SEBA Wants to Take Behavior Analysis Beyond Autism

What SEBA Is

The Society for the Expansion of Behavior Analysis, or SEBA, is built around one idea: that behavior analysis is a science for far more than autism. On its website, the group describes its interest as expanding and improving the field into behaviors, populations, and settings where it is infrequently used, under the banner “Unifying Minds, Elevating Practice, Expanding Impact.”

The organization is young and volunteer-driven, and it grew out of the ABA field itself rather than from a university or a company. According to BreakingNewsABA’s July 2026 profile of co-founder Dr. Scott O’Donnell, SEBA is a nonprofit that formed around 2025, and O’Donnell has described the founding group as a kind of rebel alliance of practitioners who wanted to push the science beyond autism services.

SEBA aims to raise awareness that “this evidence-based science extends far beyond its common application in autism intervention.” (SEBA mission statement, 2026)

The Mission

SEBA’s stated mission is to educate and engage communities, professionals, and organizations about the range of ways behavior analysis can be applied. The group argues the science can improve health outcomes, strengthen learning environments, support mental and behavioral health, and raise quality of life across ages and backgrounds.

That framing lines up with why the organization exists at all. As O’Donnell put it in his BreakingNewsABA interview, the field has been pigeonholed into autism, even though behavior analysis is, in his words, a science of everyone’s behavior. SEBA is the vehicle he and his co-founders built to change that, and its purpose statement rests on the same premise: to challenge misconceptions and help professionals apply behavioral principles to solve real-world problems across diverse populations.

Who It Serves and What It Costs

SEBA opens its membership to a broad slice of the field and the surrounding community. That includes Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), Qualified Behavior Analysts (QBAs), Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs), clinicians, and students, as well as educators, health care professionals, and families interested in behavioral services.

Membership runs on a two-year cycle at prices set to be reachable for early-career members. A student membership is $50 for two years, and a general membership is $100 for two years, per the site. Members are promised access to workshops and training, networking, mentorship, and research and resources. Prospective members join by selecting a membership type, submitting the fee, and connecting with the community.

How It Is Organized

For a young nonprofit, SEBA carries a full org chart. Its leadership page lists more than a dozen board members. Shouberte Abreu is the founder and president; O’Donnell is a founder and the society’s Master Sergeant at Arms; and Lisa Vertullo is a founder and treasurer. Professor Jacob Papazian serves as executive vice-president and Christopher Zorzi as assistant vice-president, with Di-Anne Elise directing communications and public relations, Benjamin Fisher as technology information officer, and Gary Carone directing curriculum and credentialing.

The work is split across six committees: Membership and Engagement, Education and Training, Communications and PR, Events and Programming, Partnerships and Outreach, and Ethics. The Education and Training committee plans workshops and continuing education events; the Communications and PR committee manages the society’s media, newsletters, and podcasts; and the Partnerships and Outreach committee builds relationships with universities, health care organizations, and community stakeholders.

Where It Came From

The founding story, as O’Donnell told BreakingNewsABA, started on LinkedIn. He was complaining about the state of the field when Abreu replied: “Stop talking about it and do something.” O’Donnell took the challenge, and much of the early work fell to him, running the first meetings, writing the bylaws, and getting the nonprofit paperwork in order. At the same time, a wider group of practitioners carried the rest.

The programming has followed. SEBA has run free continuing-education events open to members, and O’Donnell said the group had begun recording a podcast, The Evolving Behavior Analyst, with Papazian and Elise. Those efforts map onto the committee structure now published on the site, with education and communications each given their own teams.

“We’re full of practitioners who want to move beyond autism and expand the science into all different other kinds of areas.” – Scott O’Donnell, PhD, SEBA co-founder (2026)

The organization frames its core values around integrity, ethical practice, inclusivity, and evidence-based science, and pitches membership as a way to advance a career while contributing to a broader movement. Whether that movement reaches the scale its founders imagine will depend on how many analysts decide the work outside autism is worth joining.

What Comes Next

SEBA’s near-term markers are a membership drive and its programming calendar. O’Donnell told BreakingNewsABA that the society is planning its first conference for early 2027, alongside continuing-education events and the new podcast. For a nonprofit that is barely a year old, the next test is turning a stated mission and a full committee roster into members, events, and a track record the wider field can point to.

AT A GLANCE

SOURCES & REFERENCES