Rachel Freeman, PhD, Project Director
email: rfreeman@ku.edu

Rachel Freeman is the Project Director of the Kansas Institute for Positive Behavior Support, an Associate Research Professor at the Life Span Institute in the University of Kansas (KU), an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Special Education at KU, and is the acting President of the Association for Positive Behavior Support (www.apbs.org). Dr. Freeman works with state, regional, and local PBS teams interested in wide-scale dissemination of PBS within an interagency framework, including facilitation of PBS in districts and schools implementing positive behavioral interventions and supports, as well as in residential and vocational settings supporting adults with disabilities. Her research interests include interagency statewide planning, organization-wide and school-wide positive behavior support, online instruction and staff development systems related to PBS, and issues related to children and adults with developmental disabilities including self-injury, self-restraint, and biobehavioral assessment. For more information about Rachel Freeman and the projects she directs, please visit www.kipbs.org, www.swpbs.org, and www.pbskansas.org.

Pat Kimbrough, MS Ed, Assistant Director of Operations
email: patk@ku.edu

Pat Kimbrough is the Assistant Director of Operations at the Kansas Institute for Positive Behavior Support. Pat manages the daily activities of the program, coordinates the training and mentoring process, and works with the technology development. She has experience with web and database design, software support and training, and grant management in the area of developmental disabilities. Pat has a bachelor’s degree from Sterling College and a Master's degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Kansas.

Peter Griggs, M.Ed, Evaluation Coordinator / Northeast Instructor
email: griggs@ku.edu

Peter Griggs is the Evaluation Coordinator for the Kansas Institute for Positive Behavior Support. He reviews all components of the project, including case study plans developed by KIPBS facilitators in training, as well as initial SRS prior authorized plans, to assure that all PC-PBS plans are of high quality (fidelity) and, when implemented, produce positive impacts across various domains. Peter also mentors professionals enrolled in the KIPBS facilitator course. He has extensive experience facilitating SWPBS in early childhood, elementary, and middle school urban and rural settings. He has worked in community residential settings in Missouri with adults with disabilities and problem behaviors. Peter’s research interests include tertiary-level PBS for students with significant support needs, including deaf-blindness; sustaining communities of practice, and behavioral health systems change initiatives that require cross-agency collaboration. Peter earned his M. Ed. in Special Education from Temple University, and has completed all course requirements for a Doctorate in Community Psychology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Matt J. Enyart, MS Ed, KIPBS Research Assistant
email: menyart@ku.edu

Matt Enyart is a Research Assistant for the Kansas Institute for Positive Behavior Support within the Life Span Institute at the University of Kansas. Matt took the KIPBS Facilitator course in 2005 and prior to his employment with KU was a PBS Facilitator Board Member, PBS Facilitator, and KIPBS contractor. Matt’s experience includes human service administration, program development, service coordination, autism waiver, positive behavior support facilitation, independent living counseling, educational advocacy, sexual education, recreation, social skill development, supported employment, residential supports, behavior consultation, and presenting on various human service related topics. Matt also served as an eligibility screener for a Kansas community developmental disability organization and has served on multiple councils and work groups. Matt, his wife, and their four children live in Lawrence but have family all over north central and north eastern Kansas. Matt has a bachelor's degree from Mid American Nazarene University and earned his MS Ed in Special Education/Transition from the University of Kansas.

Kelcey Schmitz, MSEd, KIPBS Research Assistant /Instructor/SWPBS Training Coordinator
email: kschmitz@ku.edu

Kelcey Schmitz is a Research Assistant and School-wide Positive Behavior (SWPBS) Support Training Coordinator for the Kansas Institute for Positive Behavior Support within the Life Span Institute at the University of Kansas. Kelcey is also instructor and mentor for students enrolled in the KIPBS facilitator training and certification course. Prior to her employment at KU, Kelcey worked as a practitioner in the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD) field for 15 years and provided residential services, in-home behavioral therapy for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), behavioral consultation for adults with developmental disabilities, and facilitation of positive behavior support services for children with challenging behavior. Her current research and professional interests include Positive Behavior Support and Transition to Adulthood, School-wide Positive Behavior Support, systems change, and the impact challenging behavior has on quality of life. Kelcey has a bachelor's degree in Applied Behavioral Sciences and a Masters of Science in Education in Special Education/Transition from the University of Kansas. Kelcey and her husband, Darin, live in Lawrence, with their children Drew and Emilly.

James Letcher, IT Coordinator/Programmer
email: jletcher@ku.edu

James is the IT Coordinator / Programmer for the Kansas Institute for Positive Behavior Support. He earned his B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Missouri Western State University in 2005. He manages the Institute's seven websites by developing and managing (technical/professional) services to support research, by creating, maintaining, and improving Internet and print-based venues for public access and for research access and data collection. He is responsible for designing, maintaining, improving, testing and debugging software programs for the research project and for other program settings or center purposes. He further assists the project by analyzing and recommending hardware and information technology for various research or other scholarly and administrative uses.

