Dawn B. Townsend, Ph.D., BCBA is the Executive Director Emeritus of the Institute for Educational Achievement. She earned a doctorate in psychology from the CUNY Graduate School and University Center. During that time, she was the recipient of several fellowships, including fellowships awarded by the New York State Institute for Basic Research, Queens College, and the Princeton Child Development Institute. She has extensive clinical and research experience in the area of autism intervention, with an emphasis on developing communication and social skills in children with autism. Dr. Townsend has served as an adjunct lecturer at Queens College (CUNY). Her research has focused on the development of social and language skills in children with autism and she has published numerous articles in both basic and applied behavior analysis journals. In addition, she has made numerous presentations on autism intervention at local, national, and international conferences and promotes the application of behavior analysis in the education of individuals with autism through consultation with other programs and professionals.