placements, supporting the team and staff training, graphing and interpreting data, the upkeep of the file and client admin. Olivia’s favourite skill to work on is communication, whether it is Picture Exchange Communication Systems, Functional communication Training, Artificial communication Aided support or Verbal Behaviour teaching. This is a preferred area of Olivia’s as it is a valuable skill to have for an individual to be able to communicate their wants and needs.
Olivia says ‘During my time at VBA I have seen the positive impact of the clients having continuous support from school, home college and work placements. A number of young people we support are towards the goal of supported living and paid employment. I think is really special that a service can offer this and it is rewarding to be a part of their journey. I enjoy working at VBA with colleagues who are all motivated to provide the best support for their clients’.
Matt Harrison is a Senior Lead Tutor who joined VBA in 2022 whilst completing his MSc in Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) at Bangor University.
Before VBA Matt gained experience working across a variety of clinical settings including an integrated recovery service where he assisted with the implementation of psychosocial interventions for individuals with substance misuse conditions. Matt has worked with a diverse range of client populations that range from children with additional needs to older adults with cognitive impairments such as dementia.
Matt is currently training towards national certification under the clinical supervision of a Consultant BCBA and UKBA Cert. In his role as a Senior Lead Tutor, Matt assists with the designing and implementation of behavioural interventions (under the guidance of his supervisors), chairing client team meetings, collating and graphing behavioural data, working in collaboration with other professional agencies to set up work placements for our adult clients, training staff to implement client behaviour support plans and programmes such as differential reinforcement systems, functional communication training and reducing self-injurious behaviours.
Matt is extremely passionate about ABA and the clients that he works with, always striving for these individuals to receive the highest levels of service and reach their full potential whether that is in educational settings, work placements or paid employment. Matt states that the most rewarding aspect of his role is seeing the progression of his clients through the development of their daily living skills, independence, and academic repertoires. Matt is incredibly proud to be a part of the VBA team working alongside colleagues who are equally as passionate about making a meaningful impact on the lives of the children and young adults that we support.