Two Seats, Two Weeks: BACB Opens Nominations for Its 2027 Board of Directors

LITTLETON, COLORADO – The Behavior Analyst Certification Board is taking nominations for two seats on its Board of Directors, and the window is short. The call went up October 20 and closes at 5 p.m. MST on Tuesday, November 3.

Any BCBA-D, BCBA, or BCaBA can submit a nomination, and self-nominations are allowed. Those elected will serve from August 2027 to August 2030 and may be appointed by the board to a second three-year term.

Two Seats, Two Narrow Profiles

Neither seat is open to every certificant. Seat A, the international seat, requires a BCBA or BCBA-D certified for at least five years, with leadership or public policy experience in the profession, who currently resides in Canada within the BACB’s current jurisdiction. Seat B is reserved for a BCaBA who plans to stay certified at that level for the full term. Board or leadership experience is preferred for Seat B but not required.

Both profiles match current directors whose terms end in August 2027, according to the BACB’s leadership page. Julie Koudys, PhD, BCBA-D, the board’s vice president and international representative, is an associate professor at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario. Jennifer Genovese is the only BCaBA on the board.

What the BACB Says It Wants

Beyond the seat rules, the BACB lists the backgrounds it would like to see. It encourages nominations of people from underrepresented groups and candidates with strong applied backgrounds who know the current state of the profession; come from regions or practice areas not currently represented on the board; or know the history of the BACB and its certification programs.

The BACB says the 11 directors on its public roster have 171 combined years in the profession, an average of about 16, and that roughly two-thirds had served on a nonprofit board before joining. The roster includes eight BCBAs or BCBA-Ds, one BCaBA, one RBT, and one consumer representative.

The job carries legal weight, too. The BACB is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and nonprofit directors owe it three core duties, as the governance group BoardSource describes them: care, meaning the judgment of “an ordinarily prudent person” in the same position; loyalty, meaning “undivided allegiance” and putting the organization’s interests ahead of their own; and obedience, meaning adherence to the organization’s mission, applicable laws, bylaws, and policies.

What It Takes to Serve

The seats are unpaid. BACB directors serve “in an unpaid, volunteer capacity,” according to the board’s leadership page. Before submitting a nomination, the nominator must confirm that the candidate is willing to serve from August 2027 to August 2030, attend the annual in-person meeting (typically in early August), and join additional online meetings during the year. Directors are also expected to chair or serve on committees.

The nomination packet has three documents, each in PDF, DOC, or DOCX format: a personal statement of no more than 500 words on the nominee’s contributions to behavior analysis and any prior leadership, a curriculum vitae, and a letter of recommendation. Neither the nominee nor anyone who reports to the nominee may write the letter. The online form also asks for the nominee’s certification number, location, and highest degree, as well as the nominator’s certification number.

One nomination is enough. Several nominations for the same person do not improve the odds, and a nomination does not guarantee a place on the slate.

After the BACB’s Elections Committee sets the slate, active BCaBAs vote for the BCaBA seat, and active BCBAs and BCaBAs vote for the other seat, under the board’s bylaws. In the last two cycles, the BACB announced election results in late January: on January 30, 2025, and January 28, 2026.

AT A GLANCE

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