New faculty spotlight: Elizabeth Preas, PhD

Elizabeth Preas, PhD, is a new faculty member at UNMC.

• Name: Elizabeth Preas, PhD
• Hometown: Cooper, Texas
• Title and department at UNMC: Assistant professor, Munroe-Meyer Institute’s integrated Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders

Research/professional interests:

• Caregiver and staff training
• Skill acquisition in children with autism spectrum disorders and related developmental disabilities
• Assessment and treatment of challenging behavior
• Treatment integrity
• Evaluations of evidence-based teaching procedures

How I fell in love with behavior analysis: I became passionate about behavior analysis when I was working with a team to start behavior analytic services for children with autism in east Texas. I was trained by the most hardworking and compassionate behavior analysts, who really paved the way for ABA and autism services in east and south Texas.

Education:

• PhD, applied behavior analysis (ABA), UNMC, 2019
• MS, clinical and counseling psychology, the University of Texas at Tyler, 2012
• BA, psychology and sociology, Austin College, Sherman, Texas, 2009

Memberships:

• Assocation for Behavior Analysis International
• Nebraska Association for Behavior Analysis
• Texas Association for Behavior Analysis
• Mid-American Association for Behavior Analysis

Three things people may not know about me:

• I grew up in South Korea until I was 4 years old.
• I played basketball in college.
• I went to NASA camp when I was in high school.