Behavior Analysis Association of Mississippi

By Stephanie Mattson

Mission and History
The Behavior Analysis Association of Mississippi (BAAMS) is a non-profit corporation under the laws of the State of Mississippi, promoting ABAI’s mission to contribute to the well-being of society by developing, enhancing, and supporting the growth and vitality of the science of behavior analysis through research, education, and practice. Our mission is to promote and support the practice, research, education, and dissemination of behavior analysis throughout the state of Mississippi. BAAMS serves as a scientific and professional reference group for all in the State of Mississippi who identify themselves as scientists or practitioners in disciplines which embrace the principles and practices of behavior analysis. BAAMS works to identify and promote the use of effective, humane, and ethical behavioral procedures in meeting the educational and habilitative needs of persons that are typically developing and persons with developmental disabilities within the State of Mississippi. Additionally, BAAMS advises political, legislative, and policy-making bodies with respect to all matters pertaining to behavior analysis in the State of Mississippi and organizes and sponsors an Annual Convention, which serves as a forum for presentation of scientific progress, technological advancements, and clinical practice, as well as discussion of the affairs of the organization. BAAMS was founded on February 7, 2015 and became an affiliate state chapter of ABAI in 2015.

Officers
BAAMS is governed by an Executive Committee comprised of a president, past president, president-elect, treasurer, secretary, ABAI & APBA Representatives, the ad hoc student representative, and four members of the duly designated regions of the State.

President: Garret Yeager, BCBA, LBA
Past President: Hallie Smith, Ph.D., BCBA-D
President Elect: Kayla Bates-Brantley, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Treasurer: Robyn Brewer, BCBA, LBA
Secretary: Hailey Ripple, Ph.D., BCBA-D
ABAI Representative: Stephanie Mattson, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA
APBA Representative: Kayla Crook, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Region I Representative: Anna Claire Waldrup, BCBA, LBA
Region II Representative: Mary Autlman Weldon, BCBA, LBA
Region III Representative: Amanda Kirck, BCBA, LBA
Region IV Representative: Greg Standford, BCBA, LBA
Student Representative: Ryleigh Sampey

Elections for all officers and representatives are conducted near the Annual BAAMS Conference each year, which occurs annually in November. Present, past president, president-elect and student representative serve terms lasting January-December for each year. Treasurer and sectary serve 2-year terms. ABAI, APBA 3 and region representative serve 3-year terms.

BAAMS currently has 77 active full members with 112 student members. Member meetings occurred as part of the annual meeting held at the BAAMS conference on October 26th and 27th, 2023.

Meeting Activity
The 2023 Annual BAAMS Conference took place in-person at The Mill in Starkville, MS on October 26th and 27th. Conference attendees could acquire 6 general CEUs, 2 supervision CEUs, 1 Ethics CEU, and 1 CEU in DEI for a total of 10 CEUs available. With 206 participants; speakers included:

Jolin Jackson, MS, BCBA (Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network for the Autism Initiative)—Social Skills
Linda LeBlanc, PhD, BCBA-D, LP (LeBlanc Behavioral Consulting)—Supervision Practices and Perspective Taking
Jordan Belisle, PhD, BCBA (Missouri State University)—Relational Frame Theory and ACT for Behavior Analysts
Colin Muething, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LP (Emory University School of Medicine, Marcus Autism Center.)—Considerations for Relapse when Treating Behaviors Targeted for Reduction
Elissa Johnson, BCBA (Elissa Johnson Consulting)—ABA in Schools: Perspectives and Lessons Learned
Elizabeth Hughes Fong, PhD, BCBA (Pepperdine University)—Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: An Update from ABAI
Aaron Fischer, PhD, BCBA-D, LP (University of Utah)—Best Practices for Supporting Parents and Caregivers
Zachary LaBrot, PHD, LP (University of Southern Mississippi)—Navigating Sweet Dreams: Assessing Four Key Sleep Areas and Tailoring Interventions for Children
Student Research Symposium

The 2024 BAAMS Conference is currently scheduled for October 24th and 25th and will be held at the Riley Center in Meridian, MS.

