President
President
I have over 46 years of direct experience with children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In the 1980’s-90’s, I worked with over 500 families with children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
For 17 years, I worked as an adjunct instructor at California State University- Los Angeles and taught courses on behavior analysis. I was owner/licensee of several residential facilities that served children, adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities and autism who presented with severe problem behavior for 15 years. Over the years, I have provided a number of presentations, talks, lectures and workshops on a diverse range of topics including ethics, self-injurious behavior, working with individuals with traumatic brain injury, understanding behavior phenotypes, designing ethical behavior interventions plans, and more recently, social and cultural diversity in ABA. I have also had the opportunity to mentor over 20 individuals and continue to look for opportunities to advance the professional skills of those who are newer in our field.
President - Elect
President - Elect
Dr. Lisa Britton’s current interests revolve around the delivery of quality supervision for trainees completing their fieldwork experience, supporting BCBAs who are building their skills as supervisors, and ethics within the field of behavior analysis. She obtained her B.S. from the University of North Dakota. She then completed her graduate training at the University of Nevada, Reno under the direction of Dr. James Carr. Upon graduating, she worked at a non-public school for over 15 years where she focused on supporting the Senior Behavior Analysts who provided behavioral supports to students with Special Education needs in their educational environment. In 2015 Dr. Britton launched Britton Behavioral Consulting, a company designed to provide fieldwork supervision for people working to become a BCBA/BCaBA. Her primary focus is on the delivery of remote supervision for those who are unable to obtain quality supervision in their immediate community. In the spring of 2019, Dr. Britton coauthored a book on the topic of remote supervision with The Behavioral Observations host, Matt Cicoria. More recently she has published on the topic of ethics in the journal Behavior Analysis in Practice.
Past President
Past President
Secretary/Treasurer
Secretary/Treasurer
I am excited for the opportunity to support the California Association for Behavior Analysis’ mission of advancing, promoting, and protecting the science and practice of behavior analysis by serving as the Northern California Professional Liaison. As a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) I have worked with varied populations including individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder, Down syndrome, Intellectual Disability, and Fragile-X Syndrome. I have served as the HIPAA Privacy and Security Officer at a behavior analytic services agency and led the company-wide implementation of the HIPAA rules and regulations. In my current role as a regional Clinical Director for a behavioral health services provider, I directly oversee the clinical experience of new BCBAs and how the BACB requirements fit into the medical model of service delivery confronted by BCBAs providing insurance-funded services. I serve as a BACB Subject Matter Expert and on the CalABA Public Policy Committee, where I work with members of the Board of Directors to ensure behavior analysts maintain and protect their right to practice in our state. Finally, I attend and regularly lead information sharing sessions at the Council of Autism Service Providers Annual Conference on topics such as parent policies, and termination and discharge criteria. As a new board member, I would look forward to continuing to pursue the needs of my fellow CalABA members while protecting consumers and all BACB certificants.
Conference Chair
Conference Chair
I joined the field of applied behavior analysis serendipitously in 2009 and fell in love with the science, the philosophy, and the immense impact of our field in empowering individuals to create meaningful and long-lasting behavior change. My passion for behavior analysis continued to grow with each new clinical and academic experience, and I obtained my doctorate in ABA from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology under the advisement of Dr. Henry Schlinger. Over the last decade, I have cultivated expertise in the areas of autism and developmental disabilities, organizational behavior management, and the dissemination of behavior analysis. My professional experience spans across a variety of clinical settings, populations, and age ranges along a spectrum of mild to severe challenging behaviors and skill strengths/deficits. I have also developed expertise as an organizational consultant, working with ABA-based agencies to improve their systems for optimal clinical and organizational outcomes. I am currently a Clinical Professor and the Associate Program Director of the Masters in Applied Behavior Analysis program at Pepperdine University as well as a lecturer at California State University, Los Angeles. Being an educator has been a lifelong dream, and my mission in the classroom is to create an atmosphere of curiosity and intellectual stimulation to motivate my
students to evaluate content objectively, think critically, and apply their knowledge within their professional, academic, and personal lives. Our field is currently experiencing a pivotal moment where we must rise to demand antiracist policies, hold institutions accountable for their commitments to diversity and multiculturalism, and teach students to have greater cultural understanding, appreciation, and humility. Working alongside my colleagues, I am passionate about our work in reimagining graduate program training methods to establish and raise the standard of personal and professional responsibility, aiming to use this as an opportunity to advance the field of behavior analysis forward toward cultural humility, to uphold our shared values of equity and inclusion, and to provide effective services and support to our communities. In considering the direction and tone of our 2022 annual conference, my vision is to highlight the diverse voices, interests, and values of our CalABA community. Having participated on the CalABA conference committee since 2018, I hope to be considered for the role of conference chair-elect. Given my professional experience, I feel well prepared to create a strong and positive conference experience for our community. I value the tireless work of our CalABA board and membership and would be honored to have the opportunity to work alongside them in this role.
