Meet The Team

Jasmine Johnson is the founder and driving force behind Breaking Barriers Behavioral Services LLC. With a deep passion for supporting her community, Jasmine established her practice to provide exceptional therapy, valuable resources, and meaningful employment opportunities to those she serves.

Jasmine is a licensed behavior analyst, school psychologist, and mental health counselor in both North Carolina and South Carolina. Her expertise, dedication, and compassionate approach ensure that every client receives the highest standard of care tailored to their unique needs.

Outside of her professional life, Jasmine is a devoted wife and mother to two children. She enjoys reading, traveling, and dancing, embracing life with the same warmth and energy she brings to her work

Erykah McClendon is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Licensed Behavior Analyst in the states of Missouri, North Carolina, and Kansas. She has a masters in psychology with an emphasis in applied behavior analysis and developmental disabilities. Erykah has 8 years of experience working with children in early intervention settings including autism, first steps, dyslexia, and foster care. In her previous roles Erykah has supported children in the school, home, clinic, and community. Currently, Erykah serves as the Director of Autism Services for a non-profit ABA program and an independent contractor. As a BCBA, she specializes in staff training and applied parent training using a family-focused parent training model. In clinical practice, Erykah emphasizes equity, interdisciplinary collaboration, and holistic care, believing that access to quality ABA services should center the whole child in order to make a lasting impact on their quality of life. 

Ms. Erykah is overseeing our Gastonia location.

Tammy Smith is a Licensed Behavior Analyst in both North Carolina, Texas, Georgia and Internationally. She is highly skilled in applying ABA principles while respecting cultural diversity and tailoring her approach to meet the unique needs of each individual and family. Tammy is committed to continuous growth in her field, constantly exploring innovative strategies to keep clients engaged and help them reach their fullest potential.

Throughout her career, Tammy has dedicated and supported individuals from ages 2 through adulthood, using her expertise in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and holistic interventions to create meaningful, individualized programs. Tammy is passionate about functional communication training, naturalistic teaching methods, and reducing challenging behaviors through positive and evidence-based strategies.

Outside of her professional work, Tammy is a devoted wife, mother, and fur-mom. She enjoys sports, traveling, dancing, and spending quality time with her family. Tammy is also active in her community, participating in initiatives such as feeding the homeless, back-to-school drives, and autism awareness campaigns

Anita Babalola, M.A., BCBA is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst who is passionate about supporting children and families through compassionate, evidence-based behavioral services.

With years of experience providing applied behavior analysis services across home and community settings, Anita focuses on creating practical, individualized strategies that fit naturally into each family’s routines. Her approach emphasizes empathy, cultural responsiveness, and empowering caregivers with tools they can confidently use beyond therapy sessions.

Outside of her professional role, Anita is a dedicated wife and mother of three. She enjoys spending time with her family exploring the city, reading, and baking.

Lilah is a driven ABA professional, Supervisor, and Student Analyst who brings leadership, creativity, compassion, and a genuine passion for helping both clients and staff grow. With a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, she has built a strong educational foundation for understanding human behavior, development, social interactions, and the importance of individualized support.

Throughout her ABA career, Lilah has grown from providing direct services to taking on leadership and Student Analyst responsibilities. She has gained hands-on experience with skill assessments, data collection and analysis, client observations, identifying skill deficits, developing measurable goals, supporting ABA programming, and providing technician observations and constructive feedback. She takes pride in helping technicians better understand their clients and confidently implement their programs.

As a Supervisor, Lilah is known for taking initiative, supporting her team, and helping create a clinic environment that is organized, positive, and set up for success. She believes learning should be effective AND fun, and she enjoys finding creative ways to keep clients engaged while helping them build communication, social, behavioral, and independence skills.

She’s just getting started!  Lilah is continuing her professional development as she works toward becoming a Qualified Autism Services Practitioner (QASP). Her long-term educational goal is to earn a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy (OTD), allowing her to expand her expertise and make an even greater impact on children and families.

From technician to leader, Student Analyst, future QASP, and future Doctor of Occupational Therapy, Lilah is committed to continuing to learn, lead, and level up while making a meaningful difference along the way. 

Arnesha Smalls is originally from Kentucky but has proudly made Texas her home.

Arnesha holds a Bachelor's degree in Psychology, a Graduate Certificate in Marriage and Family Counseling, and a Master's degree in Applied Behavior Analysis. She is a Qualified Behavior Analyst (QBA) and a Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA), licensed in both Texas and North Carolina. She has 9 years of experience in ABA, and before that she served 4½ years in the military.

Working with children is one of Arnesha's greatest joys. It rarely feels like "work" to her, because every day she gets to step into their world of imagination, creativity, play, and endless possibilities. One minute she may be working with a child on communication or independence, and the next they're superheroes, dinosaurs, or exploring whatever adventure the child's imagination creates.

Arnesha is passionate about supporting each child's communication, social, behavioral, and independent living skills while helping them grow more confident in who they are. She believes children develop best when they feel safe, supported, understood, and excited to learn. To her, every milestone matters. Some of her favorite moments come from celebrating accomplishments that may seem small to others but are huge for that child and their family.

Outside of ABA, Arnesha loves to travel. She is a devoted wife and a proud mom to her teenage daughter. Her family is a huge part of who she is, and they have strengthened the patience, compassion, and understanding she brings to the children and families she serves.

Arnesha believes that when learning feels like play, imagination has no limits, and neither does growth.

Klade Williams is a Qualified Autism Service Practitioner-Supervisor (QASP-S) in a mid-level supervisory role, where she keeps building the clinical skills she'll need for independent practice. She recently finished her graduate coursework in Applied Behavior Analysis and is completing her remaining fieldwork hours so she can sit for the BCBA exam.

Outside of ABA, Klade is a licensed cosmetologist who loves all things beauty. She is also active in her church, where she sings in the choir. She's an optimist who enjoys encouraging others and learning new things, and she's committed to growing personally and professionally.