Leadership
Catey Funaiock, MS, BCASE
Early Emory Director
Catey Funaiock, MS, BCASE, is the Director of Educational Services at Early Emory. She guides teachers in curriculum development and creation of developmentally appropriate activities. She manages licensing requirements for the state and makes sure all policies and procedures are followed. Ms. Funaiock received her BS from Georgia State University in Psychology and her MS in Special Education from the University of North Dakota. She trained for eight years at The Marcus Autism Center and taught for eight years in Gwinnett County Schools as a severe autism teacher for K-5 and served as a district mentor teacher. She is well versed in the IEP process and is able to guide families through resources they may need for their child. She grew up in Allen, TX, but has spent most of her life in Atlanta. In her free time, Ms. Funaiock enjoys traveling to any warm beach or cabin retreat. She is a proud aunt and enjoys spending time with her family. She is a dog mom to an amazing one-eyed pit bull rescue and a cat mom to a toothless, old, black cat.
Debbie Cifuentes, MA, BCBA
Director of Clinical Services
Debbie Cifuentes, MA, BCBA, works at Early Emory as the Director of Clinical Services where she oversees ABA therapy for children between the ages of 2-5 in a naturalistic classroom setting. Ms. Cifuentes received her BA from Emory University and her MEd from Arizona State University. Ms. Cifuentes was born at Atlanta’s Grady Hospital and grew up in Georgia. In her free time, she enjoys travelling, cooking and reading.
Allie Beck, MA, BCBA
Behavioral Support Training Lead
Allie Beck, MA, BCBA, is Assistant Director for Training at Early Emory and works with Ms. Debbie Cifuentes to train and supervise RBTs and develop appropriate individualized autism intervention programs for children in the preschool. Ms. Beck enjoys communicating with parents to further assist skill acquisition within the home and teaching others how to implement ABA concepts within their practice. Ms. Beck received her BS in Psychology from Kennesaw State University and her MA in Applied Behavioral Analysis from Ball State University. She grew up in Powder Springs, GA, but has lived in various metropolitan cities for 20 years, including 10 years in Atlanta. In her free time, Ms. Beck enjoys hiking, playing on her Nintendo Switch and cooking.
Mikle South, PhD
Director of Emory Autism Center
Mikle South, PhD, is the Director of Emory Autism Center. As a clinical psychologist, Dr. South’s research is focused on understanding mental health concerns in autism including anxiety, depression and risk for suicide. He thinks a lot about questions surrounding diagnosis of autism, especially for girls and women who are sometimes "missed" for diagnosis until later in life. Dr. South received his BA in Psychology at Yale University, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of Utah. Dr. South has lived on both coasts of the US (Connecticut and California), in the northeast (Durham, England) and the southeast (Atlanta, Georgia), and spent a lot of time in Utah. He loves to hike beautiful places with his wife and to play soccer, although since a recent ankle injury he has moved towards pickle ball. He loves to eat good food and is especially fond of proper New Haven style pizza.