Conference Co-Chair
Conference Co-Chair
Jessika Feil, MA, BCBA is the co-founder and Executive Director of Bella Vista Behavior Services. Jessika has been providing ABA services to the Autistic community in the San Joaquin Valley for over ten years. She has also provided four years of services in San Diego County, and Los Angeles County. She received her bachelor’s degree in English with a Minor in Education with an Emphasis in Applied Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2006. In 2010, she obtained her Master’s Degree in Education with an emphasis in Special Education and a Specialization in Autism from San Diego State University. Her professional interests include Autism, Education, Verbal Behavior, and Multicultural Behavior Analysis. Most recently Jessika was part of a panel presentation on mentorship at CalABA 2022 and is scheduled to be part of another panel at ABAI in May 2022. She has also provided a tutorial and presentation for the LatinoAssociation for Behavior Analysts (LABA) in February and May 2018, and November 2020. She has presented to private organizations on Covert Racism in August and September 2020, as well as presentations with various community organizations within Tulare County on Autism and Behavior Management. She is an active member of CalABA, and the Latino Association for Behavior Analysts in addition to being a member of the FastTrack group within LABA and a member of the LABA Advisory Board. Within LABA, Jessika’s primary area of focus is on membership and increasing membership diversity. Jessika is also on the Leadership Board of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion an ABA Org. with a primary focus on bringing diversity to the field of ABAthrough diverse presenters and a variety of presentation topics. With this organization, she helped to provide free virtual conferences for over 600 registrants on a variety of topics from CRT to Neurodiversity.
Past Conference Chair
Past Conference Chair
Dr. Eilers received her doctorate in Psychology with an emphasis in Behavior Analysis from the
University of Nevada, Reno. She has 25 years of experience working with a variety of populations
including children and adults with developmental disabilities, severe behavior problems, mental health,
brain injury, and gerontology. Dr. Eilers has also worked as an Organizational Behavior Management
Consultant to several organizations. Dr. Eilers has contributed to research and conceptual/theoretical
analyses in diverse areas, including sexual assault and prevention, domestic violence, family court,
psychoneuroimmunology, modified functional analyses, non-contingent reinforcement, learning
assessments, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, complexity theory, and Interbehaviorism. Her
areas of expertise include domestic violence, post-separation abuse, trauma, Relational Frame Theory
and Acceptance and Commitment Training.
Diversity Chair
Diversity Chair
Joanna has been practicing in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis since 2008. She received her Bachelor of Arts in American Studies and Latin American/Latino Studies from the University of California Santa Cruz in 2006. Joanna received her Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in 2013. Joanna presented her Master’s Thesis on teaching mands for information at the CalABA conference in 2014.
Joanna obtained her Board-Certification in Behavior Analysis in 2014. She has been overseeing clinical cases in the home, clinic, school, and community setting since. Joanna’s areas of interest include Organizational Behavior Management, Practical Functional Analysis, and Skill Based Treatment. She is committed to increasing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice in the field of Behavior Analysis. Her background in Ethnic Studies and Applied Behavior Analysis brings a unique perspective to her work. At her current position as Senior Case Supervisor and Diversity Officer at Evolutions ABA, she has worked to develop and implement inclusive policies at an applied level.
