Letter from BABAT President

Dear Colleagues,

It is my pleasure to invite you to BABAT 2026, a conference designed to energize, inspire, and connect behavior analysts from across Massachusetts and beyond.

This year, we are embracing an exciting new conference format that reflects the growth, diversity, and evolving needs of our profession. For the first time, BABAT 2026 will feature three full days of invited and submitted presentations, creating more opportunities than ever for participants to learn, share, and engage with colleagues.

The theme for this year's conference is Refuel. In the demands of our daily work, it is easy to become focused on deadlines, caseloads, organizational challenges, and responsibilities to the individuals and communities we serve. While these commitments are meaningful, they can also leave little time to pause, reflect, and invest in ourselves. BABAT 2026 is an opportunity to do just that. Refuel means taking time to replenish the knowledge, inspiration, and professional connections that sustain us. It means reconnecting with the values that brought us into this field and discovering new ideas that will shape its future.

Our new format is designed with that goal in mind. Each conference day will feature a focused track that allows attendees to dive deeply into key areas of practice and research, while also offering broader content throughout the conference that reflects the wide-ranging interests of our professional community. Whether your passion lies in clinical practice, education, organizational behavior management, research, leadership, or emerging areas of application, you will find opportunities to expand your knowledge and engage with thought leaders and peers.

Learning, however, is only one part of the conference experience. Some of the most meaningful moments at BABAT occur between sessions, during conversations with colleagues who understand the challenges and rewards of our work. To foster those connections, BABAT 2026 will include a variety of daytime and evening networking opportunities designed to bring our community together. These events will provide spaces to reconnect with long-time colleagues, welcome new professionals into the field, and build relationships that continue long after the conference concludes.

As behavior analysts, we understand the importance of environments that support growth and performance. BABAT 2026 has been intentionally designed to be that kind of environment: a place where we can learn from one another, challenge ourselves, celebrate accomplishments, and leave feeling renewed and ready for what comes next.

On behalf of the BABAT Board of Directors, I invite you to join us as we Refuel together. We look forward to welcoming you for three engaging days of learning, collaboration, and community.

Thank you for your dedication to the science and practice of behavior analysis and for the countless ways you contribute to improving lives across Massachusetts and beyond.

I look forward to seeing you at BABAT 2026.

Jill 

Jill Harper, PhD, LABA, BCBA-D, CDE
President, BABAT