Founder Profile

Kathy Shapell: The Poem and Passion Behind West Virginia’s First ABA Center

June 15, 2026 · 5:00 PM

A magazine publisher turned advocate, Kathy Shapell built the first evidence-based autism treatment program in West Virginia, named it for the teacher who inspired her, rebuilt it after a fire, and 20…

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An Aerospace Engineer Built an AI Companion for His Son With Autism

June 14, 2026 · 2:30 PM

Dr. Chris Whitmer grew up in rural Kansas with two teachers for parents, earned a PhD in mechanical engineering, built a STEM education company with $3.5 million in federal grants, and then…

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Father and Rep. Zack Hawkins Turned a Family Diagnosis Into North Carolina’s Autism Agenda

June 12, 2026 · 3:00 PM

Two of his sons are autistic. As a North Carolina legislator and co-chair of the bipartisan IDD Caucus, Zack Hawkins has spent years trying to fix the system his own family ran…

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Dr. Shannon Shea Expands Who Behavior Analysis Can Help

June 5, 2026 · 6:00 PM

For two decades, a Boca Raton behavior analyst has worked the cases her field reaches least often: foster children, adults with brain injuries, psychiatric and self-injurious behavior, Deaf and deafblind clients. Now…

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Alex Cioarec Built ABACare for European ABA Clinics

May 19, 2026 · 8:30 AM

Cioarec came to ABA through code, not a clinical pedigree or a family story. ABACare launched in April 2026 to give European clinics practice management software designed around their funding routes, languages,…

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Ian Santus Transitions from ABA Veteran to Startup Founder

May 7, 2026 · 2:00 PM

In just two years, Akoya Behavioral Health expands to 185 employees and two clinics, leveraging Santus's extensive industry experience.

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Yrenka Lolli-Sunderlin Responds to Medicaid Cuts with New Initiative

May 7, 2026 · 8:00 AM

The founder of Sunderlin Behavioral launches CareBridge Copilot to support caregivers amid Idaho's abrupt end to ABA Medicaid coverage.

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Brea Merhar Tackles Drowning Risks for Autistic Children

May 2, 2026 · 8:00 AM

With drowning as the top injury death cause for autistic kids, Merhar's BRIDGE framework addresses critical safety gaps for BCBAs.

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Jeff Beck Disrupts ABA Therapy with $40 Million Virtual Model

April 20, 2026 · 2:00 PM

The CEO of AnswersNow challenges traditional practices, advocating for a new approach to autism therapy that prioritizes clinical intensity over hours.

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CentralReach’s Chris Sullens Transforms ABA Software and Sells for $1.65 Billion

April 19, 2026 · 6:00 PM

Since 2018, Sullens has expanded CentralReach's user base tenfold and executed 14 acquisitions, solidifying its position in ABA technology.

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Ryan Calloway Started at $16 an Hour. At 33, He Co-Founded One of Arizona’s Most Distinctive Benefits Brokerages—and ABA Organizations Are the Ones Who Should Pay Attention

April 10, 2026 · 2:00 PM

Ryan Calloway built his career the hard way: starting on a 1099 with no guaranteed income, earning clients one at a time, and building a track record that eventually led him and…

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Dr. Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi: The BCBA Leading ABA’s Reckoning with Diversity, Equity, and Cultural Humility

April 1, 2026 · 2:00 PM

Dr. Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, university faculty director, organizational founder, and one of the most frequently cited voices on diversity, equity, and inclusion in applied behavior analysis. As…

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Frank Campagna and Autism Daddy: The Sesame Street Producer Who Built One of Autism’s Most Unfiltered Parent Platforms

April 1, 2026 · 12:01 PM

Frank Campagna has worked at Sesame Workshop for more than two decades and produced the Emmy-nominated autism initiative that introduced the character Julia to millions of families. Under the name Autism Daddy,…

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Joy F. Johnson: The Autistic BCBA Redefining What Affirming ABA Practice Looks Like