Professional Standards Chair
Professional Standards Chair
Dr. Valerie Rogers, BCBA-D, is the Clinical Director of Santa Clara County Services for The ABRITE Organization. Valerie earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the Lee Honors College at Western Michigan University in 2004. Dr. Rogers graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno with a Master of Arts in Psychology in 2008 and a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) in Psychology in 2011.
Throughout her educational and professional experiences, Dr. Rogers has held multiple roles within behavior analytic organizations including Behavior Specialist for the Nevada Center for Severe Behavior Problems, Staff Trainer at the Person-Centered Assessment Treatment and Habilitation program, and as the Associate Director of UNR Early Childhood Autism Program. In 2011, Dr. Rogers joined The ABRITE Organization in her role as Clinical Director of Santa Clara County Services, where she has helped to establish and grow ABRITE’s clinical work within home, school, and community locations across Silicon Valley as well as ABRITE’s research and training practices throughout the organization.
Dr. Rogers has served on the California Association for Behavior Analysis conference committee since 2019. She has also created and implemented many continuing education trainings for BCBAs. Dr. Rogers has served as a guest reviewer for various behavior analytic journals and recently co-authored two articles on the implementation of telepractice during the pandemic. In addition to telepractice, her research interests also include response variability and extinction effects relating particularly to the behavior of children with autism, clinical outcomes related to ABA intervention, habit reversal procedures with children with autism, and the acquisition of relational responding and executive functioning skills. She has presented her research at several national and regional conferences.
Public Policy Chair
Public Policy Chair
Michelle joined the field of behavior analysis in 2006 through assisting parents of children with developmental disabilities and lecturing throughout the disability community to both parent and professional audiences. She then received her Master’s degree and BCBA in May 2012. Since beginning work in the field, Michelle has had opportunities to provide direct intervention to clients of all ages and has also provided supervision to BCBAs and other professionals. In 2010, Michelle became an active member of several professional committees in behavior analysis including education and training, ethics, and public policy. Through her public policy work she has met with legislators, testified before both Senate and Assembly Committees, and built relationships with legislators and others in Sacramento. Michelle has also become a community legislative educator providing trainings to professionals in behavior analysis, regional centers, parents, and consumers of behavior analysis services. This legislative involvement has allowed Michelle to stay up to date on legislation and changes that are impacting the field of behavior analysis and advocate for quality services for the clients receiving behavior analysis services.
Professional Association Liaison
Professional Association Liaison
Liz Herrera Knapp obtained her BA in Psychology at the University of the Pacific in 2009. Shortly after graduation she began working as a Behavior Interventionist for a local autism company and was able to see the concepts she learned in her ABA courses in action. Liz fell in love with the field and returned to the University of the Pacific to earn her MA in Behavior Analysis. After passing her exams continued her work at the University as program Director, supervising graduate student interns completing their experience hours to sit for their exam. Following her time at Pacific, Liz founded KBCS Behavior Services and also became the first BCBA at Valley Mountain Regional Center. Currently, Liz is the Executive Director at KBCS Behavior Services, which provides Behavior Consulting services to Community Care Facilities, Day Programs, Schools, and Regional Center Consumers in the Central Valley. In her free time, Liz enjoys traveling with her family but also works to keep her local community of Behavior Analysts connected. She enjoys planning events and meet-ups in the Central Valley for CBAs, BCaBAs, Graduate Students, and RBTs working in the field. Liz has served on the CalABA Special Events Conference Committee, served as a Leadership Board Member for the CalABA Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion SIG, is a founding Leadership Board Member of the Equity in ABA Organization, and is developing a Special Interest Group for those who provide Adult Services. Liz was on the planning committee for the first annual Equity in ABA Virtual Conference and is currently on the planning committee for the upcoming 2022 Equity in ABA conference. Liz has also devoted her time to the Valley Mountain RegionalCenter Board of Directors as the Elected Provider Representative, the VMRC Coalition Local Area Service Provider (CLASP) Board of directors, Developed the Special Events and Social Media Chair positions for CLASP, sat on the Planning Committee for the Inaugural and annual
CLASP Provider Conferences, and has sat on the VMRC Legislation Committee and the VMRC Consumer Services Committee. Liz is a member of both the Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce and San Joaquin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and is a former member of the Joaquin Junior League. Liz is excited for the opportunity to continue her volunteer work with the CalABA Board!
