Aloha, my name is Chalyssa-Ann Belford. I was born and raised here on O’ahu, Hawai’i in the small town of Nanakuli located on the west coast of our beautiful island. Aside from my administrative services here at Kokua MHW Group, I also work part-time as a Registered Behavioral Technician “RBT”, where I provide therapeutic behavioral services to those of all ages who are diagnosed with Autism. I work one-on-one with clients and families to provide the best and most attentive care to support client behavioral and social growth. Prior to my journey as an RBT as well as at Kokua MHW, I started my educational journey initially as a pre-nursing major at Warner Pacific University in Portland, Oregon. With our challenging period of the COVID Pandemic in 2020 as well as family matters, I found myself back on our beautiful island of O’ahu where I finished my journey at Hawaii Pacific University and later earned my Bachelors of Arts in Psychology in December of 2022. How I found myself working at Kokua, was for an internship during my senior year at Hawaii Pacific University. I have always had a knack for being a safe person for others as well as working with children and building strong, caring, and trustworthy relationships. I knew for a fact that working with children and providing a safe space for their mental, emotional, and physical well being was my calling. So, during my time as an intern, as I gained experience and knowledge of the psychology world, after graduation and a year at Kokua MHW, I ventured off into the world of psychology and different forms of therapies and found myself where I am now as a registered behavioral technician alongside my work here at Kokua.