In Episode 149, Ben chats with Dr. Shahad Alsharif, a board-certified behaviour analyst and CABAS Master Teacher. Dr. Alsharif consults with organizations that offer applied behavior analysis therapy to develop their services and train their professionals inside and outside of Saudi Arabia.  She consults with government entities, such as the Ministry of Education and the Saudi Health Council on developing initiatives and regulatory guides for the rights of individuals with developmental...

In  Episode 148,  Ben chats with Deb Fernando, who is quite possibly the only Indigenous behaviour analyst in all of Australia.  Deb is a proud Bigambul, Gomeroi woman with strong connections to far northwest NSW within the Gamilaraay language nation. She has 30 years’ experience working with First Nations communities throughout Australia, including urban, rural, and remote locations.   Deb started her career as a chef, then worked in government organisation troubleshooting major problems in...

In Episode 147, Ben chats with Dr. Jaxcy Odom.,  a Board Certified Behavior Analyst - Doctoral Level from the Chickasaw Nation based in New Mexico.  Dr. Odom works at the University of New Mexico's Sandoval Medical Center where she provides behavioral support services to patients and staff.  The conversation starts with a discussion on diagnosing autism and systems of diagnosis. Dr. Odom talks about her work with the Navajo Nation, autism acceptance in Native American communities, and...

In Episode 146, Ben chats with Hilary Amado, an American behaviour analyst living with her psychoanalyst Brazillian husband in Brasil.  The conversation starts with a little brevity as Hilary shares some of the interesting conversations she and her husband have about caring for their children as behavior analysis and psychoanalysis philosophies collide.  As a founding professional advisory board member of the International Behavior Analysis Organization (IBAO), Hilary has a wealth of...

In Episode 145, Ben chats with Alia Yasir. Alia is a highly experienced and dedicated Board Certified Associate Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) and International Behavior Analyst with a career spanning over 17 years. She completed her coursework in Applied Behavior Analysis from the University of West Florida. Her expertise is further solidified by her completion of extensive training in Verbal Behavior (VB), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC),...

In Episode 144, I chat with the brilliant Dr. Pranali Hoyle, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral Level who studies the effects of mindfulness on parent-child interactions. We dig deep into the origins of mindfulness and meditation from Pranali's early days growing up in India where, as a practicing Hindu, she learned from Buddhist teachings on mindfulness to her current context in New Jersey studying the works of Jon Kabat-Zinn and Dr. Nirbhay Singh. So grab your bolster or blanket,...

In Episode 143, we continue the conversation that started in Episode 95 with Claire Zuch on Relational Density Theory.  In Claire's episode, we dug deep into RDT and looked at ableism using this fascinating new theory.  In this conversation with Claire's co-authors and colleagues, Elana Sickman digs into gender stereotyping using RDT as a framework of analysis.  This is a fascinating conversation with far-reaching implications for addressing important problems in the world!  Continuing...

For the inaugural Black Women in Behavior Analysis Appreciation Day (Feb 21st!) I'm humbled to share episode 142 with the amazing Portia James!  Portia is a visionary, a powerhouse of a leader, and a pioneer for people of color in her field. She shares bold perspectives on the lack of representation for black leadership in the workplace and how it impacts decision-making and strategic execution at the executive level. She is one of the few Behavior Analysts featured in both Forbes and Harvard...

Dr. Williams is an Associate Professor at Marist College.   She is also a Licensed Psychologist and Certified School Psychologist in New York State. Dr. Williams mentors students and early-career faculty of color through the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) mentoring program. A practitioner-scholar, Dr. Williams’ years of working with groups of K-12 at-risk learners in both urban and rural communities have given her clear insights into the frustrations, challenges, and joys...

In Episode 140,  Ben chats with clinical psychologist,  Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka, who has combined her passion for hairstyling with psychology to create a new global mental health movement called PsychoHairapy using hair as an entry point into mental health care.   Continuing Education Units (CEUs): https://cbiconsultants.com/shop BACB: 1.0 Learning  IBAO: 1.0 Cultural QABA: 1.0...

In Episode 139, Ben chats with the brilliant and wonderful Sawsan Razzouk, a Lebanese behavior analyst who elegantly melds applied behavior analysis, acceptance and commitment training, and eye movement desensitization reprocessing therapy to address the effects of war. Sawson has experienced the trauma of war from the time she lay in her mother's womb as they fled wartime Liberia in the late 80s.  Now working to support families in the West Bank, refugees escaping to Lebanon, and therapists...

In Episode 138, Ben chats with Dr. Aaron Rachelle Campbell, an Assistant Professor of Special Education in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Missouri. Dr. Campbell’s research involves equitable intervention delivery within a multi-tiered behavior support framework focused on preventative strategies for improving student academic, social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes, particularly in culturally and linguistically diverse learners and those students being...

In Episode 137  Ben talks with Dr. Kat Monlux, a behavior analyst and Associate Professor at Oslo Metropolitan University whose primary areas of study include infants at risk of developmental disorders and behavior-analytic interventions for individuals with Fragile X Syndrome.  In this episode, Ben and Kat dive deep into her research in both areas.    Continuing Education Units (CEUs): https://cbiconsultants.com/shop BACB: 1.5 Learning  IBAO: 1.5 Learning QABA: 1.5 General Links: Loukia...

