134 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine MEDICINE, HEALTH CARE AND WELLNESS DR. ROMENA KIRYAKOUS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OWNER Genesis Behavior Center, Genesis Franchise, FirstPath Software Turlock, CA Dr. Romena Kiryakous is the owner and chief executive officer of the Genesis Behavior Center and FirstPath Software and has dedicated her career to helping children with autism succeed. She immigrated to the United States from Iran in 1975 and knew from childhood that she wanted to pursue a career in psychology. In 1987, she was awarded a bachelor’s degree in sociology from California State University, East Bay, and she has continued to advance her education throughout her career. As a part of her commitment to growth and becoming a subject matter expert, Dr. Kiryakous went on to earn a master’s degree in psychology from Arizona State University in 2003 and a Doctor of Psychology from the University of Arizona Global Campus. Dr. Kiryakous’ passion for working with children developed during an undergraduate internship in the juvenile justice system. Frustrated with the lack of ongoing data on youth in probation programs, she was eager to develop more outcomes-based practices for intervention. During this time, she spent more time with children with autism, which led to an understanding of the ways in which many were underserved by the behavioral health care system. Determined to advocate for these children and help them find success, she founded the Genesis Behavior Center in 2003. The center’s methodologies are rooted in applied behavior analysis (ABA) techniques, and the company began as a provider of on-site therapeutic services working with clients in school and home settings. In 2009, the Genesis Behavior Center expanded to include a permanent office location specializing in evidence-based therapies for children aged 2 to 18 and aims for a 90-95% success rate with participants. During her research, Dr. Kiryakous created a library of videos and resources for parents and caregivers and has worked extensively on developing streamlined operational software for managing the company. The result of her software development efforts was FirstPath Inc., founded in 2014, which she hopes to grow to encompass proprietary assessment and
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