ORABA's Current Leadership
Board
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Michelle moved to Oregon in 2016 when she was hired by Western Psychological as a BCBA in their Intensive Behavior Unit. After moving, Michelle immediately became an active member of ORABA by attending journal clubs, quarterly meetings, serving on the Conference Planning Committee, and becoming involved in the new Ambassadors’ Committee. Michelle has presented at ORABA’s quarterly meetings as well as acted as a discussant for symposiums at ORABA.
Outside of ABA, Michelle loves being outdoors in nature and enjoys backpacking trips, kayaking adventures and summiting mountains in the PNW. Michelle is excited to continue to be involved with ORABA by serving as their president where she will continue to push ABA forward in Oregon, focusing on mentorship of new BCBAs, advocacy and collaboration with other professionals, and continuing to increase the overall quality of ABA in our beautiful state.
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Alexandra McCallen
Vice President
[email protected]
Alexandra McCallen is a bilingual (French and English) Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with over 18 years of experience designing behavior-analytic/ educative programs for individuals with Autism and other developmental needs. As of 2002, Alexandra worked with individuals with Autism and related disorders in home settings, while pursuing her B.S. in Psychology from Mary Washington College. After graduation with that degree in 2004, Alexandra began working for a private day school, as a Lead In-Home Therapist in their after-school ABA program. Alexandra provided direct services to students, who ranged in age from 1.6 to 16 years of age, enrolled in the regular and grant programs. She also fostered close relationships with several public educational districts, in order to advocate and promote client success in school settings.
In 2005, Alexandra began working as a Special Education Teacher, with students with Autism and related disorders in a self-contained High-School classroom. Her students ranged in age from 15 to 22. Not only did she gain experience in public education, but in the planning for and implementation of Community Based Instruction (CBI), a vital component of transition services. Alexandra was, therefore, responsible for the placement of students in various work settings, in order for them to acquire and improve their work skill repertoire. During this time, she continued to work as a teacher, and as an in-home consultant and therapist, while attending George Mason University to complete her master’s degree, in Special Education, across all endorsement areas K-12, as well as meet the educational requirements for her BCBA. During this time as well, she gained her experience hours to become a BCBA, which she obtained in 2009.
In 2008, Alexandra moved to the Seattle area, where she worked for an ABA non-profit organization for 10 years, wearing different hats: Program Manager, Program Supervisor and Development Coordinator. Alexandra relocated to Portland in 2018 and is currently the Clinical Director for Intercare Therapy’s Oregon office, the ORABA Vice-President, and the co-chair for ORABA’s Ambassador Committee.
Alexandra has experience in a variety of fields: ABA, Special Education and Fundraising/ Development. Alexandra was instrumental in helping to grow the Washington Association for Behavior Analysis (WABA) to what it is today. She is passionate about the dissemination of behavior analysis, to increase awareness and care in Oregon, and beyond, as well as strengthening the community as a whole. She is delighted to be a part of ORABA to bring awareness to a new level!
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Katie has worked with children and adults with developmental disabilities in a variety of settings including in-home, clinic, group homes, and day programs. She has experience with intensive behaviors across the lifespan and early intervention. Katie is passionate about including learners in their goal development and staff development, and promoting cultural competency.
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Board Advisors
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Maria Lynn Kessler
Maria Lynn Kessler, PhD, received her doctorate in psychology from Florida State University and her MS in ABA from Southern Illinois University. Maria Lynn leads the BCBA-approved course sequence in ABA from Oregon Institute of Technology and was awarded The Oregon Tech Foundation Faculty Achievement Award from the College of Health, Arts, and Sciences for providing her students with opportunities to gain more knowledge of their field through participation in meetings, networking with local professionals, and bringing in guest speakers.
Dr. Kessler partnered with Gregg Gassman from Southern Oregon University to create a joint master’s in education program with an emphasis on ABA, preparing students to meet the requirements of BCBA certification and providing them with the background necessary to teach learners with ASD and other social/emotional delays.
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Jenny Fischer
Jenny Fischer, PhD, BCBA-D, earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, where she first began working with children with autism during a practicum course. Jenny completed her Master of Science in Psychology (Behavior Analysis specialization) from California State University, Stanislaus, in Turlock, CA in 2007, and completed her PhD in Psychology (Behavior Analysis specialization) at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, Los Angeles Campus, in May 2016. Jenny’s research interests include teaching language to children with autism, particularly teaching generative language repertoires. Jenny has been practicing as a BCBA in Central and Southern Oregon since 2007, and officially opened Cascade ABA, providing clinic, home and community-based services in 2010.
