Share something interesting about yourself!

I’m so excited for you all to be a part of this community! My goal is to create a network of passionate behavioral scientists who are dedicated to effective dissemination in the service of creating a more peaceful world. Now that you’re all here, let’s get to know each other a little better. For starters, go ahead and share some interesting information about yourself you think the group would like to know!

I’ll start – my name is Abby and I’m the founder of Action for a Peaceful World. The original spark of inspiration for this project came at the intersection of (1) an election campaign, (2) a 90th birthday, and (3) the most inspirational ABAI conference experience imaginable. In a matter of months, I had gone from being burnt out and constantly on the verge of tears, to taking action to create more peace in my life. While the 4 years following the initial spark did not unfold as planned, the end goal has always remained the same. No matter what challenges life presented me with, I’ve made consistent and meaningful progress in the right direction (for the most part).

Great to meet you Abby! I’m thrilled to be joining this community you’ve initiated.

I live in Evanston, IL and teach at National Louis University. I moved here from California just over ten years ago. The science and philosophy of behavior analysis utterly entranced me from the moment I stumbled across it in an undergraduate elective taken basically at random. It feels a little cheesy to say but that was a huge turning point in my life!

As for something a little more personal about me – my partner owns a board game cafe, and I help out there occasionally. It’s been critical to us to ensure that the space is safe and welcoming for all, and I’ve been particularly happy to see it become a hub for the local LGBTQ+ community over the years. I don’t consider myself to be particularly good at games but I love ’em. Cards, board games, roleplaying, video games – they’ve become a big part of my social life! I’ve also been chipping away at some research lines related to gamification of education and analysis of variables affecting choices made during games.

Nice to meet you, Jessica! I’m so happy you decided to join our community. I love what you shared about your personal life… that sounds like an amazing place you would have trouble getting me to leave!! Drinking coffee and playing games… what more could you want!?

Jessica, the board game cafe sounds like a lot of fun! 

Hello Abby and AFAPW Community! Thank you Abby and Jessica for sharing some information about yourselves. 

I live in Oakland, CA and work as Behavior Analyst for a nearby school district. I was excited to see a course in personal growth/well-being that is based on the foundations of behavior analysis. I usually participate in CEU events that are geared toward education and research, and while those are definitely beneficial in my career, I’m really happy to focus on myself in a behavior analytic way. I believe this will also benefit my career! 

Thank you for introducing yourself Stephanie, it’s so nice to meet you! I’m really excited to see more people like yourself who are looking to take steps to improve their personal lives in the service of becoming more effective in their professional lives! I truly believe this is an essential step to success… we all have really big hearts, but if we don’t take care of our own first that can cause us to leave less of an impact on the world in the long-run!

I’m glad to finally take a few minutes to introduce myself to the group. I’m a BCBA in Michigan. I oversee an autism program through our local community mental health. We cover 6 counties and serve kids up to age 21, currently about 175 in our program! It’s an interesting eclectic program because I supervise a staff of 6 behavior analysts, but our techs are contracted employees. We also contract with about a dozen private ABA agencies that have their own BCBAs and techs on staff, so I’m less directly involved with their services.

I attended the ACT for BAs bootcamp in Toronto in January and it was a great, revitalizing experience for me! In a way I felt like I was at a retreat for personal growth as well as professional growth. While there I was searching for follow-up opportunities and came across this course. It is a perfect fit for me, to help me use what I’ve been learning and apply it to my own life and help make some positive changes. Thanks Abby!

Thank you for introducing yourself, Mary! It’s nice to hear a little about the work you’re doing to improve the lives of others and yourself as well! I truly appreciate the feedback as that is the goal with these courses and more broadly with this community – to create a place where we can collaborate, encourage and support each other along our own personal paths! I’m excited to get to know more about you as the courses proceed over time!

I’m a BCBA in Alaska. I own my own ABA agency and conduct training for the university. I am excited that Abby has set up this opportunity for us to learn how to better apply behavior analysis to our own lives. Personally, I am looking to make some changes in my life this year (maybe because big round numbers *2020* seem like a good Sd for change). 

My fellow Alaskan!!! 2020 is definitely the perfect year to start making shifts in our lives to becoming better versions of ourselves and learning how to bring out our full potential as behavior analysts and humans in general! I’m so happy you’re here and can’t wait till I can make a trip up to Anchorage to actually meet you in person!

Hi, 

I am from London Ontario, London is half way between Detroit and Toronto. I am a manager of a program for children with ASD that is funded through the province.

I have had the privilege of being in a co hurt of students in a masters program offered by the University of Nevada, Reno held in Toronto. I was one of the first BCBAs in my organization and happy to say we have supported over 30 people to become certified, all while working full time and studying part time. I look forward to stretching my skills so that I be a better manager to my team, and a better family member to the people I love. 

Mary, 

A few members of my team (Jen, Beth, Brianna and Karla) were at that ACT bootcamp in Toronto and they loved it.  I will have to ask them if they met you. 

Laura, I was going to ask you if you attended! I don’t remember names, but there were a lot of great BCBAs that I met from Ontario. It was fantastic, and so interesting to learn about what you’re all doing in Canada. London’s only 3-4 hours from me! If would be great to connect in person sometime!

Hey everyone! I am born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky and work as a behavior analyst for a nearby school district. Prior to working for the school system, I worked at a residential facility for adults, a autism clinic for children, and provided community supports for kids and adults. Most recently, I went through the process to become a foster parent then ended up adopting a tween with ASD. I am very excited for this opportunity because I find myself getting burnt out but want to continue with ABA. 

Welcome, Emily!! I’m so excited that you’re here! What a cool thing you’re doing as a foster parent… I’ve thought about doing therapeutic foster care once we have our house built… there are so many kids who are in need of supportive placements!