Her Story
About Theresa
Theresa Chauvette serves as a Program Behavior Analyst for Desert Regional Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this full-time role, she supports behavioral services for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She also maintains part-time clinical work providing telehealth supervision for applied behavior analysis services for children on the autism spectrum. Additionally, she teaches online courses at Purdue Global University and contracts with small companies in Las Vegas to train RBTs and support BCBAs. Chauvette has been working in her field since 2011. She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees virtually from Kaplan University, now known as Purdue Global, with her master's completed in 2015. She obtained her BCBA certification in 2020 and recently began a PhD program in behavior analysis at Capella University, which she expects to complete by 2029. Her educational path included general education coursework at Modesto Junior College and four semesters at the University of the Pacific before transferring online. Chauvette attributes her success to her flexibility with scheduling and her ability to collaborate across disciplines, preferring teamwork because collaboration is key to success in any field. She values seeing the people she works with as humans, showing respect at their level, sticking to her word, and taking care of herself to give her best. Among the advice she offers is not to take oneself too seriously, to leave work at work, and to enter the field with an open mind and an open heart. She notes that the biggest challenge in her field is proper training and quality of supervision before certification, while the greatest opportunity lies in the field's newness, allowing professionals to shape their work and create the careers they want.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Theresa
01What do you attribute your success to?
My ability to be flexible with scheduling and collaborating across disciplines. I prefer to work as a team because we do not exist on islands, and collaboration is key to success in any field.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Not to take myself so seriously and to leave work at work. Don't take it home with you. In our field it's really easy for behavior analysts to get very involved with their clients and get burnt out because they don't take breaks.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't take yourself so seriously. Go into the field with an open mind and an open heart.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is proper training and quality of supervision before certification. The greatest opportunity is that the field is still really new and we have the ability to shape what our work looks like and create the kind of career we want.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Seeing the people we work with as humans, respecting who they are at their level. Sticking to your word and taking care of yourself so you can give your best.
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