Ohio Association for Behavior Analysis

CURRENT OPEN POSITIONS:

Executive Board

President                                              

Committee Chairs

Program Co-Chair                              Marketing & Technology Co-Chair

Please click on the position for a description and please contact current chair of a position you are interested in for additional information.

  

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR A NOMINATION FORM

Deadline to get your nominations in:                        

General Board Service Roles and Responsibilities

Term: Terms vary in length based on the position. Elected positions are 2 years in length. Appointed positions have no expiration.

Estimated Time Commitment:  Times vary in duration based on the position.  Approximately 5-10 hours per month, but possibly up to 20 hours per month immediately prior to and following the annual conference.

1. Participate in Board meetings as scheduled in person.
2. Participate in one committee and attend committee meetings as scheduled.
3. Fulfilling specific responsibilities of board member position.
4. Fulfilling specific responsibilities of committee chairperson position.
5. Attend the annual conference as well as conference events where Board member presence is particularly important, such as the Awards Ceremony, Luncheon, and VIP Reception.

General Overview: 

To advise, govern, oversee policy and direction, and assist with the leadership and general promotion of OHABA so as to support the organization’s mission and needs.

Mission: 

The purpose of OHABA is to promote the science and theory of Behavior Analysis through the support of research, education and practice.

Major Board Member Responsibilities:

1. Organizational leadership and advisement
2. Promotion of the organization
3. Community outreach
4. Oversight of the OHABA conference planning and evaluation
5. Formulation and oversight of policies and procedures
6. Financial management, including adoption and oversight of the annual budget

Expectations of Board Members:

1. Attend and participate in Board meetings in person.
2. Attend and participate in special events.
3. Participate on a standing committee of the board, and serve on ad-hoc committees as necessary.
4. Attend quarterly Board Member meetings.
5. Monitor and manage email no less than on a weekly basis.
6. Be alert to community concerns that can be addressed by OHABA’s mission and objectives.
7. Help communicate and promote OHABA’s mission and annual conference to the community.
8. Become familiar with OHABA’s finances, budget, and financial/resource needs.
9. Understand and comply with the policies and procedures of OHABA, including the confidentiality and conflict of interest policies.
10. In general, utilize personal and professional skills, relationships and knowledge for the advancement of OHABA.

The Current OHABA Board

President:  president@ohaba.org

Jennifer Sweeney, Ph.D., BCBA-D, COBA

Jennifer Sweeney is the Founder and CEO of Solutions Behavioral Consulting. She has over 20 years of experience practicing behavior analysis. Using high-quality Applied Behavior Analysis practices and principles, Dr. Sweeney and her staff provide behavioral consultation services for families with children who have Autism spectrum disorder, and/or other behavioral needs. Dr. Sweeney is the President of the Ohio Association for Behavior Analysis and has served on the Board in various roles since 2011.  She completed her doctorate in 2010 in Special Education with an emphasis in Applied Behavioral Analysis and completed her Masters of Arts in Special Education in 2003 at The Ohio State University. Dr. Sweeney is a Board Certification for Behavior Analysis (BCBA), Certified Ohio Behavior Analyst (COBA) and holds licenses in Special Education-: Grades K-12 and Elementary Education: Grades 1-8. 

Past President: pastpresident@ohaba.org  

Dr. Nikki Powell, Ph-D, BCBA-D, COBA

Dr. Nikki Powell is a licensed psychologist and Board Certified Behavior Analyst – Doctoral (BCBA-D). She found a passion for behavior analysis early on and continued that trajectory throughout her undergraduate and graduate training. Her clinical psychology training focused heavily on cultural diversity and psychotherapeutic interventions, while her clinical work outside of school was almost entirely behavior analytic. Nikki has focused on using behavior analysis to improve access to services for populations that have traditionally been categorized as “too hard to serve.”  She has expertise in the treatment of severe behavior disorders in intellectually and developmentally delayed populations, as well as behavioral stabilization in acute psychiatric populations. Nikki is also passionate about healthcare quality improvement and had the opportunity to be trained in process and system improvement strategies. As a result, Nikki has gravitated towards opportunities to support clinical services by helping support processes and systems using quality improvement and behavior analytic sciences to create effective and efficient care models that allow for best client outcomes. Currently Nikki has sought to diversify her practice again and is enjoying working in the child welfare sector expanding access to behavioral health.