Jenny has been actively involved in legislative advocacy for insurance coverage of ABA, has served on the board of the Oregon Association for Behavior Analysis and the Oregon Behavior Analysis Regulatory Board. She enjoys partnering with community organizations to expand and improve the resources available to Oregon’s families.
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Dr. Dawn Bailey
Dr. Dawn Bailey is a faculty member at the Oregon Institute of Technology. Dr. Bailey is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA-D) with over 20 years of experience designing behavioral & learning programs for a variety of populations, including persons with emotional/behavioral disorders, autism and other developmental disabilities.
Dr. Bailey received her graduate training in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) at Florida State University (Go Noles!) under Dr. Jon S. Bailey, where she was awarded her Ph.D. in 2008. Dr. Bailey is a frequent presenter at behavior analysis conferences and gives workshops to teachers, parents, and staff on a variety of topics related to the practice of behavior analysis. Dr. Bailey serves on the Georgia Behavior Peer Review Committee to assist the state with policy development and implementation regarding behavior analytic services provided in the state. She was a consultant to school districts, private families and state agencies in Florida, New Jersey and Delaware between 1998 and 2017 and has served as an adjunct faculty member at Florida State University and the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. She was president of the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis (FABA) in 2014 and held a position on the Executive Committee of FABA for many years. OIT recently opened BIG Clinic, the first ABA Clinic in Klamath Falls run by Dr. Bailey and Dr. Borgen.
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Jennifer White
Jennifer White served as Vice President of ORABA from 2018-2020. Jennifer obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies and Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She then went on to continue her education and obtained her Masters of Arts in Special Education from Belmont University. She then received her endorsement in Applied Behavior Analysis from Lipscomb University. Jenny is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and Licensed Behavior Analyst in the state of Oregon (LBA). Jennifer has 9 years of experience within the field of developmental disabilities.
Jennifer has worked with children in a variety of settings including school, in home, and clinic and has experience designing clinic programming for toddlers, early learners, and social learners. She also has extensive experience working with schools promoting inclusive environments for students with disabilities as well as classroom management, consultation, and mentoring of special education teachers. She also teaches graduate level classes in Applied Behavior Analysis at Oregon Institute of Technology and designed and teaches a 40-hour Registered Behavior Analyst Interventionist (RBAI)/Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) course.
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Emily Kearney
Emily Kearney previously served on the ORABA board as Treasurer in 2015-2016 and Secretary in 2017-2018. Emily received her master’s degree in special education from Sonoma State University in 2008, focusing on using ABA to increase prelinguistic communication among young children with atypical language development. Emily then went on to complete her ABA course work from Florida Institute of Technology. Emily currently works at Building Bridges as a BCBA. Emily has worked in the ABA field since 1999 using evidence-based practices with children and their families in homes, schools and the community. When she lived in California, she used operant conditioning to train rehabilitated but unreleasable water birds permanently housed at a wildlife hospital. She is interested in generative learning and Relational Frame Theory, especially as they relate to children with emerging verbal repertoires. In her spare time Emily helps the Oregon Association for Behavior Analysis, and enjoys hiking, reading, knitting and playing with her daughter.
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Melissa Gard
Melissa Gard previously served as ORABA president in 2013 as well as policy chair after her position as president. Melissa is a graduate of the University of Kansas where she received her PhD in behavioral psychology and her master’s degree in human development and family life. She is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral (BCBA-D). Her clinical work is focused on the treatment of autism using the principles of ABA and she has worked with families across settings (home, school, community) and internationally to this end.
Melissa serves as the Clinical Director for Building Bridges for which she regularly collaborates with each BCBA regarding treatment planning and programming. She supervises our internship programs with affiliate universities and is lead supervisor for a team of RBAIs pursuing national board certification in ABA. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Gard is a professor at the Oregon Institute of Technology where she teaches graduate students pursuing their BCBA certification.
She fully enjoys living in the Pacific Northwest and finds restoration in yoga, hiking, and exploring the beauty of the coast, mountains, and gorge with her dog, Rosie.
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