Meet Team Reach

Born in the UK, Sorrel grew up in South Africa, before moving to the Netherlands as a young adult. Sorrel is a driven strategic commercial leader who has successfully built and led marketing, sales, and operational teams on a global scale, combining empathic, motivational leadership with a customer and result-oriented approach. With a remedial teacher mother, she developed an affinity for social affairs and health care at a young age, later achieving a degree in psychology and communication science and working in Health Care publishing for over 10 years.

As a mother of twins with complex health issues in their youth and first-hand experience with autism and learning disabilities, she has learned to navigate the complex world of healthcare, education insurance, and government agencies. This led her to becoming a City Councillor for Wijdemeren since 2018, where now, as party chairmen, she is responsible for drawing up, assessing policies, guidelines, and budgets, particularly in the social domain. She is thus highly motivated to contribute towards the further development and success of Stichting REACH.

Irene is a Child Psychologist and a Behavior Analyst with international experience. She holds a Masters Degree in Neuroscience and Neuropsychological rehabilitation as well as Bachelor Degree in Development Psychology and Education achieved between the univer-sity of Padua (Italy) and University of Geneva (Switzerland). While completing her studies she started to train as ABA therapist first in Italy, with home-based interventions, and later in London (UK), in a high-standard special need school. She recently obtained the BCBA certi-fication after successfully completing a coursework in Applied Behavior Analysis with the Florida Institute of Technology.

Irene has more than seven years of experience in clinical work with children, adolescent and young adult with different developmental disorders (including Autism, Rett Syndrome, Down Syndrome, fragile X, language delay and Cognitive deficits). Irene has worked in home-based interventions and clinical settings, and in consultation with schools, using ABA to support clients in the different areas of the child development.

Irene is originally from Italy and she has recently relocated to the Netherlands. She loves to travel and do ballet in her free time. She speaks fluently Italian, English and French.

I’m thrilled to join the REACH team as the new Office Manager! With a passion for streamlining operations and fostering collaborative environments, I bring years of experience managing diverse teams and projects. Previously, I led operations at a dynamic startup, where I orchestrated day-to-day functions and drove significant growth. My journey has been fueled by a commitment to creating inclusive spaces, promoting leadership, and supporting meaningful causes. I’m excited to contribute to REACH’s mission of making a positive impact on neurodivergent children and their families. Outside of work, you’ll find me diving into a good book or exploring new vegetarian recipes.

Kelly Filippopoulou is a Psychologist with her Masters in Child and Adolescent Psychology from Leiden University. Additionally, she has obtained her certifications in: Developmental Disorders of Children & Adolescents, Parent Counseling and Autism Interventions. Kelly has completed her ABA coursework from the Florida Institute of Technology, a recognized program of the BACB and in June 2016, she passed the BCBA exam.
Kelly has more than 1500 hours working with ASD children, with BCBA Supervision, where she has designed individual therapy programs and implements each program using ABA techniques such as: verbal behavior, social skills training, self help skills training. Kelly also has experience in the classroom, as she has worked as a Teaching Assistant at The Lighthouse Special Education school in The Hague and at an integrated preschool class at Agriokuknoi in Athens, Greece. She has also worked as an Integration Aid at the Therapeutic Center for Children with Autism in Athens, Greece.

Marianna comes from Athens, Greece, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2021. She first moved to the Netherlands in 2020 as an exchange student in Nijmegen. She liked the country so much, that she decided to complete her Master’s degree in clinical psychology in Leiden, where she graduated from in August 2023 cum laude honors.
Her first-hands on experience with children in the autism spectrum was when she worked as an intern at a child psychiatric hospital in Greece. During her time there, she got the opportunity to familiarize her self with the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of children in the spectrum, but most importantly, she discovered how much she loves working with them.
She joined the REACH team as an Assistant Therapist in August 2023 and she is enthusiastic about being able to use her skills and knowledge in order to help every kid thrive.
In her free time, Marianna enjoys dancing, yoga and crocheting.

