Description
About Meg Solomon
I am Meg Solomon, the founder and lead Board Certified Behavior Analyst at ABA Across Environments. Although I have always been inspired by children, I never realized that I would find so much fulfillment working in the field of Behavior Analysis. Upon graduating with my Bachelor’s from Southwestern University, I was unsure of what next step I should take. I lived in both Dallas and Los Angeles and worked in high-paced corporate environments, high-end retail, and with some of the most incredible restaurants and with some of the most talented chefs and winemakers in the world. As much personal growth as I experienced, I did not feel fulfilled with my career, and I didn’t feel as though I was working inline with my values of helping others. After volunteering with a school in Los Angeles and working many other jobs with children, neuroscience, neurodiversity, play, and developing foundational skills to help further my career, I began working for a national ABA company and soon fell in love with the science of helping others. I went on to get my Master’s degree from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. In 2015, my husband and I welcomed our first child, and I started my career as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. While working in the clinical setting, I noticed that I wanted to do more. The behavior changes that we were seeing at the centers were not generalizing to the home or community, and parents were struggling. In 2018, I took a huge leap of faith and started Across Environments. My hope was that these amazing changes would generalize to the home, school, and beyond. Shortly after founding the company, our daughter was born, which added more challenges and inspired more creativity with how to raise our children while building a business. Being a business owner, a BCBA, and a parent has improved how I use ABA as a tool to help grow and use my values to help others. We use ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) as the foundation for all of our behavior change programs so that we are person-centered and value-based. We hope to continue to grow and help facilitate positive outcomes for future generations! Website: www.abaacrossenvironments.com | Facebook
About Dr. Mari Cerda
Dr. Mari-Luci Cerda BCBA, LBA is a Mesoamerican Indigenous woman, wife, mom, Autist, and board-certified behavior analyst with over 19 years experience working with Neurodivergent individuals and their families.
A former special education teacher, behavior specialist, and inclusion coordinator of 17+ years, Mari has a deep passion for advocacy work with both schools and clinics to develop trauma-responsive, neurodiversity responsive practices. Her work focuses on shifting language and systems used in practice to reframe and move away from unintentional ableist frameworks that are often rooted in traditional therapy and educational settings. Much of this work pulls from IRM (Indigenous Research Methods) and medical models of care rooted in Cultural Safety and Responsiveness.
She recently opened her own trauma-responsive center, The Lighthouse Learning Center in Lubbock, TX with the goal of creating a model of true neurodiversity affirming and assent-based practices. Mari is also the co-founder of the The LEAP Institute, a non-profit with a mission to address the disparity of diverse practitioners in the ABA field. Connect with Dr. Mari on IG @autie.analyst and on the web at www.lighthouselearning.org
About Jennifer Farris
Jen Farris is a BCBA and the Founder and Chief Science Officer of Sprout, MBC. She’s been working in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis for over 20 years and has held positions across all areas of direct and clinical leadership in schools, centers, and in-home. Jen has a passion for providing high-quality ABA services using today’s best practice and is a self-proclaimed data nerd. Her values as a BCBA align with providing compassionate care, paired with precision teaching and precision measurement. When she’s not working, Jen loves to travel and spending time with her family, including her 3 beautiful little boys. Connect with Jen on IG @my_behavior_brain and on the web at www.sproutmbc.com