Newsletter
Volume 30 | 2007 | Number 2
New Jersey ABA
By Dr. Marlene Cohen
NJABA has entered yet another important phase of its development, the first formal election of officers. Nominations have been submitted and we have sent out and received the ballots. NJABA has recently revised their by-laws to include officer positions that more closely match those of ABA International. As such, we have elected a President, Marlene Cohen, President Elect, Lori Bechner, Secretary, Patrick Progar, two 2-year members at large, Kenneth Reeve and Linda Meyer, one 1-year member at large, John Brown, and a consumer member, Mary Beth Walsh. The officers have yet to appoint a Treasurer. With much overlap in officers, the transition should be a smooth one. Many thanks to John Brown and Linda Meyer for their tireless efforts in revising the by-laws. It was a tedious, but important task.
Our Government Affairs Committee, chaired by Suzanne Buchanan, has also been busy investigating the potential legal routes to establishing the BCBA credential as a standard for practice of behavior analysis in the state of New Jersey. This has been a complicated and delicate process. The Government Affairs Committee is doing everything possible to achieve its goal of protecting consumers, while simultaneously avoiding conflict with our esteemed colleagues who do not hold a BCBA, but hold other credentials. We will keep you informed of our progress in this critical area.
On February 23, NJABA was honored to have Dr. Jon Bailey and Dr. Mary Burch present a full-day workshop, Ethics for Behavior Analysts. The workshop was very engaging and it stimulated some healthy discussion among participants. Drs. Bailey and Burch have agreed to return to New Jersey for a repeat presentation on August 11. Dr. Bailey will also be keynoting our annual conference on August 10. We are very fortunate to have such high caliber professionals keynote our conference. Be sure to look for more details on our Web site!
Since the results of NJABA’s first election are now known, I would like to take this time to thank all of our Development Committee, Conference Committee, and Government Affairs Committee for their energy and enthusiasm. NJABA would not have accomplished much without their efforts. I have been truly fortunate to have worked with such a committed group of professionals!