What does Private Equity investment, diversity in ABA, and ABA in sports all have in common? Session 98 with Beverly and Kirk Kirby

What does Private Equity investment, diversity in Applied Behavior Analysis, and Behavior Analysis as applied to sports all have in common? It just so happens that these are the topics I chatted about with Beverly and Kirk Kirby of Team ABA! At last year's ABAI, Rick Kubina introduced me to this dynamic duo, and boy do they have a great story to tell, and I'm frankly quite grateful that they're doing so on The Behavioral Observations Podcast. Along with Rick and Mark Dixon, Beverly was on a panel that I chaired that discussed the role of big money in ABA. Mark discussed the business side of PEAK and Rick talked about the founding and subsequent purchase of Chartlytics by Central Reach. And then Beverly shared the story of how the Kirby's started the Sparks Group, a company that was dedicated to serving the underserved in the DC Metro area. Sparks went on to be acquired by a private equity investor, and Beverly shared the lengthy and challenging process of selecting an investor that would continue to provide high quality ABA services in an ethical manner. Whether you're a business owner or not, this is a great story on its own! The Kirby's went on to found the aforementioned Team ABA (and as an aside, check out and follow their Facebook page here as they post lots of cool stuff!). The services Team ABA provides are quite varied, but a lot of their focus is on using ABA for improving sports performance, addressing wellness, and helping organizations run more effectively. And if you caught the last episode with Rick, he mentioned some of the cool stuff that they're doing in the realm of sports performance. We of course dig into this in more detail in this episode. The Kirby's are also passionate about improving the diversity in our field. They've done quite a bit of outreach to Historically Black Colleges to provide internships and other opportunities for students of color. This is an issue that does not get talked about a lot in our field, and to be candid, this is a long-overdue discussion on this podcast. I’m grateful they were able to share this with me, and by extension, the broader audience of Behavioral Observations. This episode is brought to you by: Behavior University. Behavior University provides university-quality continuing education for everyday practitioners. To learn more about their CE offerings, discounts for podcast listeners, etc... please visit behavioruniversity.com/observations. The University of Cincinnati Online. The UC Online program can be a rewarding way to advance in your career. Gain the cutting-edge knowledge and skills so you can help others while increasing your career options and earning potential. For more information, please visit behavioranalysisuc.online for more information.   I'm also excited to promote this upcoming workshop: Have you ever been part of a team composed of capable, accomplished members that underachieved or failed to launch an initiative successfully? Do you work with teams where members burn out, conflict, misbehave, or act in ways that contradict the purpose of the group? Are you currently working with other people toward a common goal and aiming to ensure that every member is empowered for maximum contribution and long-term sustainable engagement? Then consider attending the OBM 2.0 – The PROSOCIAL Teaming Model which will be taught by Drs. Darnell Lattal and Thomas Szabo. This workshop is being put on by my friends at Connections Behavior Planning and Intervention. It’s being held at Green River Community College, Auburn, Washington on January 18th and 19th. Attendees will learn the ProSocial model: evidence-based practices to promote employee engagement, cooperation, high-level performance, and complex organizational problem-solving. The ProSocial approach incorporates findings from Nobel Prize winning research conducted by Elinor Ostrom, with corresponding findings from research in evolutionary science, behavior analysis, ACT, and Organizational Behavior Management. Participants will practice core skills and then implement them in a series of challenging role-plays that simulate real-life organizational behavior crises. This workshop will walk attendees through the entire process of creating sustainable team-based outcomes through expert instruction and experiential learning. The workshop itself will provide 16 CEU’s, and there’s a remote follow-up option that can extend this to 22 CEU’s. Space is limited for this event, and the prices go up as we get closer to the dates, so you’re going to want to register for OBM 2.0 straight away. And to help defray costs, the folks at Connections have offered listeners a discount. So for more information, click here, and be sure to use the code podcast25! And this one too... The 5th Annual ABA Leadership Summit is taking place on November 8th, 2019 at the Hilton Orange County in Costa Mesa California. It will also be streamed online, so you can learn on your couch... in sweatpants. This event will provide 6 Supervision Type 2 CE’s, and will feature speakers such as Sarah Trautman, Paul Gavoni, Nic Weatherly, Brett DiNovi, and Issac Bermudez. It's right around the corner so you'll want to register right away if this is something you're interested in. Click here for more information! Lastly, I am deeply grateful for the folks at Tate Behavioral for inviting me, Megan Miller, Ryan O’Donnell, and Kim Berens to be a part of the first annual Tate Behavioral Conference last week in Springfield MA. They were amazing hosts, and it was an honor to be a part of their inaugural event.