In Episode 136  Ben talks with Dr. Sonia Levy, A Black, Jewish behaviour analyst and lead author on a seminal article in behaviour analysis entitled: A Look In The Mirror: How the Field of Behavior Analysis Can Become Antiracist. This article was written not long after the brutal murder of George Floyd by police in 2020 and the beginning of a new social justice movement that captured the minds and hearts of people all over the world.  Many behavior analysts, behavior analytic companies,...

In Episode 135, Ben talks with Arturo Garcia, a doctoral candidate at the University of South Florida in collaboration with USF's Trafficking in Persons Risk To Resilience Lab researching interventions for youth at risk for human trafficking.     Continuing Education Units (CEUs): https://cbiconsultants.com/shop BACB: 1.0 Learning  IBAO: 1.0 Learning QABA: 1.0  General Contact: Arturo Garcia [email protected] Links: Trafficking in Persons Risk To Resilence...

In this episode, Ben talks to Dr. Samantha-Rae. Dr. Samantha "Dr. Sam" Rae, a Black Autistic woman and CEO of DSRD Consulting, brings a unique lens to DEI, merging her personal experiences with professional expertise. Creator of the app DEI Offload™ and SaaS tool DEI Blueprint® and a sought-after speaker, her strategies have transformed organizations like Goodwill and Save the Children. Collaborating with industry giants like AWS and Meta, her influence resonates globally. Continuing...

In Episode 133, Ben chats with brother and sister behaviour analysts and researchers, Drs. Joe and Traci Cihon.  From their early years growing up in a blended family to working nights at the local watering hole the Cihons shared their origin stories of how they found behavior analysis, the directions they chose to go, and the many interactions with each other and many, many great behaviour analysts along the way including Shahla Alai-Rosdales, Nancy Neef, Justin Leaf, Mary Jane Weiss, Jesus...

In Episode 132,  Ben chats with Rachelle Gladue co-founder of the Tawâw Outreach Collective located in Amiskwacîwâskahikan n Treaty 6 Territory - ᐊᒥᐢᑿᒌᐚᐢᑲᐦᐃᑲ also known by it's settler name as Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are an Indigenous-led, grassroots harm reduction organization providing community street outreach and offering community-level, public and private training and educational workshops. Tawâw promotes Indigenous Harm Reduction, De-Stigmatizing Substance Use, Indigenous...

In Episode 131, Ben chats with Jared Van, a Ph.D student at Penn State University studying under precision teaching legend Dr. Rick Kubina. This episode is all about precision teaching through the lens of abolitionist behaviour science!   Continuing Education Units (CEUs): https://cbiconsultants.com/shop BACB: 1.5 Learning  IBAO: 1.5 Cultural QABA: 1.5  DEI Contact: Jared...

In Episode 130, Ben chats with Jordyn Burleson. Jordyn is an Enrolled Member of the Tonowanda band of Senecas and a registered behavior technician (RBT).  Working under the supervision of Valerie Clack aka, the Lakota BCBA, Jordyn shares how she fell in love with behaviour analysis and the gratitude of having an Indigenous behaviour analyst as a mentor.  We also learn about the Tonowanda Band of Senecas and Jordyn's relationship to that community.     Continuing Education Units...

Meet the Sista Scholars!  They are counselors and educational leaders who believe in community and utilizing their collective village to engage in social justice work. Drs. Sarah Brant-Rajahn, Eva M. Gibson, and Mariama Cook Sandifer are accomplished counselor educators dedicated to advancing the field. Dr. Brant-Rajahn, an Assistant Professor at Messiah University, draws on 7 years of experience as a school counselor in Georgia, contributing to research on school racial climate...

In Episode 128, Ben chats with Tori Williams Douglass, the creator behind White Homework, a platform for teaching people about anti-racism and social justice through the lens of behavioral neuroscience.   Join Tori and Ben as they dig into Tori's origins in Portland Oregon with its eerie similarities to Canada regarding outsider misperceptions of racism.  With a deep dive into  concepts like performative allyship, reparations, and medical racism, this episode will leave you with lots of...

Episode 127 is a conversation with Dr. Han Ren.  Dr. Ren (she/they) is a licensed clinical and school psychologist, consultant, speaker, and educator. She is deeply rooted in liberation and anti-oppressive work, practicing from a justice-oriented, interpersonal, culturally humble, and systems-informed framework. Through their widely viewed content on social media, they strive to make mental health accessible and applicable to our daily lives. In this conversation Ben and Han dive deep into...

Episode 126 is a long-awaited conversation with the incredible Dr. Natalie Williams Awodeha.  Dr. Natalie's research and practice dig deep into the prevention and healing of trauma across multiple populations and contexts. She shares her experiences with trauma and the path of integrated behavioral health care that has helped her heal.     Continuing Education Units (CEUs): https://cbiconsultants.com/shop BACB: 1.5 Learning  IBAO: 1.5 Cultural QABA: 1.5 ...