We collaborate with administrators, guardians, teachers, staff, and interdisciplinary team members to provide the most effective outcomes for individuals with behavioral challenges.

We strive to create programs and treatment plans that teach individuals skills that lead to more success, independence, and overall life enjoyment. Our goal is to build the capacity of teams to independently achieve valued outcomes.

Jed Schwalm, M.Ed., BCBA
Executive Director, Founder

Jed Schwalm, M.Ed., BCBA, received his BA in Contemplative Psychology from Naropa University and his M.Ed. in Counseling from Colorado State University–during which time he worked towards his certification as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

Since 1999, Jed has worked with a wide range of populations, including senior citizens with dementia, adolescents and adults with major forms of mental illness, individuals with autism and related disabilities, and students with academic and behavioral deficits. Jed has worked with teams in schools, psychiatric facilities, community-based agencies, and family homes to help teams achieve valued outcomes. In 2013, after recognizing the need in Maine for accessible, evidence-based services for individuals with special needs, Jed founded Atlantic Behavior Services to fulfill his passion in helping all populations live meaningful lives.

Following four years of consulting in Maine schools, and seeing the need for both highly skilled and deeply compassionate day treatment programs for at-risk youth, Jed opened Atlantic Academy, a Special Purpose Private School, in midcoast Maine.

Jed’s current interests are grounded in mindfulness and values-driven approaches for treatment and well-being that are at once individualized, meaningful, and effective. Jed is equally passionate about developing professional cultures that promote healthy and thriving individuals. Originally a native to the mountain West, Jed currently lives in Midcoast Maine with his family where he can be found chasing his kids around town, searching for good food with his lovely spouse, Licia, and ambling about on mountain trails and sidewalks alike.

Mark Geren, M.S., BCBA, LABA
Clinical Director/ C.O.O.

Mark Geren received his bachelor’s degree at the University of Florida and his master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis from Northeastern University. He is a Licensed Behavior Analyst in Massachusetts and has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst® since 2001. Mark has lived in Maine since 2002 and served as a Behavior Analyst in public schools throughout Maine during that time.

Mark joined Atlantic Academy in August of 2019. Prior to joining Atlantic Academy, he was a Master Trainer and Director of Consultation at an internationally recognized organization specializing in behavioral training and consultation for 10 years. While there, he co-authored and trained a widely recognized crisis management curriculum, as well as other training packages.

For over 36 years, Mr. Geren has effectively treated people from a variety of populations, including those living with brain-injury, psychiatric diagnoses, developmentally disabilities, and ASD. He served as clinical chief for two brain injury rehabilitation facilities, and head of clinical training in other organizations. He has published articles in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, the Journal of Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior, and co-authored a chapter in a book on high risk challenging behaviors.

Mark served in the US Army Reserves and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for his service in Iraq (2007-08) as a Civil Affairs Tactical Team Leader and as a Brigade Combat Team Civil Military Operations Officer. He has also served as an Army Medical Service Corps officer.

Personal interests include the study of diet, metabolism, and exercise and their relationship to chronic illness. He enjoys the analysis of popular media, watching movies, cycling, hiking, and connecting with family, friends and neighbors.

Erin Donovan, MBA
Business Manager

Erin Donovan is the business manager at Atlantic Academy. Her professional experience lay in the realm of experiential and non-traditional youth marketing in New York City though her years in Maine have sent her into the fields of bookkeeping, accounting, and office management. Erin enjoys her work behind-the-scenes at Atlantic Academy namely because of the inspiring people she works with and the ability to see children transformed by the caring and capable hands of the staff she works to serve. Erin and her husband are raising four children who keep them cheering at the sidelines of soccer fields and basketball courts all over the state.

Tom Sigler

Social Worker

Tom Sigler joined our Atlantic team as our full-time social worker in August of 2021. Tom's first introduction to Atlantic Academy was during the school's inaugural year, in 2017, when he worked part-time as a BHP, while also working on his degree. An avid hiker, fisherman, and nature lover, Tom is getting started with his second professional career as a social worker, preceded by years of mastering the chef and restaurant life. Not only does Tom bring his diverse background to enrich our students' life (i.e., introducing them to fishing and the outdoors), he also carries a passion for helping our most needy kids and families find the resources they need to be successful and live a life free of suffering.

Meg MacMillan, BCBA

Special Education Teacher

We are excited to have Megan Macmillan as our Special Education Teacher in Camden. Meg started with us as an Ed Tech/BHP, and quickly progressed to a Lead staff, while also working towards her Masters degree in Applied Behavior Analysis, and getting certified as a BCBA in Fall, 2023. Meg brings a strong curiosity to learning how best to teach (and reach) our students, as well as a well-seasoned approach to adaptive and dynamic teaching. Taking long walks in nature and spending time with her family are two values that anchor Meg on a regular basis.

Jessie Ladroga

Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)

Jessie Ladroga received her bachelor's degree in Equine Sciences from the University of New Hampshire where she specialized in therapeutic studies. As an internationally certified therapeutic riding instructor working in Vermont and eventually Massachusetts, it was through a therapeutic riding program that sparked her interest in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. She had always been a riding competitor and instructor, specializing in teaching kids and bringing them up the levels, and it was her love of teaching and new interest in the field of ABA that lead her to begin working as a 1:1 behavior technician for children with ASD at a company that utilized ABA approaches, based in Newton, MA. She was trained to implement various evidence-based ABA techniques to build adaptive skills and support students in decreasing rates of maladaptive behaviors. This work was incredibly meaningful to her, and she wanted to explore it even further. After many years in this field as a Behavior Tech, she began the path to her master's degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Antioch University. It was in the fall of 2017 that, following her maternity leave with her second child, she found Atlantic Academy. She worked as a 1:1 Ed Tech III as the school was just opening its doors, and remained in a master’s program while receiving supervision for her BCBA certification through Atlantic Academy. Jessie then took on a lead BET position and continued to pursue her BCBA. After taking her board exam in the fall of 2021, she was promoted to the position of BCBA at Atlantic Academy in the fall of 2022. She is excited to continue to work at Atlantic Academy, as she values effective educational services, positive behavioral services, exploring new ways to do things, taking actions that bring her towards her values, and seeing the students blossom as individuals and finding their path to their own values.

Jennifer Talagrand - Outdoor Education Teacher

Jennifer has been an educator at numerous outdoor and environmental education programs over the past 25 years. These opportunities are a direct result of her environmental passions and educational degrees. She graduated with a B.S. in Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan and a M.A. in Environmental And Resilient Leadership from Naropa University.

She has attended professional development programs including The Cedarsong Way: Forest Kindergarten Teacher Training and Juniper Hill School for Place-Based Education Teaching with Nature: An Introduction to Forest Kindergarten. These trainings support her skills in nature immersion, authentic free play, flow learning, child-inspired emergent curriculum and inquiry-based teaching style. She holds true to the value and importance of children (and adults) learning through exploration and play all while cultivating one’s connection with nature.

In addition to teaching, Jennifer has experience providing individualized support for clients with mental health, dementia, autism, substance abuse and developmental disabilities. She was on a team of caregivers, psychiatrists, therapeutic housemates, family and community members creating a supportive environment for clients to engage in relationships and personal health/growth.

Jennifer is thrilled to join The Atlantic Academy community and explore Maine. She draws inspiration through traveling, live music, mindfulness practices, film festivals, dancing and gathering with family & friends. She is looking forward to learning to sail and play the ukulele.