ABOUT ME

My loving engagement with the field of Behaviourism and its links to Darwinism and Pragmatism, dates back to the time of philosophical exploration as a young high school student and later on, as a graduate scholar and researcher. I was a trained academic for almost two decades, initially cultivating my love for Philosophy in my undergraduate and graduate studies. Then, I further took the discourse into the more specific disciplines of Philosophy of Education and Theory and Policy Studies in Education (MA, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto). 

As I have encountered every age and kind of student in the classroom, Philosophy intertwined with Education were very meaningful intellectual enterprises for me. Education etymologically means "drawing from within". To me, this powerfully implies how education and any salient endeavours related to the philosophy of learning, is about helping the person to develop and grow. One way to do this is by cultivating strengths from within and attending to the individual's needs. Thus, my philosophy as an Educator and as a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst follows the reflection of Og Lindsley, founder of Precision Teaching and student of BF Skinner, "the child knows best” (Lindsley, 1972) and the learner is always right.  

Although the idealism of following the lead of the learner and building from this can be straightforward in many ways, there are great challenges ahead. The human person, as well as the human condition, are too dynamic to be encapsulated through standardization and linear assimilation, mechanisms which are very prevalent in today's societal structures and systems. I furthered my studies in the field of Social Justice Education (PhD, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto), in order to pursue the belief that education is a significant platform to live with others fairly by drawing from the uniqueness of each person, within. 

My own lived experiences as a parent and a professional made me choose Behaviourism and Applied Behaviour Analysis as routes to claim social justice and ethics in Education.  In my greater belief in Social Justice and reflections from BF Skinner and other forerunners of Behaviourism, I turned without hesitation to the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis or ABA (VCS, Florida Institute of Technology) as a platform to challenge, change and hopefully eradicate these gate-keepers' mechanisms. In doing so, I hold on to the commitment to success through the evidence-based practice that ABA embraces, as I train and support professionals and paraprofessionals in human services. 

The principles of Behaviour Analysis can create avenues for social change - those which are meaningful for the individual and to society at-large. As I continue my journey as an Educator and a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst, I realized how it is important to support organizations, especially those in the human services, in their employee performance management strategies. Given proper support, organizations can better assist employees, and in turn these employees can further support the learners and clients they help.  I sought training with the experts in Organizational Behaviour Management (OBM) at the Florida Institute of Technology and Leadership in Behaviour Analysis (LIBA), to specialize in OBM as a sub-discipline of ABA.  As an OBMer, my mission is to help and support my colleagues and professionals in human services to be better practitioners, by applying the science and principles of ABA in their workplaces.

Apart from my training in ABA as a form of intervention and/or instruction and Organizational Behaviour Management, I am also continuously engaged in the discourse, research and training in Contextual Behavioural Science, and intensely utilize stimulus equivalence, derived relational responding, Relational Frame Theory and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach as tools in my practice.  

Some of the organizations I have previously worked with and worked for in the areas of education, teaching and training and research are: The Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), University at Buffalo State University of New York (SUNY system), and the University of Toronto Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). 

I am currently the Chief Learning Officer of The Organizational Behaviour Management Academy and the Behavioural Education Initiative Lead for Learning through ABA. 

In building capacity, promoting professional competence and cultivating an ethical culture, I am and will always be committed to success through evidence-based practice.