February 2016

The Board of Directors met for the first quarterly meeting of 2016 while at this year’s Conference at the Hyatt Regency and Convention Center in Santa Clara. In addition to conducting an Open Board Meeting with the membership, the Board touched on numerous topics and reviewed reports from Chairs, Liaisons, and Committees. Please see below for highlights.

• Public Policy Updates - CalABA's Public Policy Committee has remained very active since the last Board meeting. Dr. Bryan Davey summarized the bills CalABA is actively tracking this legislative cycle including AB 796, SB 1034 and AB 1715, the Behavior Analyst licensure bill. AB 1715 has received overwhelming support from our membership and other stakeholders - thank you to those who have had their voice heard by completing our recent membership survey. As of this writing the bill has passed through its first committee hearing and is moving forward. Keep an eye on www.calaba.org for updates. To discuss licensure or other public policy matters, please reach out directly to Dr. Bryan Davey or Matt McAlear. 

• Treasurer Updates - Treasurer Dr. Junelyn Lazo-Pearson presented the proposed annual budget, which was approved. 

• Conference Updates - Conference Chair Sarah Trautman-Eslinger presented her final report to the Board, before Conference Co-Chair Dr. Amber Valentino starts with plans for the 2017 Conference. Responses to the new CVENT Registration and Membership portal as well as the Conference App were shared. 

As of this writing (post-conference), the response to the app and the electronic CEU system was very positive. In fact, the company who designed our app platform, Double Dutch, was blown away by how engaged our membership was, as we had record app interactions. Further, we had record conference attendance this year, with a total of 2,106 attendees, up 20% from 2015. Sales were also up for the After Party this year as well. Surveys completed by attendees found that 91% of attendees rated the overall conference either “Very Good” or “Excellent,” and 92% of respondents felt they had learned something at the conference they can use immediately in their jobs. All around, successful conference! We are also grateful for constructive feedback received, which will be taken into account as we plan 2017’s conference.

• PR | Marketing Updates - PR | Marketing Chair Lisa Stoddard shared with the Board updates on the new sections of the CalABA website, as well as future plans for modernizing the Career Center to provide improved service to our members. In addition, efforts to increase communication and engagement with the membership were shared, including an overview of the transition to MailChimp for news updates, Notes from the Board, and increased use of social media. To share stories and information that may be of interest to our membership, please contact Lisa Stoddard.

• Professional Standards + Liaison Updates - Dr. Linda LeBlanc, the Professional Standards Chair, Dr. Ellie Kazemi, Southern California Liaison, and Dr. Megan Heinicke and Dr. Becky Penrod, Northern California Liaisons, shared the topics and outcomes of the 2016 Science Retreat, which was held on February 25 in Santa Clara. Professors on tenure track at grounded California universities were invited to participate in a day-long retreat to collaborate on issues related to higher education. Topics included student research opportunities and competitions, as well as the development of resources for practice-based research. For more information on the Science Retreat and higher education in California, please reach out to your Liaisons. 

• Open Board Positions - Elections are on the horizon! The following Board positions will be open for the upcoming term. We encourage behavior analysts interested in shaping the future of our field to consider applying. See the Elections page for more information.
  • President Elect
  • Secretary
  • Conference Chair-elect
  • Public Policy
  • Northern California Representative
  • Southern California Representative
  • Professional Organization Liaison

Finally, we are in need of a new Student Representative this year. Professors are asked to please consider nominating those exceptional students who’d like to get involved. 

Our next Board meeting will be held on June 14th, 2016. Please be sure to share any discussion points you’d like considered by the Board at: [email protected]