Our Team Bios
Karen Trinh, MS
Founder
Medical Student | BCBA Candidate
Clinical services are provided by credentialed and supervised professionals in accordance with scope of practice.
Karen Trinh, MS
Founder
Medical Student | BCBA Candidate
Learn About Me
I am a parent first — and that lived experience is the foundation of everything I am building.My journey into developmental and behavioral care did not begin in a clinic or classroom. It began as a parent navigating uncertainty, advocating for my child, and searching for support that felt both compassionate and genuinely individualized. Walking this path firsthand shaped how I understand children and families — their fears, hopes, and need to feel truly supported.
Nurture Path Development Center was created from the belief that children are not problems to solve, but individuals to be understood. Every child develops on their own timeline, and meaningful progress happens when care is patient, respectful, and rooted in trust. I believe children thrive when they are met where they are-emotionally, developmentally, and relationally.
In addition to my lived experience as a parent, I am completing advanced training in the medicine and behavioral sciences. My work is grounded in thoughtful, ethical, and evidence- informed care, while remaining deeply human. I value collaboration, transparency, and empowering families with practical strategies they can carry into everyday life.
Nurture Path currently serves families through home-based services, allowing for individualized, relationship-centered care during this early phase. As the practice grows, the vision includes the development of a dedicated center designed to support children and families in a calm, nurturing environment.
My goal is to walk alongside families with clarity, compassion, and intention—supporting not only children’s growth, but the confidence and resillence of the families who love them.
Meet our Clinical Supervisor:
Herbert Garcilazo, MS. BCBA
Background/Bio:
Herbert Garcilazo is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with over 10 years of experience supporting children, families, and school teams across educational, home, and community settings throughout the Bay Area. His work has included school-based behavioral consultation, clinical leadership, staff training, crisis prevention, and the development of individualized support plans for students with diverse behavioral, communication, and social-emotional needs.
Herbert is passionate about helping children feel genuinely understood while supporting the adults around them with practical, compassionate, and collaborative guidance. He values building strong relationships with families and educators and believes meaningful progress happens when support is individualized, respectful, and rooted in connection, dignity, and trust.
Proud Clinical Accomplishment:
One accomplishment I’m proud of is becoming a Safety-Care trainer. Pairing that experience with the real-world situations I’ve encountered working directly with students, clients, families, and staff has helped me grow tremendously as both a clinician and mentor. The role has given me the opportunity to teach and support multiple groups of staff, and it’s incredibly rewarding to help people feel more confident in crisis prevention and management. It’s also made me more thoughtful in how I support teams during challenging situations while maintaining dignity, compassion, and respect for the children they work with.
What I Enjoy Most About ABA:
What I enjoy most about working in ABA is helping children and families feel genuinely understood and supported. I value taking the time to learn who each child is as an individual, their strengths, personality, interests, and what helps them feel successful. I enjoy collaborating with families and teams to create support that feels meaningful, practical, and compassionate rather than one-size-fits-all. Seeing growth in communication, confidence, independence, and everyday quality of life, even in small moments, is incredibly rewarding, especially when the people supporting the child feel empowered and connected throughout the process.
Meet our BCBA
Samantha "Sam" McCarl, Ph.D.
Samantha "Sam" McCarl, Ph.D., BCBA (pronouns: She/They)
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." -The Lorax, Dr. Seuss
Background:
Dr. Sam is a Ph.D. level Board Certified Behavior Analysis (BCBA) and has over 10 years of experience in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. She has experience with ages from 18 months to adulthood across multiple settings: in home, clinic, school, day programs, and community. A recent graduate, Dr. Sam earned her Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis from The Chicago School, and holds a M.A. in Professional Behavior Analysis from Florida Institute of Technology. Beyond ABA therapy, she has a passion for clinician training and research, with a specific interest in cultural humility, culturally-sensitive care, inclusion, and bias reduction. Outside of ABA, she enjoys video games, chilling with her cat, reading, playing musical instruments, and generally being a self-proclaimed nerd.
Proud Accomplishment:
There are far too many. The first time a client with self-injurious behavior uses their AAC instead of harming themselves, the first time a family hears their kiddo say "I love you", a teenager learning to make their own schedule and develop self-advocacy skills... Hearing that someone you knew in passing when they were still in high school telling you they're about to complete their own master's degree in the field that they only pursued because of you. My proudest accomplishments aren't anything I've done myself: it's seeing the impact effective, client- and family-centered ABA therapy can have on the lives of those I serve.
What I Enjoy about ABA and Therapy Philosophy:
I firmly believe that while I could write the most textbook, evidence-based, perfected lesson plan on paper... if it doesn't meet the family where they are, it means nothing. I acknowledge I'm the "expert" in the field of behavior, but my clients and those close to them are the "experts" on their lives. I strive to maintain open communication with my clients and their families, to find what matters most to them. I believe in individualized programs. I believe in ABA's ability to make a meaningful impact on socially-significant skills for my clients, and it's my goal to work directly with individuals and their caregivers to find what, exactly, is significant.
Our Philosophy of Fit
We believe the right support is built on trust. If our approach aligns with your values and your hopes for your child, we welcome the opportunity to explore whether Nurture Path may be a good fit for your family.