IRA HEILVEIL, PH.D., BCBA-D is a licensed clinical psychologist in three states (California, New Mexico and Minnesota), as well as a licensed behavior analyst in Arizona. He began his career as a clinical child psychologist and family therapist in the private, nonprofit sector, consulting to public schools and to special education (day treatment) settings. In 1988, he began his own agency which he grew from its inception to one of the largest providers of applied behavior analysis (ABA) services for children with autism in the U.S. During his tenure as that company’s CEO, he also began a school for children with autism in Armenia, as a charitable NGO, which he still operates and is thriving today. Dr. Heilveil maintains his connection to academia through teaching at UCLA medical school, where he is an asst. clinical professor of psychiatry. He also publishes scholarly articles, presents at conferences, writes a blog on a variety of his interests, holds a private pilot license and produced the critically acclaimed and multiple award-winning documentary “Autism in Love.“
