The field of applied behavior analysis is experiencing a generational leadership transition. Professionals who entered the field when it was a small academic discipline are transitioning from active practice, while a new generation of BCBAs — many of whom have come up through rapidly growing autism services organizations — are moving into supervisory and leadership roles earlier in their careers than their predecessors did.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Women in Behavior Analysis
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Join Free →WIBA's 2020 theme is "A Seat at the Table," inspired by the Shirley Chisholm quote, "If they don't give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair." From the front of room: Forty years of leadership lessons to gaining the seat and leading the table. In the field of Applied Behavior Analysis a new generation of young leaders are developing programs, businesses and increasingly moving into supervisory and leadership roles earlier than ever in their careers. As a Behavior Analyst the further up you move up into Leadership roles you encounter many critical skill needs that are too often not fully associated with Behavior Analytic Training. Yet there are traits associated with Female Leadership in areas of professional development to consider (Forbes 2017). As women seek more professional development there continues to be a glass ceiling for many reaching the highest level Leadership roles (Gerdeman, Harvard Business School 2019). Even with progress women continue to underrepresented in CEO positions, in 2019 women continued to only represent 6.6% of Fortune 500 companies (Fortune 2019). In 2007, Aubrey and Daniels emphasized the role of quality management in sustaining the durability of a Leaders vision. In order to gain a seat at the table all Leaders must bring highly skilled strategy and vision. This talk will talk about skills and some possible steps to help get you there. Objectives: Learn the importance of an OBM system leadership approach to organizational performance. Understanding why workforce development is a critical component of Leadership and any growth strategy. Understanding the planning and development of workplace culture and its impact on leadership opportunity and critical organizational outcomes. Understanding and measuring the details and performance of an organization are critical to authentic leadership. Review strategies for developing effective communication and decision making as a female in the leadership role while driving organizational success.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1 | Supervision |
Rita M. Gardner is the President and CEO of Melmark, and leads operations and management of Melmark service divisions in New England, Pennsylvania, and the Carolinas. Prior to her appointment as President and CEO in 2015, Ms. Gardner served as Executive Director of Melmark New England, based in Andover, Massachusetts, which she co-founded in 1998. She also founded Melmark Carolinas in 2018 and a second New England day school in 2022. Ms. Gardner and Melmark New England were honored to be named on The Women’s Edge’s list of the Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts for five consecutive years from 2018 to 2024. Ms. Gardner was honored with the CBIZ National Women Transforming Business Financial Strength Award, as well as the CBIZ Overall Winner Award, in 2022. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst® (BCBA), a trained public health professional, and has devoted over 40 years of her professional career to the field of community-based services for children and adults with the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), intellectual and developmental disabilities, acquired brain injuries, severe challenging behaviors, and medical fragility.Ms. Gardner is an accomplished and persistent legislative advocate. Her public policy work has positively impacted services for individuals diagnosed with autism and developmental disabilities throughout the United States. She advocates for professional behavior analysts, being one of the citizen writers of the Massachusetts Behavior Analyst licensing legislation. Ms. Gardner also serves on advisory committees with the Massachusetts Advocates for Children (MAC) and Advocates for Autism of Massachusetts (AFAM). She is a founding Board member of the National Council of Autism Providers (CASP) and is currently serving as chair. Ms. Gardner also serves on the Advisory Board of the Virginia Institute of Autism. She was on the Governor’s Autism Commission under two Governors in Massachusetts and is the past President of the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Association of Approved Private School (MAAPS). Ms. Gardner also serves on the Pennsylvania Advocacy and Resources for Autism and Intellectual Disability Board of Directors.Ms. Gardner has co-authored numerous books, written book chapters and peer-reviewed articles for professional journals, and made a number of presentations on topics including women’s leadership, women in behavior analysis, program expansion, organizational behavior management, special education, adult services, board development, and more recently managing programs during the COVID-19 pandemic and leading COVID-19 vaccine education program town halls at local, regional and national levels. She is considered an Organizational Behavior Management expert in applied human service settings.Ms. Gardner earned her Master of Public Health degree from Boston University’s School of Public Health in the School of Medicine, majoring in Behavioral Sciences and Health Services Administration.
Dig into the research behind this topic — plain-English summaries written for BCBAs.
280 research articles with practitioner takeaways
252 research articles with practitioner takeaways
239 research articles with practitioner takeaways
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.