President Elect:  presidentelect@ohaba.org

Janet Hansen, PhD, BCBA-D, COBA

Janet Hansen is a licensed Psychologist, Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral level and Certified Ohio Behavior Analyst.  She has worked in a variety of mental health settings including community mental health, psychiatric inpatient and pediatric inpatient. She has owned a private practice since 2004, specializing in children and developmental disorders including Autism Spectrum Disorders. She provides diagnostic assessments, individual and group treatment, consultation to families and schools for a variety of childhood concerns and disorders. She and the BCBA’s in her office provide home, center and school-based interventions based on Applied Behavior Analysis. Dr. Hansen has been an active member of OHABA since 2010, has served on multiple committees, chaired the Membership committee and served on the executive board as Secretary. She is currently serving on the executive board as the President Elect of OHABA. Dr. Hansen is passionate about bringing the science and research of ABA to the practice of ABA as well as pulling from both psychology and behavior analysis to provide a unique blend of evidence-based interventions to clients.

Secretary: ohaba@ohaba.org

Kim Phan Wolff BCBA, COBA

Kim is originally from Boston, MA where she completed her Master of Science degree in behavior analysis and a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience from Simmons University. She is the Founder and Director of Clinical Services at Wolff & Phan Autism Center (Wolff PAC) in Fairlawn, OH. Her success in the field of behavior analysis has allowed her the opportunity to consult to more than a dozen states within the U.S. and Canada. Kim served on the board for Hawaii Association for Behavior Analysts for three years and as the President in 2017. She is one of the founding board members for a non-profit organization, Together for Our Keiki, which provides advocacy services to parents in the state of Hawaii. Her recent work focus on organizational management and establishing high quality services. Her experiences include consulting in home, vocational, educational, and clinic settings. Kim’s experience extends to adult services: from transitioning and integrating adults into community, providing vocational support, and collaborating with medical professionals to develop desensitization programs such as dental, EKG, and ultrasounds. She has worked with children and adults with Autism spectrum disorder, Down syndrome, and Intellectual Disability with dual diagnosis such as Oppositional defiant disorder, Bipolar, Post-traumatic stress disorder, Traumatic brain injury, Anti- social disorder, and other Mood disorders. Kim now lives in Medina County with her husband, three daughters, and Tucker (black and tan coonhound). When she has the time, she enjoys hiking, reading, yoga, painting, traveling, and attending conferences.

Treasurer: treasurer@ohaba.org

Nikki Williams, BCBA, COBA 

Nikki (Bordner) Williams is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a Certified Ohio Behavior Analyst with over 8 years of experience serving children and adults with Autism and Developmental delays in Ohio. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate in the School Psychology program at The Ohio State University. She is an Instructor at Kent State University, a Clinical Auditor for the Behavioral Health Center of Excellence (BHCOE) and a Supervision Facilitator at Solutions Behavioral Consulting. Prior to her current roles, she worked as a Clinical Director in a center-based program for children with Autism in addition to providing in-home services to adults with autism and other developmental disabilities. In those roles, she utilized a variety of assessment tools (e.g., VB-MAPP, ABLLS-R, AFLS, ADOS-2, and Vineland-2). She served as the Professional Standards Chair for The Ohio Association for Behavior Analysis (OHABA) from 2016-2019 and currently serves on the executive board as the Treasurer for OHABA. Nikki is very passionate about working with young educators, ensuring they have a firm foundation in the science of behavior, theoretical, and philosophical concepts. 

