Get to know us
Individual Bios
The Illinois Association for Behavior Analysis (ILABA) is dedicated to advancing the science and practice of behavior analysis across Illinois. Our mission is to promote access to effective, ethical, and evidence-based behavior analytic services for individuals, organizations, and communities.
President
Zhihui (John) Yi
Zhihui Yi is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and the clinical coordinator of the Cognition Behavior and Mindfulness Clinic at the IDHD Family Clinic at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Zhihui received his master’s degree in Arizona State University’s Applied Behavior Analysis program, and is currently a doctoral candidate in Rehabilitation Science at UIC. Zhihui is dedicated to promoting access and disseminating evidence-based intervention for persons with autism, especially among minority groups.
Zhihui’s research interests include relational frame theory, early intervention, and the neurological impact of behavior therapy. He has presented his research in more than 50 conferences and has published 14 papers in peer-reviewed journals.
Secretary
Megan Romero
Megan received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Lake Forest College and her master’s degree in teaching from North Park University. She was introduced to ABA and children with Autism Spectrum Disorders while working at a therapeutic day school following her undergraduate studies. She has worked with children with autism, providing ABA services, for the last 13 years in a variety of settings including schools, clinics, communities, and homes. Megan is dedicated to providing children and families with the tools and strategies they need to overcome the barriers they face. She approaches every situation with a trauma-informed lense. Megan is currently the Center Director overseeing ABA services in Chicago and the northern suburbs of Illinois. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two daughters.
Treasurer
Marla Root
Marla Root is the founder and director of Root Consulting, LLC, which operates the Illinois Autism Insurance Coalition. The Coalition supports families, providers, state agencies, and health care systems in building service capacity and parity to ensure people with ASD have access to prescribed treatments such as mental health, applied behavior analysis, and speech and occupational therapies. Marla’s work led to her receiving the 2021 Trailblazer Award from the Milestones Autism Resource Center and the 2018 Autism Speaks’ Implementation Award for her efforts in monitoring Ohio’s autism mandate for ABA and providing educational support to families.
Experiences as an administrator of a community mental health center, a home and community-based service provider, and program development led to her 2010 Advocate of the Year award by The Governor’s Council for People with Disabilities. Marla is the proud parent of Eli, who is 25 years old, and is highly impacted by ASD/ID.
Communications Coordinator
Dana Mascio
Dana holds a master’s degree in Applied Behavior Analysis from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Since 2008, she has worked with individuals of all ages—from toddlers to adults—across a variety of settings, including therapeutic day schools, public schools, vocational programs, and in-home environments. Through her experiences in schools, Dana discovered the powerful impact of direct therapy and cross-disciplinary collaboration for individuals with autism and other special needs.
Her professional interests include effective supervision, Relational Frame Theory (RFT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which inform her ongoing efforts to support both clients and the professionals she mentors. Dana currently serves as the Center Director in the western suburbs of Chicago, where she remains dedicated to fostering growth, independence, and meaningful outcomes.
Conference Coordinator Past
Stephanie Howard
Stephanie received her master’s in Education and Special Education from Brooklyn College in 2012 and a certificate in ABA from Florida Tech in 2014. She has been in the field working with kids (2–18) with autism, medically fragile children, and children with disabilities for over 15 years. Previously, Stephanie worked as the Supervision Coordinator of a multi-state company where she created a practicum and supervision curriculum and coordinated students from over 70 centers and regions across ten states. Currently, Stephanie is the Senior Clinical Director for SunRise ABA.
Conference Coordinator
Blair Monfre
Blair holds a Master’s in Applied Behavior Analysis from Southern Illinois University, earned in 2013. She has been working in the field since 2009 and became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) in 2014. Blair has extensive experience working with children with autism, ages 2–21, across various settings, including therapeutic day schools, school districts, in-home, and in-clinic environments.
Currently serving as the Clinical Director at Total Spectrum, she oversees autism services across Illinois. Blair is dedicated to delivering inclusive, client-focused ABA therapy and is actively involved in expanding access to services through the Medicaid system.
Student Representative
Lynn Schumacher
Lynn Schumacher is a Board-Certified Behavior Analysis (BCBA) who is currently working towards her doctorate degree in ABA through Southern Illinois University in Carbondale (SIUC). Lynn has a Master’s Degree in Applied Behavior Analysis and Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education with a certification in Special Education through Mount Saint Mary’s University in Maryland. Lynn gained her BCBA certification in 2024 and has focused on working with those diagnosed with Autism, most specifically children ages 2-10 years old.
Lynn worked first as register behavior technician (RBT) before earning her masters in ABA and beginning to work as a BCBA. Lynn worked as a RBT then BCBA at an Early Intensive Behavioral Intervention (EIBI) clinic in Maryland known as Early Autism Services (EAS). While working in Maryland, Lynn worked with a diverse group of families in Baltimore City and other surrounding areas. During her time as EAS, one of Lynn’s main focuses was to train and educate future RBTs on the principles and procedures of ABA as well as prepare them for the RBT exams.
