2022 Outstanding Mentor: Valerie M. Volkert

Valerie M. Volkert, Ph.D., BCBA-D, associate professor (pediatrics), is a psychologist program manager in the Children’s Multidisciplinary Feeding Program at Marcus Autism Center. She received her doctorate in school psychology from Louisiana State University in 2007. She was previously faculty at the Munroe-Meyer Institute, and adjunct faculty at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where she became the training director for the Applied Behavior Analysis Ph.D. Program and Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders. In 2015, Dr. Volkert joined the Marcus Autism Center. She sees patients in intensive day treatment and outpatient at the Feeding Program, supervises interns and residents, and pursues lines of clinical research. Of particular interest are treatments to address Avoidant and Restrictive Food Intake Disorder and increase advanced feeding skills (e.g., chewing). She has authored four book chapters and published 41 peer-reviewed research studies in multiple journals, including the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, the Journal of Pediatrics, Research in Developmental Disabilities, Behavior Modification, and Behavior Analysis in Practice. Dr. Volkert serves currently serves on the board of editors for two journals and as associate editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.