Timothy Vollmer, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Program Director
Timothy R. Vollmer received his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 1992. From 1992 until 1996 he was on the psychology faculty at Louisiana State University. From 1996 to 1998 he was on the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. He returned to the University of Florida in 1998 and is now a Professor of Psychology. His primary area of research is applied behavior analysis, with emphases in developmental disabilities, reinforcement schedules, and parenting. He has published over 100 articles and book chapters related to behavior analysis. He was the recipient of the 1996 B.F. Skinner New Researcher award from the American Psychological Association (APA).
Kerri Peters, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Clinical and Research Director
Dr. Kerri P. Peters earned her Masters degree in Behavior Analysis from the University of North Texas in 2007 and her Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Florida in 2013. Dr. Peters is a Behavior Analyst for the UF Health Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment (UF Health CAN) and collaborates with the UF BARC as the Clinical and Research Director.
Dr. Peters’ primary area of clinical research is applied behavior analysis, with emphases in the areas of intellectual disabilities and autism, the effects of positive reinforcement, and parenting. Dr. Peters was the recipient of the Henry C. and Audrey S. Schumacher Fellowship demonstrating outstanding scientific promise. She currently serves on the Editorial Board of the journal Behavioral Development, and as a Member at Large for the Florida Association for Behavioral Analysis Executive Committee. She also serves on the steering committee, clinical and research task forces for the UF Health CAN.
Affiliate Faculty, Post Doctoral Associates, and Clinical Supervisors
Vivian Ibañez , PhD, BCBA
Dr. Ibañez is a research assistant professor and is the program coordinator for the Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program at the Florida Autism Center’s Specialty Clinic within the University of Florida Health Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment. Before this role, she was a senior behavior analyst in the Intensive Pediatric Feeding Disorders Program at Children’s Specialized Hospital and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Child Neurology, and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Division in Robert Wood Johnson Medical School of Rutgers University. She also held an appointment as an affiliate faculty member of the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. Dr. Ibañez received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland College Park (2009), a Master’s in Behavior Analysis from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (2014), and a Ph.D. in Behavior Analysis from the University of Nebraska Medical Center (2017) under the supervision of Dr. Cathleen Piazza. Dr. Ibañez received clinical and research training at the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Day-treatment and inpatient feeding programs and the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute’s Day-treatment feeding program. She later completed postdoctoral training at the University of Florida, where she directed the Behavior Analysis Research Clinic’s feeding services under Dr. Timothy Vollmer’s supervision. Dr. Ibañez’s research focuses on the assessment and treatment of pediatric feeding disorders with an emphasis on areas that have a direct clinical impact on the children and families who serve as participants. Dr. Ibañez has authored book chapters and training manuals in addition to publications in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis and Behavioral Development Bulletin, for which she has also served as a guest reviewer.
Faris R. Kronfli, PhD, BCBA
Dr. Kronfli is a visiting instructional assistant professor and is the project coordinator for the Monroe County School District consultation project. He received his master’s degree in Behavior Analysis from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 2014 and his Ph.D. in Psychology from the University of Florida (UF) in 2019. His research has included the assessment and treatment of problem behavior among at-risk youth and individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While at UF, Dr. Kronfli helped establish a focus on social learning for adolescents and adults on the spectrum and has continued to focus on the development of programs to support these individuals as they transition to adulthood. Dr. Kronfli was the recipient of the B.F. Skinner Foundation Florida Graduate Student Research Award in 2018 and the Christopher Rubow Memorial Award in 2019.
Kacie McGarry, PhD, BCBA-D
Dr. McGarry received her PhD in Applied Behavior Analysis from Florida Institute of Technology. She has experience working with families in community settings and university-based clinics. She has worked with populations in early childhood through adolescence, diagnosed with autism and mental health conditions, to increase their quality of life and provide caregivers training to maintain their child’s progress. Her research has focused on training staff and caregivers along with evaluating assessments and treatment methods for skill acquisition and problem behavior.
Ronald J. Clark “RJ”, PhD, BCBA
Dr. Clark earned his B.A. from the University of Connecticut in Psychology with a Research Concentration. He continued his studies with a Master of Science degree in Applied Behavior Analysis & Organizational Behavior Management from the Florida Institute of Technology in 2018. He obtained his doctoral degree from the Florida Institute of Technology and is a postdoctoral associate at the University of Florida. Dr. Clark currently serves as a Behavior Analyst in the Intensive Pediatric Feeding Clinic at the University of Florida Health Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment. His clinical experiences have focused on working with children with feeding concerns at the Munroe-Meyer Institute and The Scott Center for Autism Treatment. Dr. Clark has served as a Clinical Director for children with ASD in an early intervention clinic and currently serves on the executive council for the Greater Gainesville Applied Behavior Analysis FABA chapter. His current research interests focus on the training of staff and caregivers in pediatric feeding, understanding the properties of food that contribute to food selectivity, and the efficacy and efficiency of behavioral treatments across pediatric feeding concerns.
Graduate Students
Janae’ Pendergrass, B.S.
Janae’ earned her B.S. in Psychology from Spelman College in 2021. After graduating, she worked as a postbac in the single subject research lab at Marcus Autism Center where she ran functional analyses and provided treatment to children with severe challenging behavior. She simultaneously worked as an RBT in the Language and Learning Center at Marcus. Her research interests include caregiver training for managing behavior and the overall treatment of severe challenging behavior.