About Us

As the Founder/Director of Centering Minds, Modesta Hwang has had over 30 years of experience as an educator and disability service worker. She has worked with clients, families, staff, and community partners from all cultural, ethnic, and social backgrounds. She believes in the exceptional diversity and strength of each child, and empowers them towards curiosity and possibilities.

Each service provider at Centering Minds holds extensive experience in the field of special education and disability services for children with exceptional needs including autism, down syndrome, ADHD, and other developmental disabilities. Among the wide range of services includes:

Our Core Values

Care

Ongoing support to the needs of children on the autism spectrum requires clinical expertise and professional care. Moreover, families need on-going support and care from communities, schools, government agencies, and service providers. Centering Minds Education Services connects the 5 entities, so that children can get holistic services based on their unique needs.

Community

It takes a village to raise a child. We emphasize the meaning of community, because we understand that raising a child requires support and care from the help of others. At Centering Minds, our purpose is to provide a sense of community for client families so that each and every child can achieve their full potential in a safe and healthy environment.

Choice

We promote independence and foster inclusive communities where children with exceptional needs play valuable roles by maximizing their strengths and unique choices. Centering Minds’ extensive range of clinical services are catered to children with exceptional needs in order to empower them to recognize and pursue their unique strengths and choices.

Our Team

Our team consists of professionals and specialists who are licensed, experienced, and trained to work with individuals on the spectrum and with other developmental disabilities. We are a group of professionals including Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), Instructor Therapists, and Registered Behavior Technicians. We also collaborate with Speech-Language Pathologists and Occupational Therapists for mutual client’s best benefits.

Modesta Hwang

Founder

Modesta is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She has been working with children and adults with exceptional needs for over 30 years. After getting her Master of Arts degree in Applied Linguistics from York University and completed her PhD coursework from Pusan National University in South Korea, Modesta continued her career journey by obtaining her Applied Behavior Analysis Professional Certificate || from University of California Santa Barbara. She is also participating in the Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) Cetification Program from Koegel PRT, University of California Santa Barbara to make a positive change on the lives of children with Autism and other exceptional needs.

Simon C. H. Lee

Marketing Director

President of Verta Marketing Inc. located in downtown Toronto, Simon and his team of experts spearhead the marketing efforts for Centering Minds.

Mansi Purohit

ABA/ PRT Instructor Therapist

Mansi is MA in Clinical Psychology, with over eight years of experience in the field. She has wide range of professional experience working with all age groups, struggling with various mental health concerns, including children with exceptional needs. Mansi values developing and fostering meaningful rapport with clients, families and co-workers. She enjoys working collaboratively with multi-disciplinary team, with the client and families, to reach the holistic development of the clients that have the real-world impact.

“I believe that we all are the heroes of our lives and have the capacity to mould, shape, change or help ourselves and in that process I can be a guiding light to help my clients and families to discover hope, abundance and growth. I was motivated to join CMES because they believe in helping the clients reach the maximum capacity of independence, this is in sync with my focus too.”