Sponsored by

The College of Science and Mathematics
The Department of Psychology
The Fresno State ABA Club

Friday, December 1
8:30am - 5:30pm
University Business Center, Peters Building

Conference Focus | Schedule | Presentations | Presenters | CEUs | Directions & Parking | Registration Form

Presenters

Kimberly Berens, Ph.D., BCBA

Center for Advanced Learning, Inc. (Reno, NV)

Dr. Berens is the President, Educational Director, and co-founder of Center for Advanced Learning, Inc., located in Reno, NV.  Dr. Berens has over 10 years of experience in learning science, instruction, curriculum design, classroom management, and teacher training.  Her Tool Skill Fluency programs and Prototype-Construction writing classes consistently produce an average of two years growth in 40 hours of instruction. As a result, she has been hired to provide on-going consultation and teacher-training services to resource teachers in the Washoe County School District    Dr. Berens is also an experienced educational researcher who has published and presented extensively on science-based approaches to education and learning.  Dr. Berens currently serves as an affiliated faculty in the Psychology Department at the University of Nevada- Reno, where she received her doctoral degree in Psychology with a specialization in Behavior Analysis and learning science.     

Emily Branscum, Ph.D., BCBA

Behavior Solutions International, Inc. (Sonora, CA)

Dr. Branscum received her undergraduate (1995) and master (1998) degrees in Psychology from CSU Stanislaus and her PhD (2001) in Developmental Psychology from Florida International University.  She was trained as an applied behavior analyst at CSU Stanislaus under the direction of Dr. Gary Novak. She continued this training at FIU with the guidance of Martha Pelaez-Nogueras. She returned to CSUStan to teach first as a visiting lecturer then as an assistant professor.  In 2004, she resigned her academic position in order to give her full attention to her practice. She continues to teach as an adjunct lecturer when her schedule permits. Dr. Branscum is firmly rooted in the behavioral systems approach to development which focuses on intricate patterns of transactions among a client’s social circle.   In 2004, Dr. Branscum began a practical behavior analysis consulting firm, Behavior Solutions International, in which she and her staff put systems theory to practice by providing behavior interventions to people with developmental disabilities of all ages.  Her areas of interest include parent/sibling training and participation in behavior programming, best practices and ethics in behavior analysis, and spreading the utility of practical behavior analysis to educators and practitioners.

Ronnie Detrich

The Wing Institute (Oakland, CA)

Ronnie Detrich has been providing behavioral services for children and youth since the 1967 in a variety of community settings and in a variety of levels within these systems, ranging from providing direct service for schools, families, and residential settings to more clinical/administrative roles.  He has served as director of a residential and education program for children with autism and as director of a residential/educational program for juvenile offenders.  Ronnie is currently a Senior Fellow at the Wing Institute, an organization with the mission of bringing evidence-based practices to special education.  Prior to that Ronnie was Clinical Director at Spectrum Center for almost 20 years.  While at Spectrum, he also served as co-director of a large public school consulting project.  Ronnie has presented workshops on a wide range of topics including functional assessment of behavior, developing behavior intervention plans, evaluating the quality of autism services, and strategies for improving academic performance for children with ADHD.

Patrick Friman, Ph.D.

Girl’s and Boy’s Town Outpatient Behavioral Pediatrics and Family Services (Omaha, NE)

Dr. Friman, a clinical psychologist, is currently the Director of Girl’s and Boy’s Town Outpatient Behavioral Pediatrics and Family Services. He is the former Director of Clinical Training and Associate Chairman of Psychology at the University of Nevada at Reno. Other previous appointments include faculty positions at the Universities of Nebraska and Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Pediatrics and the John Hopkins School of Medicine in Behavioral Biology. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Kansas and completed his internship and a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Behavioral Pediatrics at the University of Kansas Medical School. He has published more than 150 scientific articles and chapters involving behavioral pediatrics and behavior disorders of childhood. Generally, Dr. Friman’s research addresses the well-child gap between pediatrics and clinical psychology. Dr. Friman is the current editor of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and serves on the Editorial Boards of nine other scientific journals.  He is a fellow in Divisions 25 (behavior analysis) 37 (Child, Youth, and Family Services) and 54 (pediatric psychology) of the American Psychological Association.

