Georgia ABA – 2025 Annual Report – Inside Behavior Analysis

By Videsha Marya and Cassy Gayman

Current positions and board members

President: Cassy Gayman, MS, BCBA
President Elect: Videsha Marya, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Co-VPs of Events: Alexis Pavlov, Ph.D., BCBA-D & Meara McMahon, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Co-VPs of Marketing and Communications: Mandi Kaur, MS, BCBA & Jennifer Donnely, M.Ed., BCBA
Co-VP of Membership and Finance: Ashley Carrigan, MS, BCBA & Lyndsey Macri Coffield, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Co-VPs of Student Affairs: Jennifer Austin, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Miguel Ampuero, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Co-VPs of DEI: Kayla Greene, MS, BCBA & Summer Bottini, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Co-VPs of Public: Adam Spencer MA, BCBA & Kristen Vaughn, MA, BCBA

Events

Growing with the Seasons: DEI series
- Speakers (3)
- Noor Syed: Cultivating an Assent-Based Practice: Perspectives and Consideration
- Janani Vaidya: Cultural Shifts Towards an Autistic Supportive University: Collaboration, Learning, and Progress
- Natalia Baires: From Self-awareness to Action: Enhancing Ethical and Culturally Responsive Behavioral Services
Attendees: 19 virtual registrants

Annual Conference

Workshops (2)
- Daniel Conine: The LGBTQ+ Community and ABA: Ethical Issues and Cultural Responsiveness
- Alice Shillingsburg: Assessing and Programing for Generative Language Skills
Invited Presenters (5)
- Amy Gravino: Sexuality and the Spectrum: Lessons on ABA, Dating, and Love, Autism Style
- Valdeep Saini: Why Do Our Dogs Love Us? A Behavior-Analytic Approach to Human-Dog Relationships
- Jeanne Donaldson: What happens when we let students select their intervention experiences?
- Holly Gover: Incorporating Positive Reinforcement Strategies, Choice, and Shaping to Improve Food Selectivity
- Alice Shillingsburg: Emphasizing Therapeutic Rapport in ABA Therapy through Pairing and Instructional Fading
Attendees: 467 total registrants, 417 In person, 50 Online

Future Events:

Georgia ABA (GABA) plans to continue to host our annual Growing with the Seasons DEI series in 2025 with three virtual presentations.
GABA plans to host our 17th annual conference on October 17th and 18th. Speaker line-up is currently being finalized by the GABA board at the writing of this report. Information about this year’s conference can be found on our website in upcoming months: https://www.georgia-aba.org

Public Policy Update

We acted as a liaison between the licensure board and the general GABA membership by attending licensure meetings and disseminating any relevant information.
We met with various state and national organizations (CalABA, CASP, NCABA, ALABA) to learn more about various certifications, mainly QABA, and determine if this certification met the standards of the general GABA membership.
We met with Autism Speaks Public Policy group to determine if we had common interests in the future and how we can work together.
We had multiple meetings with the QABA leadership to gather information on the credential in order to make a statement on whether GABA agreed with the change in licensure law or not.
Testified at the House Committee hearing against changing of the Georgia Licensure Bill to allow QABA to be codified into law as a certifying body as well as adding an additional two board seats – we were successful in getting that stopped.
A general meeting was held as a refresher to the general GABA membership on the importance of licensure and any new updates.

Mentorship Program: Our DEI sub-committee introduced a mentorship program in 2024 in which 13 mentees applied and 21 mentors applied. From these applications, 5 mentor/mentee matches were made.