Membership Chair:  membership@ohaba.org 

Brittany Duffy, BCBA, COBA

Brittany Duffy is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Certified Ohio Behavior Analyst, and licensed Intervention Specialist. She graduated from The Ohio State University’s Masters program in ABA in 2014 and earned her Board Certified Behavior Analyst in 2016. She has been working with children with autism and related developmental disabilities since 2005 in a variety of settings. Currently, she is a behavior consultant and RBT Coordinator under Dr. Janet Hansen. She primarily provides consultation to schools for a variety of concerns and disorders. Her interests include collaborating with other professionals and providing evidence-based services to serve her clients and train other professionals.

Program Co-Chair:  programchair@ohaba.org

Education Chair: education@ohaba.org

Dacia McCoy, PhD, BCBA-D, COBA

Dacia McCoy is an Assistant Professor- Educator at the University of Cincinnati in the graduate level Behavior Analysis Programs and provides supervision to students and professionals in the community pursuing becoming Board Certified Behavior Analysts. Since 2006, Dr. McCoy has experience in the education field in a number of different positions including being an elementary school teacher, middle school special education teacher, school psychologist, Board Certified Behavior Analyst at the doctoral level, a Certified Ohio Behavior Analyst, and consultant. She actively serves as the Education Chair for The Ohio Association for Behavior Analysis (OHABA) and in national organizations related to behavior analysis. She has published and presented research to assist in bridging the gap between evidence-based interventions and their application in practice. She also enjoys collaborating with students, teachers, parents, and administrators to develop effective and efficient interventions to support students both academically and behaviorally.

Professional Standards Chair: professionalstandards@ohaba.org

Bryan Droesch, LPC, BCBA, COBA

Bryan Droesch is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Board Certified Behavior Analyst with over 15 years of experience working in a variety of settings (residential, day programs, and schools) and with individuals of all ages. Bryan has a BA degree in Psychology from The Ohio State University, a MSEd from the University of Dayton in Counselor Education, and completed coursework in behavior analysis at The Ohio State University. Currently, he is the Executive Director of Haugland Learning Centers and a doctoral candidate in Leadership Studies in the College of Professional Sciences at Xavier University. He has been involved with OHABA since 2013. He has also served as President-Elect, President, Past President and Seceary

Public Policy Chair:  publicpolicy@ohaba.org

Jen Gonda, BCBA, COBA

Jen Gonda is the Associate Director at Proactive Behavior Services, an agency providing ABA in homes, public, and private schools. Jen has over a decade of experience passionately working in various settings with individuals with moderate to intensive disabilities as a teacher and behavior analyst. She received her Bachelor degree in American Education and Inequality from New York University, a Master's degree in Education in Special Education--Autism and Related Disabilities from Youngstown State University, graduate certificate in ABA from Penn State University, and is working on her doctoral dissertation in special education. Her research interests include functional behavior assessment with children in poverty, policies on the use of restraint and seclusion, and least restrictive settings for children with emotional and behavioral disorders. Jen has presented many times at state and regional conferences due to her excitement regarding behavior analysis and the growth of her clients. Jen enjoys non-profit work, she spearheaded a non-profit, developing community programming for children with disabilities, served on the board of the Autism Society of Ohio, and serves on the strategic planning committee for the Ohio Speech and Debate Association. 

Marketing and Technology Co-Chair:  marketing@ohaba.org

Lee Geer, MS, COBA, BCBA

Lee is a behavior analyst for a public school district in central Ohio. He graduated from Southern Illinois University's Masters program in Behavior Analysis and Therapy. He has been working with children with autism and related developmental disabilities since 2001 in a variety of settings. His interests focus on functional analysis, complex behaviors and parent/caregiver training. 

Student Chair:  student@ohaba.org

Mary Kate Gerrard, M.Ed, BCBA, COBA 

Mary Kate Gerrard is a fourth year doctoral student within the University of Cincinnati's School Psychology Program. Mary Kate received her Masters in the Foundations of Behavior Analysis in 2018 and recently earned her Board Certified Behavior Analyst credential. In addition to her coursework, Mary Kate has had a diverse set of practicum experiences providing services to children and adolescents within both alternative educational and clinical settings. She is also a teaching assistant within UC's Behavior Analysis program and enjoys her role in helping others learn behavior analytic principles and theory.