“She has been helping me out in a social group and she has been great!” says our Small Group Intervention Coordinator, Yoko Phillips, of Abigail, “and the kids like her!”. NBA staff echo the same sentiments!
We are proud to feature Abigail Tratjenberg in this quarter’s newsletter. For less than one year now, Abigail has been a tutor at Northwest Behavioral Associates, and can be seen with a calm smile on her face.
Abigail is from West Chester, Pennsylvania, originally, and moved to Seattle in 2012, after spending time in five different states. Before she joined NBA, Abigail worked as a field instructor for Islandwood, a teaching assistant in the Environmental Studies division of the University of Washington, as well as worked as an educator for King County’s Recycle More campaign.
Currently, Abigail works as a tutor for NBA while also working as an instructional assistant and substitute teacher at the St. Thomas School, in Medina. Abigail obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science with a minor in Spanish from Warren Wilson College, and a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Washington College of Education. Abigail is taking classes to meet the educational requirements in order to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) through the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT).
When asked how she feels about her experience working in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis, Abigail explains:
“I have been learning a ton every session that I have. It’s kind of like a culmination of all of the things I have been interested in over the years- education and psychology.”
“I love working 1:1 with kids- I have worked a lot in school settings, and it’s nice to get to know them in a small setting.”
Between school and working, Abigail can be seen baking a lot of bread, hiking, exploring Seattle and the parks around it.
In closing, I leave you with words stated by Lindsay Kienzle, Program Manager: “I am very proud to support Abigail in her journey of becoming a BCBA. She has shown a lot of growth in a short period of time since starting here.”
Alex. Chehab, M.Ed., BCBA
Program Supervisor and Development Coordinator