The Upper Peninsula Association for Behavior Analysis

05/05/2026

Registration for UPABA 2026 is now open! We have such an exciting conference lined up for you this year!

Register now to take advantage of our early bird discount! Visit www.UPABA.org or our Eventbrite page using the QR code below.

11/11/2025

11/10/2025

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this year’s UPABA Annual Conference! We appreciate your participation and invite you to share your thoughts by completing the Eventbrite survey sent to your email. Your feedback helps us improve each year!

11/05/2025

Excitement is building for tomorrow’s 5th Annual UPABA Conference! We can’t wait to hear from this amazing speaker.

Eric J. Anderson is an assistant professor of special education and applied behavior analysis at Bowling Green State University. He received his master’s degree in applied behavior analysis from Western Michigan University in 2015 and passed his BCBA exam in early 2016. Eric worked as a behavioral consultant in public and private schools for two years before beginning his Ph.D. program at the Ohio State University in 2018. During his program, Eric conducted research on behavioral interventions for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in public schools, and factors that impact inclusive education for these students. Eric completed his Ph.D. in Special Education in May of 2022, and is now a BCBA-D. Eric is continuing the research lines he started at Ohio State in his position at Bowling Green State University, where he is the ABA program coordinator, while teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in applied behavior analysis, and instructional methods classes for undergraduate students training to become special education teachers.

11/05/2025

We’re thrilled to welcome this incredible speaker to the 5th Annual UPABA Conference tomorrow!

Chaturi Edrisinha, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LBA-MI, is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Oakland University. She earned her Ph.D. in Autism and Developmental Disabilities and her M.Ed. in Early Childhood Special Education from The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Edrisinha also holds undergraduate degrees from the University of Oxford (England), St. Benedict’s College (USA), and Southwest China Normal University (Beibei, China).

A Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (Doctoral Level), Dr. Edrisinha has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters in leading journals such as the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Research in Developmental Disabilities, and the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. Her research has been widely disseminated through national and international conferences and presentations.

Dr. Edrisinha’s work centers on improving quality of life and developing evidence-based instructional and support strategies that foster independence, inclusion, and meaningful participation for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental differences. In 2021, she was awarded the Public Awareness Award from the Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis (SABA) in recognition of her efforts to apply behavior analytic principles to address critical societal challenges.

11/04/2025

We are two days away from the 5th Annual UPABA Conference!

We would like to share this wonderful speaker with you who will presenting on phasing out restraints.

Dr. Alison Cox completed her PhD in Psychology at the University of Manitoba in 2015. She is also a Doctoral level Board-Certified Behaviour Analyst, and a Registered Behaviour Analyst (Ont). As an Associate Professor in the Applied Disability Studies program at Brock University her research interests are diverse and include applied behavioural pharmacology research, tool development and training research, and program evaluation. Through her current and past research and clinical experiences Dr. Cox has developed specific expertise in assessing and treating severe challenging behaviour in individuals with dual diagnosis and acquired brain injury, supporting skill acquisition in individuals with dual diagnosis and autism, and supervising early intensive behavioural intervention programs. Dr. Cox was an Invited Speaker at the 46th Annual Association for Behavior Analysis Intervention (ABAI) Conference (2020). She has also published in several prominent behaviour analytic journals and serves as a peer-reviewer across a range of journals in the disabilities field.

11/04/2025

Our last workshop is going to be a good one! Register for the 5th Annual UPABA at www.UPABA.org

Dr. Capuano is a licensed clinical psychologist and BCBA-D. Her clinical work has spanned many aspects of treatment, from psychological and behavioral assessments to individual, family, and group therapy. Dr. Capuano has worked in a variety of clinical facilities, including community mental health, inpatient psychiatric hospitals, and forensic facilities. She launched her own behavioral psychology private practice earlier this year where she sees children, adolescents, and young adults with a variety of presenting issues. She is trained in many evidence-based interventions, such as Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Early Start Denver Model, and PEERS social skills program. In addition to her clinical work, she is an adjunct faculty member at the University of Michigan-Dearborn in the ABA program and a mentor for Michigan LEND. She has publications in peer-reviewed journals and a textbook chapter on pseudoscience in neurodevelopmental disorders.

