ABA Centers Elevates Leadership Team With New Chief Legal Officer, Vice President of Real Estate, and Vice President of People Experience

Leadership Team
ABA Centers, an organization designed to disrupt the autism care industry by demolishing traditional wait times, is elevating its team with three new leadership appointments: Kristy Johnson has been named Chief Legal Officer; Michael Holzum, Jr., has been hired as Vice President of Real Estate; and Jennifer Blue takes on the role of Vice President of People Experience. “Our organization continues to strengthen as the best autism care provider along the East Coast because we are unrelenting in providing relief to children that languish on waitlists for a diagnosis and then again for treatment,” said Christopher Barnett, CEO of ABA Centers. “The additions of Kristy, Michael, and Jennifer to our team will allow ABA Centers to execute its ambitious growth plans as scrupulously, but as efficiently, as possible so that we are able to get kiddos the care that they need as quickly as possible.” Ms. Johnson will spearhead the delivery of legal services to accomplish the company’s corporate goals while building out a full-service in-house legal team to provide legal support for the company’s diverse service areas. As ABA Centers continues to move its mission forward, she will advise leadership on healthcare regulatory compliance, corporate governance, finance, intellectual property, information technology, mergers & acquisitions, employment, hospital licensure, and more. Ms. Johnson received her juris doctor from the University of Florida and previously held positions with the Florida Department of Health, The Alderman Law Firm, Carlton Fields, and the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. She also previously served as President of the Miami-Dade chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers. Mr. Holzum’s primary function for ABA Centers is clinic expansion and growth: locating, negotiating, and building out all of the organization’s new locations. Since he joined ABA Centers, the company has introduced plans to expand into several new markets, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, D.C., as well as to increase its footprint in its home state of Florida. He most recently worked in residential lending and financing and has a healthcare finance and administration background. Mr. Holzum, Jr. joins the company from Movement Mortgage, where he served as a Mortgage Loan Officer in Tampa, FL. As Vice President of People Experience, Ms. Blue is steering the company’s ambitious team growth plans, serving more than 1,400 current employees both at the corporate and clinic levels throughout the United States, with that number growing every day. She is the primary architect for human resource systems and policies throughout ABA Centers, ensuring that team members journey through the company efficiently, morale remains high, and that the company’s enthusiastic employee expansion is steadfast. Throughout her career, Ms. Blue has worked as both a clinician and an executive in the behavioral healthcare, research, wellness, and aviation industries. She joins ABA Centers from Regional One, Inc. and was previously the Chief People and Experience Officer/ Head of Strategic Communications with Chrysalis Health. Her reputation within the human resources space has garnered her the OnCon Icon Award for Top 50 HR Professionals and Top 100 HR Professionals nationally, and she was a recipient for an IFAH Top 100 Healthcare Visionaries. About ABA Centers ABA Centers is a vertically integrated behavioral healthcare organization that provides applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy services to children with autism spectrum disorder through a play-based approach rooted in positive reinforcement. The company is disrupting the autism care industry by demolishing wait times traditionally experienced by those in search of a diagnosis or treatment through a tech-centric modus operandi. Its strategically designed behavioral care centers serve the Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania areas, with in-home and in-school therapy also available to deliver the most impactful continuum of care and to best meet each child’s specific needs. More information can be found at www.abacenters.com. Contact Katie Murphy Director of Public Relations (561) 895-6017 [email protected]

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