Other Activity
The BAAMS Executive Committee for 2022/2023 made it a priority to further clarify the primary mission and direction of the organization by drafting and finalizing a diversity statement to highlight the organization’s commitment to inclusive practice.
The BAAMS Executive Committee for the 2022/2023 year also made it a priority to set goals and objectives that would be prioritized for the organization within the year. A progress report across our five goals and supporting objectives can be found below:

Goal 1: Increase membership of full members by 10% across the calendar year. Comparison points will be enrollment on December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2023.
Goal 1 Met: Membership increased from 70 to 77 active full members.

Objective 1: Increase social media posting to twice per week and maintain frequency across the calendar year.
Objective Met: BAAMS organization posted twice per week and maintained frequency of postings across the calendar year.
Objective 2: Send targeted emails to LBAs across the state who are not current members of BAAMS to encourage participation

Progress Towards Objective: BAAMS organization will send targeted emails to LBAs who are not current members of BAAMS by December 2023.
Objective 3: Send Qualtrics survey to current members to collect data on current level of commitment to BAAMS and solicit feedback and ideas for what they would like to see BAAMS provide/offer members.
Progress Towards Objective: BAAMS organization will send Qualtrics survey to current BAAMS members by December 2023.

Goal 2: Solidify the BAAMS organization’s
commitment to providing culturally responsive care by drafting and adopting an official Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
Goal Met: Diversity statement developed and voted as the official Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement for the BAAMS organization.

Objective 1: Draft a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement and review with the Executive Council Team
Objective Met: Statement drafted and reviewed by the Executive Council in May 2023

Objective 2: Send out the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement to BAAMS full members for a vote to include it as the organization’s official statement
Objective Met: Vote passed and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement became the organization’s official statement in beginning Fall 2023.

Goal 3: Increase member involvement throughout the year instead of just conference attendance.
Objective 1: Each region will host two meet-ups during the course of the calendar year (outside of the meet-up to take place at the annual conference). One meet-up should take place in March and the second should take place in July. Data on attendance will be taken at both meet-ups.

Region 1: Scheduled and attempted to host one meet-up event
Progress Towards Objective: BAAMS Executive Council discussed strategies for increasing interest in region events including incorporating additional opportunities for meet-ups at the annual conference and virtual options.

Objective 2: Host one virtual CEU event outside of the annual conference. Progress Towards Objective: BAAMS organization hosted one in-person CEU event outside of the annual conference and has a virtual CEU event scheduled for March 22nd, 2024. The organization is currently advertising for the event.

Goal 4: Complete new website renovation and change systems/platforms for membership enrollment and conference registration.
Goal Met: Website is functional and BAAMS is making minor tweaks and changes

Objective 1: Continue to provide Montana Banana with information and feedback per their request
Objective Met: Completed throughout the year

Goal 5: Increase conference attendance by 10%.
Progress Towards Goal: Met all objectives and increased conference attendance by 2%

Objective 1: Send targeted emails to members starting three months leading up to the conference and send one monthly leading up to the conference.
Objective Met: BAAMS sent targeted emails starting 3 months leading up to the conference.

Objective 2: Maintain current number of sponsors, speakers, and CEU’s offered from the 2022 conference.
Objective Met: BAAMS offered the same number of sponsors, speakers, and CEUs during the 2023 conference

Objective 3: Develop a conference planning committee in March 2023 of EC members, or members at large who may be interested in planning and execution of conference-related tasks.
Objective Met: Conference planning committee successfully planned and executed conference-related tasks for the 2023 conference.

Contact Information
Stephanie Mattson: slm1090@msstate.edu
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BAAMS15/
Twitter: twitter.com/baamsinfo