11/04/2025

You won't want to miss this workshop! Register for the 5th Annual UPABA at www.UPABA.org

Dr. Briggs is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Eastern Michigan University (EMU), where he directs the Behavior Analysis Research Laboratory. His Research Lab is interested in (a) improving the safety, efficiency, and validity of functional assessment methods, (b) determining the variables that prevent relapse of challenging behavior and promote maintenance and generalization of treatment effects, and (c) developing effective training strategies for efficiently teaching caregivers and professionals to implement and adhere to behavioral interventions with high procedural fidelity. Dr. Briggs received the 2023 Ronald W. Collins Distinguished Faculty: Research I Award and the 2024 B. F. Skinner Foundation New Researcher Award. Both awards recognize the important and innovative work being completed within the lab.

Dr. Briggs has published over 30 peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters and has been invited to present on these topics at state, regional, and international conferences. He is a current Associate Editor (AE) for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis (JABA), past AE for Behavior Analysis in Practice (BHAP) and Education and Treatment of Children, and has served on the editorial boards for JABA and BHAP. In addition, Dr. Briggs currently serves as Co-Chair for the Severe Behavior Consortium of Michigan, Chairs the Nominations and Elections Committee for APA Division 25, and is a Co-Coordinator for ABAI’s Developmental Disabilities (DDA) Program Area.

11/03/2025

We are 3 days away from the 5th Annual UPABA Conference! Register at www.UPABA.org

We are pleased to have this amazing workshop this year:

Dr. Eunju Choi, PhD serves as an assistant professor in the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) program within the Department of Behavioral Health and Counseling at St. Cloud State University. She earned her Master of Arts degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Chung Ang University in South Korea, followed by her Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial and Organizational Behavior Management (IOBM) from Western Michigan University. Her primary research interests encompass performance management, computer-based instructional design, and training and development. Currently, she is actively engaged in enhancing practitioner performance through the utilization of skills and tools in the field of OBM.

Jeremy received an MA in OBM from Western Michigan University. He is a BCBA, LBA in MI, and a SHRM Certified Professional. When he isn’t providing OBM and HR consulting services to health and human service agencies, he is working in rural communities of southwest MI with families and children affected by developmental disabilities via his worker co-op, Humble Health, LLC.

10/27/2025

Nine days until the 5th Annual UPABA Conference!

Here is one of our fantastic speakers scheduled to present at 5th Annual UPABA conference next week! Register at www.UPABA.org

Dr. Forrest Toegel is an Assistant Professor of Psychological Science and the Director of the Northern Center for Learning and Health at Northern Michigan University. He completed his undergraduate training at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and graduate training at West Virginia University. After earning his Ph.D., he completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Human Behavioral Pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Although still early in his career, Dr. Toegel has established a record of scientific contributions, service, and extramural funding. He has authored 4 book chapters and published 29 scientific articles in 19 peer-reviewed journals focused on behavior analysis, psychology, medicine, and public health. He is on the board of editors for the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior and has served as a guest associate editor and reviewer for several other behavior-analytic journals. Dr. Toegel is currently a PI or Co-I on projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and the National Science Foundation that total over $7 million in funding. His research aims to understand basic principles involved in establishing and maintaining behavior that is commonly labeled as "problematic" or "maladaptive" and to combat substance abuse, promote employment and medication adherence, and reduce poverty among adults in populations at a high risk of harm. Dr. Toegel lives with his wife and daughter in Marquette, Michigan where they enjoy spending time outdoors and exploring the natural beauty of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Dr. Toegel will be presenting on the utility of basic research on intertemporal choice in the treatment of substance use disorders.

Abstract: Many troublesome choice situations that people face in daily life involve consequences of conflicting valence - those in which the production of tempting reinforcing events that are available in the short-term guarantee aversive events in the long-term. Why do people fall into decision traps that are not in line with their long-term interests, and when they do, what can be done to intervene when patterns of problematic choices become habitual? This talk describes some basic research conducted to understand variables that influence intertemporal choice involving conflicting-valence consequences and clinical research to evaluate interventions aimed at promoting self-controlled choice, fighting problematic substance use, and helping people become employed and rise out of poverty.

Register for the conference at www.UPABA.org today!