Today we’d like to introduce you to Suzzie Campfield.
Hi Suzzie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and honestly, the way I got here came from a lot of learning, unlearning, and figuring things out in real time.
When I first entered the field, I knew I was naturally good with kids. That part came easy to me. But as I got deeper into the work, actually implementing programs, modifying things, and trying to create real change. I started to realize that not everyone around me was doing that. Not everyone was thinking critically about what they were doing or how it was impacting families.
That’s when things shifted for me.
I realized I didn’t just want to work with kids. I wanted to support the clinicians who make it possible for those kids to actually see change. Because at the end of the day, technicians and clinicians are the ones doing the day-to-day work, and if they’re not supported, the outcomes won’t be either.
As I started doing that more: training, explaining, breaking things down. I realized I actually had a niche for teaching. I’m really good at taking complex concepts and making them make sense in real life.
At the same time, I was having conversations with a friend who owns Cizzle Entertainment, and I started seeing how my skills translated outside of ABA. Things like building rapport, networking, creating community, leading teams, and keeping the vision at the forefront that all carried over. That’s how I stepped into an administrative leadership role with Cizzle while continuing to grow clinically.
So now, I serve as the Clinical Director of Guided Growth Gardens and the Administrative Director of Cizzle Entertainment. And for me, both roles are rooted in the same thing: leadership, problem-solving, and creating meaningful experiences for people.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road at all.
Balancing everything has been one of the hardest parts, career, growth, personal life, and just trying to stay grounded through it all. There’s been a lot of pressure and a lot of moments where I had to figure things out without a clear roadmap.
Clinically, one of my biggest challenges was shifting from being “naturally good with kids” to being clinically effective. That humbled me quickly. I had intuition, and that’s great, but intuition is not enough. You need structure, data, ethics, and consistency.
I also had to learn how to navigate systems, insurance, family dynamics, staff support, cancellations, all of it. You can be great clinically and still struggle if you don’t understand how to move within those systems or if the systems themselves aren’t aligned.
But every challenge forced me to become more intentional, more structured, and more grounded in how I show up.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Guided Growth Gardens is really about guiding your child’s growth using what already exists within your “garden.” Essentially, meeting them where they’re at.
We’re not asking parents to become someone else or do something outside of their capacity. We’re asking them to show up as they are, with the tools they already have, and we help shape those into more effective strategies.
What makes us different is that we focus heavily on the relationship between the clinician, the technician, and the parent so we can strengthen the parent-child relationship.
We’re very community-based, very client-focused, and very parent-led. Parent-led doesn’t mean the parent is doing everything alone, it means they’re actively involved, they understand what’s happening, and they’re part of the process. Everyone on the team knows the goals, understands the “why,” and is aligned on the vision.
We also don’t follow a rigid “work first, then play” model. Sometimes play comes first, because regulation comes first. We focus on meeting primary needs before expecting performance.
In addition to that, we provide direct care therapy with behavior technicians in the home and community setting, working directly with the child and family on their individualized goals.
We also support student analysts who are working toward becoming behavior analysts themselves by providing opportunities to accumulate their fieldwork hours, along with guidance and support throughout that process so they’re not just checking boxes, but actually learning how to be effective clinicians.
We provide supervision for Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts, making sure they have the oversight, feedback, and support they need to grow clinically and ethically in their role.
We also consult with startups and organizations that are building out their ABA services. That includes helping them create their systems from the ground up, training their technicians, supporting their BCBAs, developing program templates, report templates, and overall workflows so their services are consistent, effective, and aligned with best practices.
We also offer continuing education courses for BCBAs to maintain their certification, and we’re working toward offering professional development opportunities for registered behavior technicians as well.
Even if someone isn’t sure where to start, we’re always open to having that initial conversation, whether that leads to services with us or just guidance on next steps and resources that point them in the right direction.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Mentorship hasn’t always been formal for me.
A lot of my mentors didn’t even know they were mentoring me. I was just paying attention, asking questions, and learning from how they showed up.
My biggest advice is don’t wait for one perfect mentor. Take what you need from different people, clinical skills from one, professionalism from another, boundaries from someone else.
Also, just because you learn from someone doesn’t mean you have to become them.
Stay open, stay curious, and focus on doing good work. When you show up consistently and do good work, people notice, and opportunities will come from that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.guidedgrowthgardens.com/
- Instagram: @guidedgrowthgardens
Image Credits
it’s myself. and the headshots in blazer is fred shots. The orange blouse headshot was done at a conference
