I was an employee at the Tennessee branch that was recently shut down. This clinic did not fail due to a lack of effort, leadership, or care at the local level. It failed because of chronic neglect, mismanagement, and unethical decision-making by upper executive leadership.
Our Clinical Director, Mallory Smith, and Clinical Manager, Carly Mastroberti, were exceptional. They were present, supportive, professional, and worked tirelessly to keep the clinic running under impossible circumstances. The closure of this clinic was NOT the result of their performance or lack of trying. Responsibility lies squarely with upper leadership.
When leadership positions became unstable, the company made no meaningful attempt to save the clinic. They did not post a job opening for a replacement Clinical Director, did not ask internal BCBAs if they were interested, and did not provide interim clinical support from another branch. Instead, leadership chose to shut the clinic down--demonstrating a clear unwillingness to invest in the people or families they claimed to serve.
Staff were given 45 days' notice, two weeks of which fell during Christmas and New Year's, and the entire staff was laid off during a 20-minute Zoom call. In the 1.5 years the clinic was open, higher leadership was largely absent, offering minimal communication or support--until it was time to close the doors. While the leaderships support would have been welcome at other times, like when we opened the clinic alone, it was largely unhelpful at the end. Clinic employees were spending their own money to put the clinic together when we opened. But at the end, the company funds were used for flights, hotels, and meals--the same funds leadership previously claimed were unavailable for raises, additional toys, or hiring much-needed support staff.
No severance pay was provided. PTO payout--which was contractually required--was presented as a courtesy rather than an obligation, and occurred after the holidays when most employees had little PTO remaining.
The clinic operated for months without adequate administrative support, staying afloat because the local teak went above and beyond. Many of us worked more than 40 hrs a week on site without adequate compensation, purely because we were passionate about the work we were doing. Our clinic manager stepped down around 6 months in, after consistently working 50+ hours per week without appropriate compensation, and leadership never hired a replacement for the remaining time we stayed open. Raises were rare, staffing concerns were ignored, and upper management remained disconnected from the realities of day-to-day clinical work.
Throughout this process, it became evident that staff, clients, and families were viewed as disposable--treated as numbers rather than people. Employees were instructed not to inform families of the impending closure and to continue working as if nothing was happening, even as leadership entered the clinic that same day to take inventory during active client sessions.
This decision resulted in over 20 employees losing their jobs and 30+ clients and families abruptly losing services, with no transparency, advocacy, or transition planning. The manner in which this closure was handled made it unmistakably clear that convenience and cost mattered more than ethical responsibility or human impact.
This organization does not uphold its stated values. If you are a clinician or a family seeking stability, respect, and leadership that truly values people over profit, I STRONGLY advise looking elsewhere. read more
