Keynote Address
Alice Shillingsburg, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LP
Alice Shillingsburg, PhD, BCBA-D, LP is the Yale Family Endowed Professor and Director of the Integrated Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute. She received her PhD in child clinical psychology at Auburn University and completed her APA Accredited doctoral Internship at the Marcus Institute in Atlanta, GA. In prior roles, she has served as Sr. Vice President of Children’s Clinical Services at the May Institute, Director of the Language and Learning Clinic at Marcus Autism Center, and previously held an appointment as Associate Professor at Emory University School of Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Shillingsburg’s research and clinical interests focus on interventions to promote meaningful skill development for children and adolescents diagnosed with autism. Dr. Shillingsburg has published numerous empirical research articles and book chapters, is current Editor-in-Chief of The Analysis of Verbal Behavior and past Editor-in-Chief of Operants Magazine published by the BF Skinner Foundation.
Workshops
John M. Guercio, Ph.D., BCBA-D, NADD-CC, LBA
Dr. Guercio has spent much of his career researching effective staff training protocols and behavior intervention strategies for staff and clients in settings where severe aggression is present. Since obtaining his master’s and doctoral degrees in behavior analysis and therapy from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Dr. Guercio has worked in settings serving as Director of Behavioral Services for the Missouri Department of Mental Health, and as Vice President of Clinical Services and Research at the Judevine Center for Autism/TouchPoint Autism Services in St. Louis. In his role at Benchmark Human Services, Dr. Guercio served as the Clinical Director. He developed and delivered behavioral services for clients with significant aggression and high risk behavioral needs, many of whom had been institutionalized for more than 15 years, often under restraints and heavy medication. He also serves as adjunct faculty in the behavior analysis department at Washington University, St. Louis University and Central Missouri University. He has also given more than 500 presentations at behavioral conferences and authored and/or co-authored over 65 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Guercio has written several book chapters on the treatment of intensive behavioral issues. He has authored or co-authored six books on staff training for direct support staff in adult settings, the transition to adult services, and the assessment and treatment of adults with significant behavioral challenges. Dr. Guercio serves on the Board of Editors for Behavior Analysis Research and Practice and is a reviewer for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behavior Analysis in Practice, and Behavioral Interventions. In his career, Dr. Guercio has helped design and run a program for individuals with sexually deviant behavior and substance abuse issues and has developed an entire treatment protocol based upon that program. In his current role as the Vice President of ABA and Crisis services for the ARC of the Ozarks, Dr. Guercio oversees intensive behavioral residential and clinical services for clients with complex needs and extreme challenging behaviors in the St. Louis region. Dr. Guercio currently serves on the ABAI Licensing Committee and is a board member of the Missouri Association for Behavior Analysis.
Anika Costa M.S. Ed, BCBA
![IMG_5572[97].jpeg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9de314_09c8c82b3e6846769add26384b344f27~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_227,h_255,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/9de314_09c8c82b3e6846769add26384b344f27~mv2.jpeg)
Introduced to Applied Behavior Analysis in 2000 while working as a speech therapist, Anika quickly discovered her passion. Anika Costa is a board-certified behavior analyst with over two decades of experience as a classroom teacher, adjunct faculty member, trainer, coach, supervisor, mentor, and consultant in education and behavioral science. She became board-certified in 2010 after earning a post-graduate certificate in Applied Behavior Analysis from Stony Brook University, a M.S. in Education from C.W. Post University in 2002, and a B.S. in Communicative Sciences at the University of Central Florida in 1997. She is pursuing a doctorate in Instructional Design and Learning Performance at Florida State University. Anika is the founder and president of The Operant Teacher, LLC, a behavior analytic consulting firm offering training, coaching, and instructional design services to individuals, groups, and organizations across educational, private, and community-based agencies. She has co-authored two best-selling books, QUICK Responses for Reducing Misbehavior and Suspensions: A Behavioral Toolbox for Classroom and School Leaders, and QUICK Wins! Using Behavior Science to Accelerate and Sustain School Improvement. Anika is passionate about disseminating behavior science; she is the United States Ambassador for the World Behavior Analysis Day Alliance (WBADA) and is a member of the Development Committee for the B.F. Skinner Foundation.
Invited Presenter
Katie Kalafut, Ph. D., BCBA-D
Kathryn Kalafut received her Master’s in Behavior Analysis from the University of North Texas in 2009 where her research interests focused on applied animal behavior. Some of her research focused on how the ‘click’ functioned in animal training. In her review of the literature, the richness and depth of the basic literature was undeniable, and her research questions became more basic in nature. At this point, she continued her formal education at Brown University where she completed her PhD with Dr. Russell Church in his behavioral timing laboratory. Her experience in the basic research realm, and the skills she learned from Russ and his amazing lab members, continue to inform and shape her current applied animal behavior research. While her recent research subjects have included penguins, elephants, exotic and domestic cats, overarching themes of this research include the use of technology to enhance research methods and behavioral recording to better understand both basic mechanisms of behavior as well as animal welfare.
