The Academic and the Advocate

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – Dr. Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi holds a Doctorate in Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Loyola University Chicago, along with multiple advanced degrees and certifications in special education and applied behavior analysis. She currently serves as Faculty Director for the ABA and Clinical Psychology Programs at Capella University, where she oversees graduate-level training for the next generation of behavior analysts.

Beyond her academic role, Cirincione-Ulezi is the CEO and founder of ULEZI, LLC, a consulting firm focused on equity and inclusion in behavioral services, and co-founder of Inquiry, Inc. She serves as President of the Illinois Association for Behavior Analysis, sits on the Affiliate Chapters Board for the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI), and serves as a subject matter expert for the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB). She is also a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Behavior and Social Issues.

This combination of roles — university faculty director, state association president, BACB subject matter expert, ABAI board member, and private consultant — gives Cirincione-Ulezi a presence across virtually every layer of the ABA profession’s institutional infrastructure. When she speaks about diversity and cultural humility, she is speaking from inside the rooms where credentialing standards, training curricula, and organizational policy are shaped.

Cirincione-Ulezi’s influence is not confined to a single platform or a social media following. It is embedded in the institutional architecture of ABA: the certification board, the international association, state-level leadership, university training programs, and editorial boards. That structural positioning distinguishes her DEI advocacy from commentary that operates outside the profession’s formal channels.

The Evolving ABA Podcast Series

Cirincione-Ulezi co-hosts the Evolving ABA series on the Operant Innovations podcast, produced by ABA Technologies. The series focuses on topics at the intersection of behavior analysis and equity: cultural humility in clinical practice, the experiences of Black practitioners and students in ABA, barriers to leadership for underrepresented professionals, and the systemic factors that shape who enters, persists, and advances in the field.

The Evolving ABA series represents a deliberate effort to institutionalize DEI conversations within ABA’s professional development infrastructure. Rather than existing as standalone social media commentary, the series is embedded in ABA Technologies’ continuing education ecosystem — reaching practitioners who are already engaged in professional development and CE activities.

Cirincione-Ulezi has also appeared as a guest on multiple ABA-focused podcasts, including Behaviour Speak with Dr. Jonathan Tarbox, where she discussed humility, compassion, and reflection in practice, and the ABA Inside Track podcast, where she addressed cultural humility and barriers to leadership. Her presence across multiple podcast platforms ensures that her message reaches overlapping but distinct segments of the ABA practitioner audience.

Cultural Humility as a Professional Competency

Cirincione-Ulezi’s central contribution to ABA discourse is the reframing of cultural humility not as a personal virtue or an optional sensitivity but as a core professional competency. Her work argues that behavior analysts who do not understand the cultural contexts of the individuals and families they serve cannot deliver effective, ethical services — regardless of their technical proficiency with behavioral procedures.

Her research interests center on supervision, mentoring, leadership, and culturally humble practice. In 2022, she received the Sam M. Turner Innovation Award from Black Applied Behavior Analysts, a recognition that reflects both the significance of her work and her standing within the community of Black ABA professionals who have historically been underrepresented in the field’s leadership.

Guest lectures and conferences: Cirincione-Ulezi is a sought-after speaker. She has delivered guest lectures at the University of North Texas on “Evolving ABA through Practices of Humility, Compassion and Reflection” and has presented at the Michigan Autism Conference on “Advancing the Practices of Humble Behaviorism and Cultural Humility in Behavior Analysis.” She has also contributed to the Georgia Association for Behavior Analysis’ Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Series.

The ABA field is under increasing pressure to demonstrate that its services are equitable, culturally responsive, and reflective of the populations it serves. Cirincione-Ulezi’s work provides both the conceptual framework and the institutional infrastructure for that transformation — from university training programs to state association leadership to BACB credentialing.

What Cirincione-Ulezi’s Work Means for ABA

For ABA practice owners, the implications of Cirincione-Ulezi’s advocacy are increasingly concrete. Insurance payers, state regulatory agencies, and accreditation bodies are moving toward expectations of culturally responsive care. Practices that do not invest in cultural humility training, diverse hiring pipelines, and equitable service delivery models may find themselves out of step with both regulatory expectations and client demand.

For ABA training programs, Cirincione-Ulezi’s work signals a shift in what constitutes adequate graduate preparation. Cultural humility, equity, and anti-bias practice are no longer supplementary topics — they are increasingly positioned as core competencies that credentialing bodies and employers expect practitioners to demonstrate.

Cirincione-Ulezi’s rising profile reflects a broader reality: the ABA field is being reshaped not only by clinical innovation and business consolidation but by questions of who the profession serves, who it represents, and whose perspectives are centered in its training, practice, and leadership.

AT A GLANCE

Name: Dr. Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi
Credentials: Ed.D., BCBA, LBA
Type: BCBA / DEI Advocate
Academic role: Faculty Director, ABA and Clinical Psychology Programs, Capella University
Organizations: CEO & Founder, ULEZI, LLC; Co-founder, Inquiry, Inc.
Leadership: President, Illinois Association for Behavior Analysis; Affiliate Chapters Board, ABAI; Subject Matter Expert, BACB
Podcast: Co-host, Evolving ABA series (Operant Innovations / ABA Technologies)
Instagram: @drnasiah1
Award: 2022 Sam M. Turner Innovation Award (Black Applied Behavior Analysts)
Research focus: Supervision, mentoring, leadership, and culturally humble practice in ABA
Industry signal: DEI and cultural humility are moving from elective topics to core professional competencies across ABA credentialing, training, and practice

SOURCES & REFERENCES

1. – ABA Technologies. Instructor profile: Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi, EdD, BCBA. https://abatechnologies.com/continuing-education/instructors/nasiah-cirincione-ulezi. Accessed March 2026.

2. – Mosaic Therapy. Team: Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi, Ed.D., BCBA. https://mosaictherapy.com/team-members/nasiah-cirincione-ulezi-ed-d-bcba/. Accessed March 2026.

3. – ABA Technologies. Thought Leaders 037 | Dr. Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi | Part 1. July 5, 2023. https://abatechnologies.com/operant-innovations-podcast/.

4. – Behaviour Speak. Episode 67: Humility, Compassion, and Reflection with Dr. Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi and Dr. Jonathan Tarbox. https://www.behaviourspeak.com/e/episode-67/.

5. – ABA Inside Track. Episode 190: Cultural Humility and Barriers to Leadership w/ Dr. Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi. https://www.abainsidetrack.com/get-ceus/episode-190-cultural-humility.

6. – University of North Texas. Guest Speaker Dr. Nasiah Cirincione-Ulezi: Evolving ABA through Practices of Humility, Compassion and Reflection. https://calendar.unt.edu/event/.

7. – Michigan Autism Conference. Advancing the Practices of Humble Behaviorism and Cultural Humility in Behavior Analysis. https://michiganautismconference.org/workshops/.

8. – Georgia Association for Behavior Analysis. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Series. https://www.georgia-aba.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-seri.