Newsletter
Volume 29 | 2006 | Number 2
Tennessee ABA Annual Report
By Mickey Tonos
Current officers of Tennessee Association for Behavior Analysis (TABA) are as follows:
- Past President: Timothy Cripps, M.S., BCBA
- President: Michael S. Tonos, M.S., BCBA
- President-Elect: Clayton Cea, M.S.
- Treasurer: Holly Blanc, M.A., BCBA
- Secretary: Jennifer Bland Denson, M.A., BCBA
The Tennessee Association for Behavior Analysis continues its activities in growing behavior services for persons with developmental disabilities, giving state and regional academic programs a forum for research dissemination, and promoting behavior analysis among parents, future students, and other persons interested in behavior analysis. The 2005 Conference, held in Nashville, drew over 100 professors, practitioners, educators, and parents. Within its first-ever three-day two-track conference, Board Certified® participants had the opportunity to earn 12 Type II CEUs! The 2006 conference, to be held at the Opryland Radisson in Nashville from October 26-28, promises to continue this opportunity. TABA’s membership fee remains less than $50.00 for full voting membership and conference registration remains below $100.00, which includes CEUs. Operating on an annual budget of $7,500, the majority of expenses and revenues are associated with the annual conference.
TABA has long been an organization of practitioners in developmental disabilities; however, this year marks an official change in TABA’s mission. The executives and membership have been working on establishing a strong, mutually beneficial relationship with Tennessee’s behaviorists working in universities to provide cooperation among efforts in research, practice, and public relations. Most affiliated chapters grew out of academia; TABA did not and is now maturing into the university setting. In doing so, TABA is gaining recognition at the university level in hopes of providing support to recent university graduates. In recent years, Tennessee’s university graduates have found work in developmental disabilities within the state. Working locally in this field, many of the graduates are finding a vibrant, but somewhat cloistered, community of like-minded professionals. As the home-grown workforce in Tennessee increases and BACB® standards reach greater recognition, TABA stands positioned to assist behavior analysis professionals in finding a peer group beyond the university walls: membership in TABA.
Membership in TABA has been, by and large, comprised of professionals who came to Tennessee, degree in hand, to work in developmental disabilities. Because of this, TABA has been known as a special interest group within behaviorism. Over the past 10 years, TABA has been dedicated to soliciting and creating a space at its annual conference for experimental analysis of behavior, analysis of verbal behavior, conceptual and philosophical papers, and collaboration with other disciplines. These seemingly token efforts will be increased over the next year.
Challenges faced by the organization include Web site management. With an all-volunteer executive committee, no director of operations, and a limited budget, the Web site has suffered. Once the principal portal for information, the site is losing its utility under the current design. In the upcoming weeks, TABA hopes to secure a Web design within the organization’s budget that can improve the site’s utility.
Ultimately, TABA remains an on-the-ground organization: membership is solicited through friends to friends; political activism is based in practice; and the conference is a celebration of a year’s work. TABA has survived 10 years with an all-practitioner, all-volunteer executive committee, many of whom have served several times, but we are now facing adolescence and the responsibilities of a grown-up organization.