Arizona ABA – 2025 Annual Report – Inside Behavior Analysis

By Jessica Painter and Hanna Roen

AzABA had a successful 2024 with progress and growth. The organization prioritized several strategic objectives designed to improve internal functioning and external stakeholder engagement. All efforts to these ends were grounded in our mission and values. AZABA’s values form the organizing principle of this report.

Be a community resource: AzABA will strive to present learning opportunities and professional development across a wide variety of interests, and seeks to maintain a pulse on the needs of those it serves.

In 2024, AzABA recorded over 1,000 individual members for the first time, and had 49 member agencies. We proudly offered 45.5 CEU credit hours including our annual conference. We continued to allocate funds to empower all Special Interest Groups and Committees to seek content for AzABA membership and continued efforts to create transparency in speaker fees and to provide generous honorariums to all speakers irrespective of other factors. This aligned with AzABA’s commitment to treating all speakers equitably and captured the spirit of promoting diversity and inclusion. In addition, we increased our honorariums provided to invited conference speakers.

Advance our ability to practice: AzABA will fight for the integrity of behavior analysis in political and legal doings within our state.

Since its founding in 2011, the AzABA has been a national leader in promoting the ethical expansion of the behavior analytic scope. The Public Policy Committee engages in regular stakeholder meetings with representatives from government and state health plans to address barriers to care and preserve the ability to practice transdiagnostically. In 2024, AzABA continued its participation and support of the Behavior Analysis Subcommittee under the Board of Psychologist Examiners. We have also continued to advocate for better efficiencies within our licensing board. In 2024, we increased our communications to members regarding these efforts and invited them to advocate on an individual basis.

Purposeful governance: AzABA commits to process-driven, data-supported decision making and careful financial planning.

The organization maintained a strong financial position, due largely to stable membership, high conference attendance, and sponsorships.

As is the case with any expanding volunteer-run organization, governance is critical. In 2024, a workgroup of board members did an extensive review and revision of our bylaws to better match the needs and functions of the association.

Connection: AzABA works to create a place where the behavior analytic community can come together to connect with each other, other professionals and/or community stakeholders. AzABA values the inclusion of its entire membership and the recognition of every voice.

AzABA continued to connect inside and outside of Arizona. Inside of the state the organization supported Arizona’s Interprofessional Behavioral Health Collaborative which includes all other medical and allied health professional associations in the state to promote interprofessional collaboration. In collaboration with other ABAI affiliates, AzABA continued our commitment to host culturally responsive events.

AzABA established an outreach committee to execute membership recruitment efforts, partnerships and aid our program and marketing committees in fundraising efforts. A goal of this committee is to expand our network to smaller agencies as well as agencies across the state of Arizona, beyond our current majority in the Phoenix metro area.

One of AzABA’s proudest accomplishments was holding the Annual Conference at a hotel for the first time ever. This investment into a hotel property increased connections through larger meeting space, better technology to accommodate our virtual attendees and allowed more time spent together with about a quarter of our attendees staying overnight at the hotel. Held on October 4-5, the conference had a total attendance of 561 participants, both in person and virtually including 53 scholarship recipients.

Integrity of Action: We evaluate all AzABA work through the lens of equity, diversity, and inclusion and ensure our actions represent our values in every objective.

Integrity in Action is a value that was adopted in 2022 in an effort to perpetuate the organization’s legacy with respect to DEI and we have made decisions through that lens ever since. In 2024, our board of directors continued to build greater equity, diversity and inclusion on the board and in membership through evaluation of membership data and beginning an EDI leadership education series.

2024 was very successful year for AzABA. The Board of Directors, staff, members, and volunteers will carry this momentum into 2025 with plans to establish more leadership development practices, increase communications with members and stakeholders and expand our support for the future members of the industry.