Aaron Gates, Graduate Research Assistant - Aaron is a Graduate Research Assistant for the Kansas Institute for Positive Behavior Support. He is currently a graduate student in Counseling Psychology at the University of Kansas. He has experience working with collaborative research teams in the fields of psychology and education, and experience as a counseling intern in a community mental health center. His interests include research methodology, advanced quantitative methods (e.g., SEM, IRT, Bayesian Analysis), empirically-supported treatments, mental health and PBS integration, psychological assessment, positive psychology, positive behavior support, public health, depression, and vocational psychology. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Kansas. Aaron helps the KIPBS team with data analysis, evaluation, survey development, audio/video editing and production, multimedia design, and web design. He also assists with various daily tasks of the training program as needed.

Hsiang-Feng Melody Chen, Graduate Research Assistant - Melody is a Graduate Research Assistant for the Kansas Institute for Positive Behavior Support. She is currently a doctoral candidate in Educational Psychology and Research (REMS track) at the University of Kansas. She has experience working with multidisciplinary research teams in the areas of education, research methodology, and educational measurement. Her research interests are Item Response Theory, Structural Equation Modeling, cross-cultural studies, large-scale assessment (e.g., Program of International Student Assessment), and students’ self-concepts such as self-efficacy and motivations, particularly as they relate to learning and academic achievement. Melody helps the KIPBS team with database maintenance, data analysis, visual data presentation, evaluation, and various daily tasks of the training program as needed.

Alexis Davis, Office Assistant

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KIPBS Instructors/Mentors

Katie Zerr, Western Kansas Instructor - Katie Zerr has a bachelor’s degree in Human Development and a master’s degree in Early Childhood Special Education with an emphasis in Autism Spectrum Disorders from the University of Kansas. She has worked with individuals with Autism for approximately 8 years. Her primary areas of focus are early intervention for children with Autism and providing Positive Behavior Supports services. Katie has provided Autism Specialist services through the Autism Waiver and Positive Behavior Support facilitation.

Nan Perrin, Northeast Kansas Instructor - Nan Perrin is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and has a graduate degree in Human Development from the University of Kansas. She is in the process of completing her dissertation in Early Childhood Special Education at KU. She has worked with individuals with disabilities for since 1990. She has been a BCBA since 2001. Her primary areas of focus are autism, behavior support for individuals and families, as well as policy and systems change. She is appointed to the Kansas Governor’s Commission on Autism as the BCBA member. She currently oversees Positive Behavior Support facilitation, Autism Waiver Services, behavioral consultation and Targeted Case Management.

Dennis Peters, Southern Kansas Instructor- Dennis Peters has a Bachelor’s Degree in elementary education, a Master’s Degree in special education, and a Specialist’s Degree in school psychology. He has 35 years experience working with children and youth in a variety of settings.  In addition to providing services through Kansas Institute of Positive Behavior Support, Dennis also provides training in MANDT System which offers alternatives that can be used by those likely to encounter the problem of aggressive or uncooperative behavior and VIRTUS which is a best practices program designed to help prevent wrongdoing and promote "rightdoing" within religious organizations.

Sara Quick, Northeast Kansas Instructor

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KIPBS Facilitator Board

The KIPBS Facilitator Advisory Board is comprised of a voluntary group of KIPBS Facilitators from across the State of Kansas as well as members of the KIPBS staff. The board meets every other month to discuss issues such as policy development around the prior authorization process, the evaluation of PBS plans, and quality assurance.

Click here for more information about the KIPBS Facilitator Board.

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National Advisory Board

The role of the National Advisory Board (NAB) is to provide KIPBS staff members with expert guidance on the development of the standards and curriculum. The National Advisory Board members:

• Specify the standards for selecting the curriculum,
• Select and organizing the curricular content that will be covered,
• Oversee the professional development procedures, and
• Review the online instructional materials.

The NAB meets primarily via conference calls and individual meetings at conferences and other events. Click here for more information about the NAB role. This page provides NAB members with the agenda, materials, and tools that are to be reviewed during upcoming NAB meetings. In the earlier years of KIPBS (2001-2003), onsite meetings were scheduled with board members attending full day events to review training materials and content. The current role of the NAB is to ensure the content and training system is updated regularly and contains new evidence-based practices.

Current KIPBS National Advisory Board Members
(serving a three-year term ending October, 31, 2013)

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Past National Advisory Board Members (Not Listed Above)

The following professionals have served on the National Advisory Board prior to 2010:

Linda Bambara
Lehigh University

Fredda Brown
Queens College, City University of New York

Ted Carr
University New York, Stonybrook

Constance Lehman
Western Oregon State University

Joe Reichle
University of Minnesota

Wayne Sailor
University of Kansas

Travis Thompson
University of Kansas Medical Center

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