1. Do I have the information? Have we communicated clearly and openly enough for people to make informed decisions?

2. Do I understand the situation? What might I be missing?

3. What is my responsibility? What is mine to own, and what action am I willing to take?

Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer

April Smith

The Connection Guide

April is a BCaBA, former ABA practice owner, consultant, and co-host of the ABA Business Leaders Podcast. After more than a decade leading her own ABA organization, she brings firsthand experience with entrepreneurship, leadership, growth, and the pressure of holding it all together.

At the heart of April’s work is connection. She helps ABA leaders strengthen the connections between people, purpose, communication, culture, and the systems that support them. She notices where things have become disconnected, whether expectations are unclear, communication is getting lost in translation, values are not showing up day to day, or the needs of people and the business are pulling apart.

April helps leaders step out of the weeds, untangle what feels overwhelming, and reconnect daily operations to the bigger picture. Her work includes mission and values, roles and responsibilities, leadership communication, team culture, and practical structures that support both the business and the humans inside it.

Known for warmth, curiosity, and a human-centered perspective, April helps leaders feel seen, identify what matters most, and move forward with intention.

She believes strong organizations are built through connection: connection to purpose, connection between people, and connection between what a company says it values and how it actually operates. Her goal is to help ABA leaders build businesses that are successful, sustainable, deeply human, and well connected to their core values.

Contact April

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Stephen Smith

The Systems Builder

Stephen is the founder of 3 Pie Squared and co-host of the ABA Business Leaders Podcast. His background is a little different than most people working in the ABA business space. Before ABA, Stephen worked as a process engineer, where his job was figuring out how systems worked, why they failed, and how to make them work better.

He brought that same way of thinking into ABA. For a decade, Stephen was an owner and Director of Operations of a seven-figure ABA practice that grew to roughly 70 employees. He was responsible for the things practice owners deal with every day including staffing, payroll, budgets, technology, quality systems, billing, processes, and building a management structure so everything did not have to run through the owner.

Today, Stephen works with ABA owners on operations, billing, credentialing, HIPAA, technology, training, and the systems behind the business. He tends to look at problems the same way he did as an engineer: What is actually happening? Where is it breaking? Why is it breaking? And what system needs to change so we are not fixing the same problem again six months from now?

He believes a good business should not depend on one person holding everything together. Staff should know what is expected, leaders should have the information they need to make decisions, and the systems should keep working even when the owner is not in the room.

Contact Stephen

Chief Technology Officer (CTO)

Nir Vermani

The Technology Architect

Nir leads technology strategy and brings 15+ years of experience building secure, reliable cloud platforms in regulated healthcare and fintech environments—from concept through enterprise scale.

Training & Clinical Consulting Lead

Mallory Stinger

The Clinical Compass

Mallory leads training and clinical consulting, bringing more than a decade of person-centered ABA experience to provider education, CEUs, family advocacy, behavioral planning, and sleep support.

Head of Revenue Cycle

Prem Kumar, PMP

The Revenue Navigator

Prem leads revenue cycle strategy, helping providers improve cash flow, reduce denials, recover accounts receivable, strengthen payer enrollment, and build accurate, compliant RCM operations.

Security Officer

Nandy Bo

The Digital Guardian

Nandy leads cloud security and compliance, turning complex HIPAA, Microsoft 365, and Google Workspace requirements into practical, sustainable, and evidence-ready safeguards.

Operations & School-Building Consultant

Jennifer Helten

The Organization Builder

Jennifer brings more than a decade of founder-level ABA and education leadership to helping organizations and schools align mission, strategy, finance, systems, talent, quality, and measurable outcomes.

Head of Recruiting

Joseph Bolden

The Talent Connector

Joseph leads recruiting with an operator’s perspective, backed by nearly a decade of behavioral health, multisite operations, business development, and workforce experience.

Operations Coordinator

Melanie Manlod

The Organizational Spark

Melanie keeps the team coordinated and responsive by supporting scheduling, communications, recruitment, client service, and the organizational details that keep work moving.

Podcast Producer

Max McLellan

The Voice Behind the Mic

Max produces the ABA Business Leaders Podcast, shaping expert ideas into polished audio, video, and content that build credibility, trust, and long-term audience growth.