Shahla Ala'i
Shahla Alai received her B.S. from Southern Illinois University and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Behavior Analysis at the University of North Texas, where she provides service, training and research programs in cooperation with several local and global partners. She is also the director of BAO, a program dedicated to high quality distance education to increase access to behavior analysis education across the globe. Shahla teaches classes on applied behavior analysis and autism, ethics, autism intervention, parent training, applied research methods, and behavior change techniques. Shahla served on the governing board of the Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB) and as a subject matter expert on supervision of behavior analysts and compliance with ethical codes of conduct. She has published and presented research on ethics in early intervention, distance and blended education, play and social skills, change agent training, conditioned reinforcement, and evidence-‐based practice. In 2012, she was awarded an Onassis Foundation Fellowship for her work with families and was also the recipient of the “Fessor Grahm” award, UNT’s most cherished teaching award. She is currently collaborating on a book that explores the roles of spirituality and science when parents are making decisions for their children with autism.
Over the years, Dr. Weatherly has held advisory roles and served on the board of directors for a number of professional associations, advocacy groups, and service facilities including the New York State Association for Behavior Analysis, the Minnesota Northland Association for Behavior Analysis, and the Autism Treatment Association of Minnesota. He is the past president of the Kentucky Association for Behavior Analysis and was the first chair of the Kentucky Applied Behavior Analyst Licensing Board.