Gina Green, Ph.D., BCBA

San Diego State University (San Diego, CA)

Dr. Green received a PhD in Psychology (Analysis of Behavior) from Utah State University in 1986 following undergraduate and master’s degree studies at Michigan State University. She has been a faculty member in Behavior Analysis and Therapy at Southern Illinois University; Director of Research at the New England Center for Children in Southborough, Massachusetts; Associate Scientist at the E.K. Shriver Center for Mental  Retardation  in Waltham, Massachusetts; and Research Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Green is currently in private practice in San Diego as a consultant and is on the faculty at San Diego State University and the University of North Texas. She has authored numerous publications on the treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities and brain injuries, as well as the experimental analysis of behavior. Dr. Green co-edited the books Behavioral Intervention for Young Children with Autism and Making a Difference: Behavioral Intervention for Autism. She serves or has served on the editorial boards of several professional journals in developmental disabilities and behavior analysis. Dr. Green also serves on the Board of Trustees and the Autism Advisory Group of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, the Board of Directors of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, and the advisory boards of several autism programs and organizations. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, former president of the Association for Behavior Analysis,  past president of the California Association for Behavior Analysis, and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Council for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health. Psychology Today named her “Mental Health Professional of the Year” in 2000.  In 2005 she received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from The Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Dr. Green lectures and consults widely on autism and related disorders, behavioral research, and effective interventions for people with disabilities.

Ethan Long, Ph.D., BCBA

The Bay School (Santa Cruz, CA)

Dr. Long is currently the Executive Director of The Bay School, a non-profit organization located in Santa Cruz, California. The Bay School consists of both a year-round nonpublic school program and an intensive early intervention program. The Bay School employs the latest applied behavior analysis treatment and research findings to produce measurable and lasting improvements in the lives of children with autism. Dr. Long has a Ph.D. in child clinical psychology from West Virginia University and he is a board certified behavior analyst. Prior to joining The Bay School, he worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities to help strengthen the nation’s capacity to carry out public health activities in the areas of birth defects, developmental disabilities, and health promotion for people living with disabilities. He has published several journal articles and book chapters on applying behavior analysis to improve outcomes for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

Jason Stricker, M.S., BCBA

University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA)

Jason Stricker is a Fresno State alumnus who is completing his doctoral internship in School Psychology at the Center for Disabilities and Development at the University of Iowa.  Jason received his Masters in Clinical Psychology from North Dakota State University and was the Assistant Chief Behavior Analyst at a developmental center for adults near Memphis, TN prior to pursuing his doctorate at the University of Iowa.  While at Iowa Jason has worked extensively in the biobehavioral and neurobehavioral outpatient clinics serving children with developmental disabilities, Autism, and other genetic syndromes with severe behavior problems.  Jason’s areas of interest include the analysis and treatment of behaviors maintained by automatic reinforcement, concurrent operants assessment procedures, and antecedent interventions to improve student academic performance and social interaction, as well as compliance with medical procedures.

Jonathon Tarbox, Ph.D.

Center for Autism and Related Disorders, Inc. (Tarzana, CA)

Dr. Tarbox is currently the Co-Director of Research and Development at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders. Dr. Tarbox has worked in a variety of positions in the field of behavior analysis, including basic research, applied research, and practical work; with individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities, of all ages, and their families and care providers. He has worked for and in public school districts, private schools, sheltered workshops, group homes, developmental centers, behavioral consultation agencies, hospitals, and community-based recreational programs; in direct service provision, supervision, consultation, and program development and director roles. His early career involved positions at both the New England Center for Children and the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Dr. Tarbox received his PhD in Behavior Analysis from the University of Nevada, Reno, under the mentorship of Dr. Linda J. Parrot Hayes. Throughout his career in autism and behavior analysis, Dr. Tarbox has been actively engaged in research in applied behavior analysis and has published several research articles in peer-reviewed journals as well book chapters in behavioral psychology texts. Dr. Tarbox’s current interests include autism, theory and philosophy of behavior science, verbal behavior, private events, and dissemination of behavior analysis.