Lynn currently works as a BCBA supervisor at SIUC’s Center for Autism Spectrum Disorder as well as provides supervision to master students in SIUC’s ABA program who are working towards their BCBA degree. Her current research interest involves stimulus preference assessments and generalization.
Member at Large
Jamine Dettmering
Jamine Dettmering is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) with over 20 years of experience working in human services. Before earning her Master of Arts in Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSCPP) in 2014, Jamine worked as a treatment coordinator and behavior and training specialist for a human service provider in Eastern Iowa that served individuals with intellectual disabilities, mental illness, and traumatic brain injury. Jamine relocated to Chicago to pursue her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis at TCSCPP, where she is currently a doctoral candidate. Since earning her BCBA certification in 2016, she has provided services in a variety of settings in the Chicagoland area, including home, school, community-integrated living arrangements (CILA), community day services programs, hospitals, and foster care.
Jamine is dedicated to providing trauma-responsive, neurodiversity-affirming care to DCFS youth. She believes in taking a harm-reduction approach to intervention that prioritizes client autonomy. In addition to working as a consultant in the Comprehensive Assessment and Response Training System Program at UIC, Jamine works as a BCBA consultant with BIOS ABA Consultants and disseminates compassionate and responsive practices through mentoring other BCBAs, providing training to organizations, and presenting at conferences. She has also taught Applied Behavior Analysis courses as an adjunct instructor at both TCSCPP and National Louis University.
Member at large
Ruchi Sharma
Ruchi Sharma is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and works across the Chicagoland areas and communities. She has worked with both adults and children with intellectual disabilities and various mental health diagnoses since 2005.
Ruchi is the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Administrator for Visions LLC, which enables her to utilize this lens when serving individuals on her caseload and working in tandem with their families and team members, allowing for the best possible outcomes while treating everyone with dignity and respect. Ruchi serves as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee Chair for ILABA.
Fun Fact! Ruchi grew up in Gaborone, Botswana, in Africa for the first 15 years of her life and immigrated to the United States on April 12, 1997.
Member at large
Brandon C. Perez
Brandon C. Perez, Ph.D., BCBA-D is an assistant professor in the Department of Special and Early Education at Northern Illinois University (NIU) and he is also coordinator of the BCBA program at NIU. Brandon graduated from The University of Florida where he earned his Ph.D. in psychology with an emphasis in behavior analysis under the mentorship of Tim Vollmer, Ph.D. At NIU, he teaches courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including many of the courses required for the M.S.Ed in special education with a specialization in behavior analysis. His research interests are primarily centered around working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder and include toilet training and the assessment and treatment of severe problem behavior. He has published articles in and serves as a reviewer for multiple behavior-analytic journals.
Member at large
Manish Goyal
Manish Goyal is a multiculturally diverse and experienced behavioral scientist from India who is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and an international doctoral candidate in the Department of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (SIUC). He received his master’s degree in behavior analysis from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, under the mentorship of Dr. Stephanie Peterson in 2011.
Over the past decade, Manish has gained experience in applying behavioral principles and systems analysis to problem-solve and influence functional change across a diverse set of populations (e.g., age and diagnosis), settings (e.g., group homes vs. clinics providing mental and behavioral health services), and organizations (e.g., mental/behavioral health clinics and theatre). Manish has served on the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) committee of the Illinois Association of Behavior Analysis since May 2020 and has actively participated in dissemination projects while providing guidance for data collection and aiding the conceptual understanding of DEI challenges from a behavioral perspective.
In the past, he has successfully performed as an assistant editor for the Rehabilitation Counselors and Educators Journal, managed a research lab at Southern Illinois University under the tutelage of Dr. Shane Koch, instructed and/or assisted at the undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral levels, and mentored thesis students and applicants for the BCBA and BCaBA certification both locally and internationally. He is passionate about influencing the cultural health of society by bridging the gap between research and practice through translational applications.
To do this, his objective is to explore the generalization of rule-governed and contingency-shaped behaviors while evaluating the conditions/context in which instructional control breaks down. Currently, his responsibilities include supervising and training students and establishing and informing systems-level changes at the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorder (SIUC) for research and practice while assisting with data collection procedures for supervision and training of future BCBA’s. Manish is excited to become a board member at large and to serve Illinois-based behavioral practitioners and collaborating professionals, including applying behavioral principles to enact diversity, equity, and inclusion-based initiatives.
Proud Partners in Advancing Behavior Analysis
ILABA is proud to align with leading organizations in behavior analysis. These affiliations reflect our commitment to upholding the highest standards of practice, ethics, and education in the field. Together, we foster professional excellence and support the growth of behavior analysts across Illinois.
Being a member of ILABA has afforded me key networking relationships, and even more importantly, key mentors who have become friends.
– Stephanie Howard
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Ready to Make a Difference?
Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting your journey in behavior analysis, ILABA is here to support your growth and amplify your impact. Become a member, join a committee, or explore upcoming events to connect, learn, and lead in the field.