Bianca Marzolo is a Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Bologna. Her academic background in psychology provides a foundation for her work in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). With four years of experience in the ABA field, Bianca has developed skills in implementing behavior intervention strategies and supporting individuals with developmental disabilities. She focuses on social skills groups, assisting clients in improving their interpersonal interactions and communication abilities. Bianca’s professional interests include theatre, which contributes to her approach to client engagement and group dynamics. Her combination of psychological knowledge, experience in social skills training, and interest in the arts informs her work as an RBT, as she aims to support positive outcomes for the individuals and groups she serves.

Zoe Ravinale Cañón is originally from Barcelona, Spain. After completing high school in England, Zoe moved to the Netherlands to obtain her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Tilburg University. In September 2021 she graduated with a Master’s degree in Child and Adolescent Psychology from Leiden University. During that period, she worked as an intern in the European School of Den Haag. In addition, she completed a research internship focused on giftedness for Leiden University. Zoe joined Reach in August 2021 where she began to work as an assistant and junior therapist.

Zoe is fluent in Spanish, English, Catalan and is working towards a B1 level in Dutch.

In her spare time, she likes to do sports, read and sing.

Emily Blackstone is originally from Florence, Italy. In 2018, she moved to Leiden to complete her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, where she specialized in school psychology and child and adolescent psychology. Soon after, she decided to continue pursuing her passion in child care and started her Clinical Master’s in Child and Adolescent Psychology at Leiden University.

As part of her program, she completed an internship at REACH, during which she discovered her fondness for the science of behavior. After completing her internship, she decided to continue and advance her career path by joining REACH.

Emily is fluent in Italian and English; she’s been passionate about childcare since she was 16 and has worked for various families and summer camps. Throughout the years she has supported children with behavioral problems, ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder.

In her spare time, Emily loves listening to live music, going on long walks, cooking/baking and making art.

Swanett is Originally from Barquisimeto, Venezuela. She followed her studies in Caracas, Venezuela where she obtained a degree in Psychology and gained experience through multiple internships. After obtaining her degree, she developed in the area of diagnostics of Neurodevelopmental Disorders in a development institute. She moved to the Netherlands in 2022 to pursue a Masters degree in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology at the Utrecht University and after completing her internship at REACH, she continued her professional journey as a junior therapist. She is fluent in Spanish, English and is working towards improving her Dutch fluency. In her free time, Swanett enjoys listening to podcasts, meeting up with friends, baking and doing arts and crafts.

Maria Monioudi is originally from Greece, where she completed her bachelor’s studies in Psychology. In 2023, Maria moved to the Netherlands to pursue a master’s degree at Leiden University, specializing in Child and Adolescent Psychology. Throughout her academic journey, she interned in roles supporting adolescent drug addicts and volunteered at a non profit organization providing care to maltreated children. Maria’s desire to support children on the autism spectrum and those with other developmental disorders was ignited during her internship at a day care center for autistic adolescents and young adults in Greece.There, she acquired valuable skills that have been further enriched through her master’s studies. Maria is passionate about helping children reach their full potential and supporting them in acquiring new skills. In her free time, she enjoys playing the violin, listening to music, and taking photos during her long walks in nature and the city.”

Natalia Alvarez-Arenas (1986 Madrid) is a classical percussionist, performer, music therapist and educator. She holds a Bachelor degree as music pedagogy form the royal conservatory of Madrid, a Bachelor and a Master degree in classical percussion at the Royal Conservatoire of den Haag and a Master degree in Music Therapy by the UNIR.

All through her career she has performed and collaborated in a number of orchestras, ensembles and musical organizations such as Ludwig Ensemble, Residentie Orkest, Asko Schönberg, Opera Today, Slagwerk Den Haag and New European Ensemble. She is a member of The Hague based Catchpenny Ensemble and od the music-theatre company for toddles Tatatone. She also runs her own academy of Music and Movement for children in Den Haag and organize contemporary music-social projects.

As a Music therapist she has been working for several years with Lighthouse school for Special Education, REACH, Music and Dementia Ludwig and Muziek and Dementie de Haagse MuziekCentrale.

Natalia is passionate about helping people to improve, keep or restore a state of wellness by using musical experiences.

Maintaining happiness, well-being and improving the quality of life through music is her priority. Natalia achieves this by stimulating cognitive, motor and musical skills, as well as communication and emotional skills.

In her spare time, Natalia loves nature, hiking and photography.