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Kathy Shapell, founder and executive director of Augusta Levy Learning Center in Wheeling, on Thursday named longtime employee Angela Wood of Wheeling as her successor.
Wood started as an intern at Augusta Levy during its first year of operation while she was an undergraduate student at Ohio University. She joined the staff as a therapist, received a master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh and served the past four years as clinical director.
"I cherish the opportunity to have mentored her, and now that I am ready to retire, Angie is ready to lead Augusta Levy. She is perfectly qualified to assume this role, not just by her resume but also by her heart, dedication and commitment to our mission. I'm excited to see where she leads the center in the coming years," Shapell said.
"It's truly a dream come true," Wood said.
She thanked Shapell for her mentorship.
"There's no greater way to honor Kathy and the work that she's done here than to continue to provide the best evidence-based practices while serving more children with autism," Wood said.
Augusta Levy is the first intensive autism treatment center in West Virginia to offer one-on-one applied behavior analysis treatment protocols with children. As the incidence of autism has increased exponentially over the past 15 years, the center has added staff and increased its enrollment.
"I saw an urgent need and I hoped our team would meet that need. I think it has," Shapell said.
The center has served more than 50 children, with 83 percent "graduating" from the center to typical classrooms in the community, Wood said. The earlier a child with autism begins ABA treatment, the better the outcome.
Augusta Levy --named for Shapell's teacher and mentor -- has 14 students enrolled and has expanded recently to include a community immersion program with pre-adolescents and a buddy program that pairs neurotypical preschool children with preschool age children at the center one day a week. The staff includes 28 front-line therapists, five supervisors, a music therapist and an occupational therapy assistant.
Wood said she is looking forward to expanding to serve more students. First, she and the five-member board are seeking to move the center into a larger space; it currently occupies the lower level of the former Sacred Heart Church in North Wheeling. Arch Riley Jr. and Charl Kappel are founding board members who continue to serve, along with Jake Daugherty, Shane Walters and Dr. Debra Hall. Shapell will become an emeritus board member and will continue to serve in an advocacy role.
Next, two of the five supervisors are poised to become certified behavior analysts. Once all five supervisors are board certified, they will have the potential to handle caseloads of 15 students each.
Her biggest challenge, she said, is fighting the possible elimination of hard-won health insurance benefits for children with autism to receive ABA treatment.
"It's a real disservice to the students. They absolutely need these services," Wood said. With early intervention of ABA, "they can be propelled into the future and be productive citizens."
Wood is a 2003 Union Local High School graduate. She and her husband, Matthew, live in Wheeling with their two daughters, ages 4 and 5 months.