Annual Conference 2017

Keynote Speaker

Adel Najdowski, Ph. D., BCBA-D

Adel Najdowski, Ph.D., BCBA-D is an Associate Professor and Director of the M.S. in Behavioral Psychology program at Pepperdine University. She also serves on the board of directors for the California Association for Behavior Analysis (CalABA). Dr. Najdowski has over 40 publications including her book, Flexible and Focused! Teaching Executive Function Skills to Individuals with Autism and Attention Disorders. She has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Behavior Analysis in Practice and as a Guest Editor for a special issue in Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Her research interests include teaching higher-order skills to children with autism. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and on radio and web-based shows.

Invited Speakers

Dr. D. Joe Olmi

D. Joe Olmi is entering his 26th year as a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi. He is tenured at the Full Professor level and is beginning his tenth year as the Department Chair. He previously served as the Director of the USM School Psychology Service Center for 16 years. He is licensed as a Psychologist in Mississippi and has 35 years of experience in public schools as a secondary social studies teacher and school psychologist and as a university professor. He continues to consult heavily with Head Start agencies and school districts in Mississippi and Louisiana on issues pertaining to alternative education, positive behavioral support, system-wide intervention for disruptive behavior, classroom management, risk assessment for violent behavior, classroom/family intervention for children with ADHD, and various other service delivery issues. Over his years at the University of Southern Mississippi, he has also consulted with the Mississippi and Louisiana Departments of Education on various projects associated with RtI, alternative education, and juvenile justice.

Katurri Philips, MS, BCBA

Katurri is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and holds a Master of Science degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from Northeastern University in Boston, MA. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Early Childhood Education from Davidson College in North Carolina where she was a 200m sprinter on the Women’s Track & Field team. Katurri’s experience spanning across the past 10 years began in Georgia and has included working with children and adults across community, school, home, residential, clinical, and vocational settings where she promotes strong team building and consistent implementation of support for her clients. Her master’s thesis, published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, evaluated practitioners’ perception about and use of the various categories of functional assessment across agencies statewide. Katurri continues to be passionate for family coaching and developing function-based interventions for families to capitalize on natural teachable moments that occur within their every day routines. Early in her vocation she experienced first hand he importance of motivating and supporting families, teachers, and professionals as they learn to teach their child independence within daily routines and across extracurricular activities. Working at BY YOUR SIDE provides Katurri with continual learning opportunities as she collaborates with Speech-Language Pathologists, Occupational therapists, LCSWs, and counseling professionals to tailor instruction and treatment plans to help clients achieve their potential and celebrate success at every step along the way!

Dr. Mandy Rispoli

Dr. Mandy Rispoli is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Purdue University, the Co-Director of the Purdue Autism Cluster, and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst- Doctoral level. Operating from a behavior analytic framework,Dr. Rispoli’s research explores: (a) improving the efficiency, effectiveness, and feasibility of functional behavior assessments and function-based interventions in educational settings, and (b) innovations in professional development for teachers of young children with autism and challenging behavior. Dr. Rispoli has published over 100 peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters concerning behavioral interventions for children with autism and developmental disabilities.