North Carolina ABA – 2025 Chapter Update

By Sarah Pope and Haja Jallow

The North Carolina Association for Behavior Analysis (NCABA) held its 36th annual conference in person from February 19 – February 21, 2025. The conference was a great success thanks to the leadership of Haja Jallow (Caring Hearts Behavioral Services LLC), as well as the rest of our Executive Council including Nina Deese, Past President (Easter Seals PORT Health); Jacqueline Hamilton, President Elect (Easter Seals PORT Health); Tosha Owens, Vice President (East Carolina University); Han-Leong Goh (Cross River Therapy); Nancy Poteet, Treasurer (Private Consultant); Lauren Broadwell, Member-at-Large (Kind Behavioral Health); Amanda Randall, Member-at-Large (Aces for Autism); Kayla Terhune, Student Representative (Wabash Center); Jamie Clary, Publications Editor (Riddle Developmental Center); Fred Spooner, Senior NCABA Advisor (University of North Carolina Charlotte); Leigh Ann Strain, NCABA Advisor (MySpot); Duke Schell, Senior NCABA Advisor (Riddle Developmental Center); Ruth Hurst, NC Psychological Association (Murdoch Developmental Center); Sarah Pope, Liaison to ABAI and ACE Coordinator (Mosaic Pediatric Therapy); and a host of other NCABA Volunteers.

The conference included a variety of invited speakers, workshops, and concurrent events with presenters from across the state and country present to present on a variety of topics in addition to the Welcome and Award Presentation, the Annual Business Meeting, poster presentation and a student symposium. The first day of the conference began with workshops on Soft Skills, Hard Truths: Mastering the Art of Avoiding Eye Rolls (Charity Floyd, M.S., BCBA) and Identifying and Overcoming Implicit Bias: Creating an Ethical Intersectional Feminist Framework (Gabriella Barrientos, Ph.D, MAE, BCBA, CDE, LBA, IBA, CSSC).

These workshops were then followed by invited presentations focusing on the following topics:

Supporting Your Supervisors: How Continuous Learning Drives Clinical (Callie Plattner PhD., LPA, BCBA-D
Integrating ACT into Parent Education: A Guide for BCBAs (Oascha Hightower BCBA, COBA)

The second day of our conference began with seven concurrent presentations. These presentations were then followed by invited presentations focusing on the following topics:

An Ethical Imperative: Bridging the Empathy gap Between ABA Services Providers and Autistic Individual (Selene Johnson, M.Ed., LBA, BCBA)
Exploration of the Use of Artificial Intelligence, Physiological Sensors, and Novel Technologies in Behavioral Prediction (Richard Lamb, Ph.D.)
Talk Less, Smile More: The Role of Coaching Conversations in Habit Development (Nic Weatherly, Ph.D., BCBA-D)
Life Beyond ABA. What’s next? (Janice Crawford-Williams Ed.D, BCBA, LBA)

The third day of our conference began with invited presentations covering the following topics:

Ethics in Sexual Behavior Analysis (Rachel Benson, M.Ed., BCBA, LBA, CSE, CBS 1 ETH CE)
Using applied behavior analysis to shape gender affirming environments for transgender and autistic minors (Gabriella Barrientos Ph.D, MAE, BCBA, CDE, LBA, IBA, CSSC)
The Art of RBT Supervision: Helping Them Thrive (and Not Just Survive) (Charity Flloyd, M. S., BCBA)

These invited presentations were followed by workshops on Shifting the Balance of Performance using the Deliberate Shift Tool (Nic Weatherly, Ph.D., BCBA-D) and Balancing Mind and Body: Integrating Acceptance and Commitment Training and Yoga to Reduce Burnout in BCBAs (Oascha Hightower BCBA, COBA).

Our speakers did an outstanding job of delivering meaningful and important content to our attendees. This year, NCABA was able to offer both NCPA and BACB continuing education credits, including supervision and ethics credits. Up to 16 BACB credits were available to participants (inclusive of seven ethics credits and nine supervision credits) as well as up to 17 NCPA credits.

A total of 722 registrants participated in the 2025 conference. This was an increase of 64 additional participants than our 2024 conference which included 658 registrants. NCABA was thrilled with the high level of participation and attendance.

At the opening of the conference, Haja Jallow welcomed all participants. Awards were given to several very deserving individuals during the opening remarks. Nickyla Silver (Kind Behavioral Health) received the Technical Utilization Award, and Alicia Ringgold (East Carolina University) received the Student Scholarship Award.

The NCABA Student Representative, Kayla Terhune (Wabash Center), organized an excellent student symposium for this year’s conference, including presentations by Thai Williams (University of North Carolina Charlotte), Cheri Rubio (University of North Carolina Charlotte), and Amanda Rissmeyer (University of North Carolina Wilmington).

We hosted a poster presentation with the following posters winning in their respective categories:

Undergraduate Winner – Lane Williams: Expansion of the Operant Class: A Comparison Study of Functional Communication Training Approaches to Investigate Resurgence Mitigation

Graduate Winner – Amanda Rissmeyer, MA, BCBA, LBA: Expansion of the Operant Class: A Comparison Study of Functional Communication Training Approaches to Investigate Resurgence Mitigation

Professional Winner – Alexandria Espil, M.S., RBT: Effect of Peer-Led Intervention on BT Natural Environment Training Job Skills

This year’s annual business meeting was well attended. The Board welcomes Lauren Broadwell (Kind Behavioral Health) in the position of Vice President, Amanda Moralez (Mosaic Pediatric Therapy) in the position of Member at Large, and Alexis Taylor (Mosaic Pediatric Therapy) in the position of Student Representative. Nancy Poteet (Private Consultant) was re-elected for the position of Treasurer.

Deserving a special thank you and acknowledgement are Jamie Clary, Ruth Hurst, Fred Spooner, Duke Schell, and Sarah Pope who serve non-voting but essential functions for the NCABA Board. Jamie Clary serves as our NCABA Web & Publication Editor, Ruth Hurst serves as our liaison to NCPA, Sarah Pope serves as our ABAI liaison and ACE Coordinator, and Fred Spooner and Duke Schell serve as Senior NCABA Board Advisors. We want to sincerely thank out-going board members Nina Deese (Past President) and Lauren Broadwell (Member at Large) for all they have done to support and advance NCABA during their terms.

Please visit our website at www.nc-aba.com and see additional information regarding past events, upcoming opportunities, and to find information on becoming an NCABA member. The NCABA website also provides information about our history since 1989, links to newsletters, and information about the conference and upcoming events, including our NCABA summer Autism conference and planning for our 37th annual conference to be held next February 18 – 20, 2026 in Winston Salem, NC.

On behalf of the 2025 NCABA Executive Council,

Sarah Pope & Haja Jallow