PR/Marketing Chair
PR/Marketing Chair
Daniel Mendoza is the Clinical Director for Special Needs Network Applied Behavior Analysis program. Over the last six years, he has been part of an interdisciplinary behavioral health team; including behavioral analysts, clinical psychologists, social workers, and pediatricians, providing behavioral health treatment to children diagnosed with autism. During his 20-year career in he has provided services to individuals diagnosed with a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders. In his time, he has developed skill sets ranging from direct behavior intervention to program development, management, and leadership. At Special Needs Network Daniel has headed programs such as Youth Employment Leadership and Empowerment Program (YELEP) targeting youth in underserved communities and introducing them to careers in behavioral health. Through this program, Daniel has introduced, mentored, supported youth through their undergraduate and graduate careers in behavior analysis with the eventuality of becoming Board Certified Behavior Analysts. Developing leaders from within the community to provide behavior analytic services in the community is one of his career priorities. His efforts have been pivotal in developing other programs such as Camp JPAC, providing summer enrichment activities to children diagnosed with autism and their typically developing peers. He has extensive experience training and managing large teams of professionals while developing cohesiveness and maintaining operational efficiency. Daniel seeks to make a change in South Los Angeles where he grew up through providing high-quality evidence-based services and continual leadership development of future behavior analysts. Most recently he has joined the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion SIG leadership board and Public Policy Committee for California Association of Behavior Analysis with the goal of creating equitable spaces for individuals from underserved communities and bringing about change in systems through policy/boots on the ground engagement.
California Academic Liaison
California Academic Liaison
A licensed psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Debra Berry Malmberg is an Associate Professor of Psychology at California State University, Northridge (CSUN). Dr. Malmberg teaches courses on behavior analysis and clinical psychology to undergraduate and graduate students. Dr. Malmberg is the founding director of the CSUN Autism Clinic, a research and treatment clinic for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and their families. Dr. Malmberg received her BA from Davidson College and Master’s and Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University, and her research focuses on parent education and behavioral interventions to teach socio-communicative skills to children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Malmberg has served as a member of the California Senate Select Committee’s North LA Task Force on Autism and Related Disorders, CSUN College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Research Fellow, a Leadership Los Angeles Fellow, and received the CSUN Extraordinary Service Award.
Californa Academic Liaison
Californa Academic Liaison
Dr. Linda Haymes’ current work is at the university level as chair of special education and coordinator of a verified course sequence. Dr. Haymes’ passion is preparing candidates to become BCBAs and special education teachers with a behavioral focus. Her most recent research interests involve preparing neurodiverse individuals for college and career and the development of assessment and interventions for hard-to-treat behaviors (e.g., stalking,pica). Dr. Haymes obtained her B.A. at The University of Albany (SUNY) where she first was introduced to behavior analysis under V. Mark Durand. After a few years as a teacher at New England Center for Children, she completed her master’s degree in HDFL at the University of Kansas studying with many incredible researchers and founders in the field of behavior analysis. Dr. Haymes completed her doctorate in psychology at ClaremontGraduate University where she was Clinical Director of the Claremont Autism Center under Marjorie H. Charlop. Dr. Haymes is a BCBA-D and licensed psychologist in California. Dr. Haymes has held many positions including, working at Spectrum Center for over 12 years as a behavioral consultant and then Senior Clinician establishing both home and school programs for individuals with autism. Dr. Haymes has maintained a private behavioral and educational consultant business since 2006. In 2011 Dr. Haymes joined the faculty at Touro University California where she established an ABA master’s program. As a business owner, professor, long-time member of CALABA, and mentor she has served on many committees and has demonstrated the organizational skills to serve on the Calabar Board as Academic Liaison.
Executive Director
Executive Director
McAlear has dedicated his 20-year career to successfully developing and leading programs focused on the needs of individuals with disabilities and the professionals who serve them. He has worked as a special education teacher and principal of a non-public school, a behavior analyst, and program administrator. In addition, McAlear is a speaker and consultant at the national and international level. McAlear holds a bachelor’s of social work from Marist College, a master’s of special education from San Francisco State University and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
