ABAI and the Convention Program Board strive to offer a wealth of learning opportunities on behavior science theory, research, and practice. It is our plan to do so with cultural humility and sensitivity. We have taken one step forward to such commitment by beginning to test a rubric, developed by Landria Green and Vanessa Bethea-Miller from the
ABA Taskforce, that provides guidance on the use of language that reflects our values of equity and inclusion of all cultures and groups. With such goals in mind, all the members of the Program Board have enthusiastically engaged in an additional examination of all titles and abstracts of the program. We have worked with presenters to revise submissions and educate our community as we learn together. We anticipate there will be some differences in agreement as to what constitutes the language that is most consistent with our values. We thank Landria Green and Vanessa Bethea-Miller from the
ABA Taskforce and we will continue working with the help of the
ABA Taskforce, the Program Board, the DEI Board, and other relevant constituencies toward a future of greater inclusivity and diversity at ABAI events. Please share your concerns and comments with us at
mail@abainternational.org.