Ashley realized that working in Applied Behavior Analysis was what she wanted to build her career around while she was still in her undergraduate education. It was a natural fit for her. Many of her family members work in education and her uncle had a diagnosis of Down syndrome. He was a big part of her life growing up and taught her a lot about the diagnosis. She says that he was one of her favorite people she has ever met.

She has her bachelor’s in Applied Behavior Analysis from the University of North Texas and her master’s from Bangor University in Wales. During her undergraduate she worked implementing in-home ABA therapy and in a preschool setting, which was a great and unique experience. Her thesis in her master’s program was on treatment integrity of an ABA program.  In her research, Ashley looked into staff perceptions on how well they felt they were supported by their behavior analysts and other team members when implementing behavior programs, and how that affected the extent of treatment integrity for the program. She found that the more support they felt they had within their organization, the more accurately and consistently they implemented the programs. Ashley believes what she learned in that research can really benefit her in her current position at Heartspring.  

Ashley grew up in Wichita, so she was excited to return home and work at Heartspring. She feels very supported in her role and says that she enjoys the teamwork and that all of the team members seem to love working here and are here to make a difference with our students. Ashley truly enjoys working with children with special needs and the bonds her job creates between her and the students. She gets excited for all of the victories big and little.

Ashley is currently working on her BCBA certification. In her free time, she enjoys scrapbooking, four-wheeling and being outdoors.