25+ yearsSupporting individuals & families
PhDEducational Psychology
FounderHOPE ABA & HOPE PhD Applications, LLC
01 / HER STORY
The beginnings of
a different way
of seeing.
A personal journey that became a lifelong commitment to understanding others.
EARLY LIFELearning to read the room.
Dr. Juarez’s interest in people began long before her formal education. Growing up with instability and inconsistent caregiving, she became attentive to other people’s emotions, moods, and behavior at a young age. She learned how much safety, communication, and emotional connection matter to a developing child.
Leaving home as a teenager brought early lessons in independence, uncertainty, and responsibility. Those experiences would later inform the questions she brought to her work: What is this person communicating? Do they feel safe? Do they feel understood?
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCETurning observation into expertise.
Dr. Suzy Lea Juarez has a PhD in Psychology with a concentration in Educational Psychology. Her doctoral education gave her a foundation for examining those questions through research and practice. For more than 25 years, she has supported individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, and complex behavioral needs.
Her experience spans direct intervention, assessments, behavioral consultation, parent and staff education, community-based support, research, and program development. Working alongside individuals, families, and interdisciplinary teams has kept her attention on how ideas translate into everyday life.
A PHILOSOPHY TAKES SHAPESeeing the person within the behavior.
Her work integrates behavioral science with developmental psychology, functional communication, emotional awareness, and family systems. She looks at what happens before a behavior, what a person understands, and how much time they need to respond.
That perspective informs HOPE ABA and her continued work as an educator, researcher, mother, author, and advocate. A person’s diagnosis or most difficult moment can never tell their whole story.
