Panel Discussion:
Developing Credentialling Systems Post-BACB: Successes, Obstacles, and Lessons Learned
Panel Chair: Dr. Aoife Mc Tiernan, C.Psychol., Ps.S.I., BCBA-D (President EABA)
Dr. Aoife Mc Tiernan is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst – Doctoral and Chartered Psychologist. She is the President of the European Association for Behaviour Analysis, current Director of the MSc and PhD in ABA at the National University of Ireland, Galway, and has fifteen years of experience working in educational settings and disability services. Dr. Mc Tiernan’s primary interest is in the dissemination and integration of behaviour analytic and evidence-based approaches into educational settings. She has a special interest in Precision Teaching and accelerating learning for students at risk and in areas of socio-economic disadvantage, and has a number of publications in this area, including large group studies conducted in educational settings.
Professor Jenn Austin, BCBA-D (UK-SBA Chair)
Dr. Jennifer L. Austin has worked as a behaviour analyst for over 20 years. Her research and clinical interests have focused primarily on behavior analytic applications in mainstream education, as well as applying our science to populations that are relatively underserved by the field, including children who have experienced trauma and prisoners. Dr. Austin received her Ph.D. from the Florida State University and currently serves as Professor of Psychology and Head of Behavior Analysis at the University of South Wales. In 2020, she received a SABA award for her contributions to the international development of behavior analysis. She is Past-President and Chair of the UK Society for Behaviour Analysis and a former Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Behavior Analysis in Practice.
Helene Abdelnour, MBA, MSc, BCBA (Organisation Nationale des Professions de l’Analyse du Comportement)
Helene has been working in the field of medical communication for over 15 years when, following the diagnosis of her daughter, she started a Master in ABA to finally get her certification. She used her passion for ABA as well as the one for e-learning to create the first and only VCS Online and Made in France. She has been the initiator of the consensus on the french terminology in ABA as well as the translation and publishing of many pillar books in ABA. Her drive has always been to have more properly trained professional to help all the kids in need.
Dr. Neil Martin (Director of International Development, BACB)
Dr. Martin has been working as a behaviour analyst (as a clinician, academic, supervisor and researcher), since 1990. He received his PhD from the University of Reading (UK) in 1998 and became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) in 2002. He was among the first handful of BCBAs in the UK and he was one of the ‘ABA Lecturer’s Co-operative’ that developed the first BACB-approved course sequence in the UK, and the first outside the US.
After working within academia at the University of Kent, Dr. Martin worked independently for many years teaching on a number of BCBA/BCaBA course sequences and helping to establish others around the world, supervising students and consulting to numerous organisations and families both in the UK and internationally.
Dr. Martin has published research in journals such as the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, The Behavior Analyst, Research in Developmental Disabilities and the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, and he has special interests in the use of technology, media and software related to teaching and research.
In April 2015 Dr. Martin became the BACB’s Director of International Development to help advance the BACB’s global mission and vision and to expand the number of behavior analysts and training courses worldwide. He lives in London.
Dr. Berglind Sveinbjörnsdóttir, BCBA-D (Icelandic association of Behavior Analysis (ICEABA)
Dr. Sveinbjörnsdóttir received her PhD in behavior analysis from Western New England University. While completing her PhD, she worked at the New England Center for Children as a program specialist. She is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology at Reykjavik University (RU) and the director of the MSc program in Applied Behavior Analysis at RU. In addition, Berglind has a part-time position at Landspitali-The National University Hospital of Iceland and is a member of the professional council for Heilabrot, a rehabilitation center for individuals with acquired brain injury and challenging behavior. Her primary research focus is mainly in the area of problem behavior, sleep, pre-school life skills, and virtual reality. She also specializes in consultation regarding assessment and treatment of challenging behavior. Berglind has served as guest reviewer for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Research in Developmental Disabilities and is currently the president of the Icelandic association of Behavior Analysis (ICEABA).