Episode 8: Dr. Matt Heininger - Sports, Wellness & Performance

OBM can help improve the workplace systems that shape staff performance and client outcomes in ABA. In this episode, Dr. Sarah Lalani joins Jake, Di-Anne, and Scott to discuss performance scorecards, lottery-based reinforcement, staff training, and why the BCABA role may be underused. They also explore how OBM can address everyday inefficiencies, what makes incentives effective, and how organizations can better support clinicians and clients.

Matt Heininger joins Jake, Di-Anne, and Scott to discuss how he applies behavior science across sports, wellness, and performance—including lessons from his unusual path into ABA and professional wrestling. They explore how behavior analysts can collaborate across disciplines, support athletes, and bring scientific rigor to new settings.

Dr. Christina Scenna and Dr. Rick Kubina discuss Single-Case Informatics, an AI-powered platform designed to help behavior analysts and researchers build stronger, more replicable studies. They explore research design, open science, AI guardrails, and the importance of keeping human judgment at the center.

What if the science behind autism therapy could also transform how we train dogs, run shelters, and care for the animals in our lives? In this episode, hosts Dr. Jake Papazian and Dr. Scott O'Donnell sit down with Dr. Etana Berger, whose unconventional path from human services and autism work through health behavior and Noom led her straight into the world of animal behavior. Together they explore the surprising overlap between ABA and animal training, why "training problems" are often caregiver problems in disguise, and how simple environmental tweaks can dramatically cut shelter recidivism. Dr. Berger breaks down the real difference between suppressing behavior and truly changing it, makes the case for positive reinforcement as the ethical gold standard, and takes on outdated myths like alpha-based training. Whether you're a behavior analyst, an animal lover, or somewhere in between, this conversation offers a hopeful, expansive look at what happens when we bring curiosity, empathy, and good science to the animals who share our lives.

"Punishment built the old systems. Reinforcement is what keeps good people" In this episode, Gary breaks down why positive reinforcement is not just a nicer way to lead, but a smarter one, especially when it comes to building teams that feel supported, trusted, and motivated to stay. He explains how fear-based management can create burnout and survival mode, while reinforcement helps people grow, perform, and actually want to be part of the work. It’s a conversation about leadership, culture, and why the best teams are built on trust rather than pressure. If you’ve ever wondered what makes a workplace truly sustainable, this episode gets to the heart of it.

Play isn't "outside" behavior analysis. It might be one of the most powerful ways to deliver it. In this episode, Dr. Jake Papazian, Di-Anne Elise, and Dr. Scott sit down with guest Dariyn Olas to talk about PlayPath, the platform she built to bring play-based intervention to toddlers, with a focus on pre-linguistic skills like joint attention, imitation, and early requesting. The group breaks down how play schemas help clinicians read a child's natural patterns and scaffold toward more complex play without losing motivation, and how PlayPath supports that with clinician-friendly assessments and video models. Along the way, Dariyn shares her path from RBT work into building the app, and the conversation opens up into bigger questions for the field: where play fits in ABA's scope, how NDBIs and ESDM tie in, and why collaboration with speech and OT matters so much for early intervention. A great listen for BCBAs, early intervention providers, and parents looking for a practical way to make play-based teaching work with kids ages 0–3.

Behavior analysis has a branding problem, and Chris Zorzi says the fix is bigger than autism, bigger than conferences, and bigger than the field has dared to think so far. If you care about where ABA goes next, this conversation is the roadmap. Chris, the assistant vice president of SEBA and head of membership and engagement, joins Dr. Jake, Dr. Scott, and Di-Anne for a sharp, funny, and surprisingly candid Officer Spotlight on what it really takes to expand behavior analysis into the mainstream. From his first “this is it” moment after seeing a LinkedIn post about pushing ABA beyond autism, to the practical realities of making the organization more visible, Chris makes the case for a field that is more public, more accessible, and far less pigeonholed. The stakes here are real: if behavior analysis stays locked inside one narrow identity, the field risks being defined by insurance, misunderstood by the public, and underused everywhere else it could make a difference. Chris argues that the opportunity is enormous if behavior analysts are willing to get louder, broader, and more creative about where their science belongs.

The conversation with Mariah Padilla, MA, BCBA, focuses on her journey into the OBM space and the challenges faced by behavior analysts looking to pivot into non-clinical roles. Mariah shares insights on leveraging behavior analysis for career development and coaching BCBAs, as well as the importance of translating skills and using behavior analysis in corporate settings.Find Mariah here:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariahpadilla/https://obxshop.gumroad.com/l/roadmaphttps://obxshop.gumroad.com/l/ctt

The Evolving Behavior Analyst is the official podcast of the Society for the Expansion of Behavior Analysis (SEBA). We are a non profit that supports the growth and advancement of behavior analysis by fostering professional networking and collaboration among practitioners, students, and community partners. In our first episode we interview our Master at Arms: Dr. Scott O'Donnell to discuss his role in the organization and how SEBA hopes to shape the field of behavior analysis.