March 31, 2026 · 8:00 AM

Joy F. Johnson is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, clinical director, adjunct professor, and founder of Spectrum Support in Baltimore. She is also autistic. As a Black, Autistic, and Jewish woman working…

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Rob Gorski and The Autism Dad: How a Single Father’s Blog Became a Lifeline for Autism Parents Worldwide

March 30, 2026 · 6:00 PM

Rob Gorski has been documenting his life as a single father to three autistic sons in Canton, Ohio, since 2010. Through his blog, podcast, and social media presence, The Autism Dad has…

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Dr. Jonathan Tarbox: The Academic Who Brought ACT Into ABA’s Mainstream

March 30, 2026 · 8:00 AM

As Program Director of USC’s Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis, past Editor-in-Chief of Behavior Analysis in Practice, and author of five books, Dr. Jonathan Tarbox has become one of the…

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Dr. Amanda Kelly: How Behaviorbabe Became ABA’s Most Recognized Ethics Voice Online

March 29, 2026 · 6:00 PM

Known across the ABA community as Behaviorbabe, Dr. Amanda N. Kelly is a BCBA-D, ethics expert, and the first licensed behavior analyst in Hawaii. With a podcast surpassing one million downloads, a…

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Dr. Mary Barbera: How a Nurse-Turned-BCBA Built the Most Trusted Parent-Facing ABA Brand Online

March 28, 2026 · 2:00 PM

Dr. Mary Lynch Barbera holds a doctorate-level BCBA certification, a nursing degree, and a personal stake in autism as the mother of a son with autism. Her Turn Autism Around brand, which…

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Paige Layle: The Most-Followed Autistic Voice on TikTok and What Her Platform Means for ABA’s Public Perception

March 28, 2026 · 12:01 PM

With 2. 7 million TikTok followers and a bestselling memoir, Paige Layle has become the most prominent autistic self-advocate in the social media landscape.

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Tara Phillips and Autism Little Learners: An SLP’s 25-Year Bridge Between Speech Therapy and ABA

March 26, 2026 · 8:00 AM

Tara Phillips is a licensed speech-language pathologist with more than 25 years of clinical experience supporting young autistic children. Her platform, Autism Little Learners, has grown to more than 91,000 Instagram followers,…

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Sasha Long and The Autism Helper: How a BCBA Built One of ABA’s Most Influential Media Platforms

March 25, 2026 · 6:00 PM

Sasha Long holds a master’s degree and a BCBA credential. She is also a former special education teacher, the founder of The Autism Helper Inc.

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CurativeAI: Inside the $9.8M Technology Bet Christopher Barnett Is Building Inside ABA Centers

March 20, 2026 · 12:01 PM

Christopher Barnett did not build ABA Centers of America the way most ABA companies are built. He did not take private equity money.

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Two Bottlenecks, One Career: Jamie Pagliaro Built the ABA Training Infrastructure — Now He’s Attacking the Diagnosis Delay That Precedes It

March 17, 2026 · 8:00 AM

For sixteen years at RethinkFirst, Jamie Pagliaro built the platform that put BCBA supervision and RBT training in the cloud, reaching more than 30,000 clinicians before COVID made remote training an industry…

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Greg Hanley Spent Thirty-Five Years Proving That Effective ABA and Compassionate ABA Are the Same Thing

March 16, 2026 · 6:00 PM

With 100-plus publications, 15,000 citations, and a clinical method adopted by providers on six continents, Dr. Gregory Hanley is behavior analysis's most influential practitioner-researcher. In August 2024, he brought his entire framework…

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How Christopher Barnett Built the Nation’s Fastest-Growing Autism Care Company

March 12, 2026 · 6:33 PM

Temple rejected his transfer application. He flew to Philadelphia anyway, walked into the admissions office uninvited, and didn’t leave until they let him in. Twenty years later, he handed the school $55…

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