Most members of NWABA are students, educators, and practitioners specializing in psychology, animal behavior, education, special education, developmental disability, organizational management, and counseling. While some NWABA members are also members of the Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA), an international organization, ABA membership is not a prerequisite for NWABA membership. In fact, there are virtually no prerequisites for NWABA membership, making it possible for any sentient organism to join. If you fill out the online membership form, you'll be added to our membership list.
We conduct all our business electronically. There are no membership dues because there are no printing and mailing costs and the time to run the organization is donated by our officers. Costs of the annual conference are supported by registration fees for the conference.
NWABA officers are elected at each annual business meeting, held in the fall, at the close of the NWABA Annual Conference. We elect a new President-Elect and Conference Program Chair (or Co-Chairs) each year. The President-Elect becomes President the following year and, to belabor the obvious, becomes the Past President the year after that.
A new Secretary is elected on odd-numbered years. Our Membership Coordinator and Treasurer hold indefinite terms of office, serving for the duration of their good behavior, patience, or capacity for repetitive tasks, whichever expires first.
Our current (2002-2003) officers are
There are two official NWABA meetings each year. One meeting takes place in the spring, during the ABA Annual Convention. In 2004, the ABA Annual Convention will be held at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto, May 24 - May 28.
The second meeting, the NWABA Annual Conference, takes place in the fall at various locations in the Northwest and Canada. The 2002 Annual Conference was held at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, WA. Past annual conferences have been held in Seattle, Eugene, Spokane, Leavenworth, WA, Ellensburg, WA, and Victoria, BC. The 2003 conference will be held October 31-November 1 in Spokane, WA.
Conducting the annual meeting is the principal function of NWABA. It allows like-minded professionals a chance to share new research and theoretical perspectives, gives students a chance to report their work and establish a wider circle of professional contacts, and provides a forum for academics and practitioners to focus on common tasks.
All NWABA members will receive information about coming meetings. The are dozens of tasks to be completed before each year's meeting, and if you'd like to help, contact a conference coordinator.