May Institute is proud to highlight prominent women in our field while also addressing the importance of gender equity and diversity. This conference will highlight recent trends in the field of behavior analysis, mentorship, leadership, and cultural humility.
The conference will highlight the work of Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi, Stephanie Peterson, Susan Wilczynski, and Patricia Wright. We look forward to hearing from these national leaders.
Register at the bottom of this page.
Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi, Ph.D., BCBA-D
CEO & Founder of ULEZI, LLC, and Co-Founder of Pivot 2 Inclusion
Nasiah is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with a Doctorate in Education from Loyola University of Chicago. She holds a Master's degree in Special Education from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Master's degree in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education. She is a graduate of the Infant Studies Specialist program at Erikson Institute of Chicago. In addition to her BCBA credential, she is an Illinois licensed special education teacher and an Illinois Early Intervention provider and State evaluator. Professionally, she has served as a special educator, clinician, educational administrator, and professor of special education. Her clinical experience spans infancy through adulthood.
Currently, she is the CEO & Founder of ULEZI, LLC and serves as a court-appointed special advocate for children in the Illinois foster care system. She is a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion and is deeply committed to using her skills and experiences, paired with the science of applied behavior analysis, to assist, uplift, and transform the lives of the people she supports and serves in positive and meaningful ways.
Stephanie M. Peterson, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Michigan University
Stephanie M. Peterson, Ph.D., BCBA-D, is Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Western Michigan University. She earned her doctorate in Special Education at The University of Iowa in 1994. She is also Professor of Psychology and the previous chair of the Department of Psychology. Previously, she taught at Gonzaga University, Utah State University, The Ohio State University, and Idaho State University.
Her primary research interests are helping to decrease chronic severe behavior problems in children with developmental disabilities. Specifically, she studies choice making in the treatment of problem behavior, functional communication training, reinforcement-based interventions for children with problem behavior, concurrent schedules of reinforcement in the treatment of severe problem behavior, functional analysis of problem behavior, and teleconsultation. She also has interests in applications of behavior analysis to educational interventions and teacher/behavior analyst training. She has served on a variety of editorial boards, including the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Behavior Analysis in Practice and is currently the editor of Behavior Analysis in Practice. She also served as a Senior Editor for Education and Treatment of Children for many years. She served two 3-year terms on the Board of Directors for the Behavior Analyst Certification Board and has been appointed by the Governor of Michigan to the Michigan Board of Behavior Analysts, Michigan’s licensing board for behavior analysts. She served as the President of the Board for two years.
Patricia Wright, Ph.D., MPH, BCBA-D
Senior Vice President of Program Development, NEXT for AUTISM, New York, NY
Dr. Patricia Wright's commitment to ensuring all individuals with autism have access to effective services and supports has guided her work over the past 30 years, from her earliest responsibilities as a special educator to state and national-level program management. Specific examples of her advocacy include the management in the design of a statewide system of support for children with autism for the state of Hawaii, several years as the National Director of Autism Services for Easter Seals, her industry positions leveraging technology, and her current role at NEXT for AUTISM developing innovative program options to increase the quality of life of those living with ASD.
Dr. Wright has held advisory roles for several professional associations and advocacy groups, including the Organization for Autism Research's Scientific Council, the Executive Committee for the Friends of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Board of Directors for the Association of Professional Behavior Analysts, and the Autism Society Panel of Professional Advisors. She has been asked to provide expert testimony at Congressional Hearings and is a frequent contributor in the media, raising awareness of effective intervention for those living with disabilities.
Dr. Wright completed her Ph.D. and Master of Public Health from the University of Hawaii. Her research focuses on delivering evidence-based interventions in community-based settings and healthcare access for people with disabilities.
Susan M. Wilczynski, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Plassman Family Distinguished Professor Of Special Education And Applied Behavior Analysis, Ball University, Muncie, IN
Dr. Wilczynski is currently acquiring expertise on the issue of sexuality education and ASD. Previously, Dr. Wilczynski served as the Executive Director of the National Autism Center, where she chaired the National Standards Project. And she developed the first center-based treatment program in the state of Nebraska while at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Prior to that, she developed the first female active research lab in the Psychology Department at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Dr. Wilczynski has edited or written multiple books and published scholarly works in the Behavior Analysis in Practice, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behavior Modification, Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, and Psychology in the Schools. She is currently a guest associate editor for Behavior Analysis in Practice. Dr. Wilczynski is a licensed psychologist and a board-certified behavior analyst. Mentoring beginning behavior analysts and scholars are how she mostly prefers to spend her professional time.
Find a
Sign Up
Contact Us
Donate