Better systems. Better human outcomes.
Ryan Witterschein, Ed.D., BCBA, LBA-VT
I am a behavioral scientist and organizational leader in Concord, New Hampshire, with doctoral training in organizational psychology. For more than fifteen years I have worked inside human services, from direct support to the director’s office. I help leaders build organizations where staff are well trained, well supported, and trusted, and where the people they serve are treated with dignity.
Where I can help
My work sits where behavioral science meets real organizations. It falls into three areas, and most engagements touch more than one.
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Executive leadership and organizational development
I have led a clinical department, co-founded and run a consulting practice, and chair a statewide council. Through leadership development and organizational behavior management, I help leadership teams build the supervision, training, and accountability systems that let good people do good work, and keep doing it under pressure.
Leadership work: executive leadership and organizational development -
Behavioral consulting and systems improvement
Function-based, trauma-informed behavioral consulting for people with complex needs, including forensic and high-risk transitions, restraint-free crisis prevention, and school supports that staff can carry out every day.
Consulting work: behavioral consulting and systems improvement -
Research, education, and speaking
Research on how leaders take perspective and reason across the levels of a system, graduate supervision and teaching, and trainings and talks for teams, boards, and conferences.
Research and teaching: research, education, and speaking
How I lead
Three commitments guide how I lead, consult, and teach. They come from different places, a personal motto, a military leadership doctrine, and a well-tested theory of human motivation, and they point the same way.
Always with dignity Semper Dignitis
My personal motto, and the first test I apply to my own work. Every plan, policy, and training I build has to protect the dignity of the person it touches, including the staff who carry it out.
Extreme ownership After Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
The leader owns the outcome. When a team falls short, I look first at what I asked of them, how well I prepared them, and what the system actually rewarded.
Autonomy, relatedness, and competence Self-determination theory
People do their best work when they have real choices, real connection, and real growth. I design roles, supervision, and support plans to meet those needs.
Track record
Cumulative counts across my career, as of 2026.
- 15+years in behavioral science and human services
- 150+functional behavior assessments conducted and behavior support plans written
- 0restraint or seclusion reports filed with the State of New Hampshire
- 12+high-risk forensic individuals supported from secure settings into community homes with zero hands-on intervention
- 24+schools across seven or more districts served as a consultant
- 48+presentations and trainings for schools, agencies, boards, and conferences
Recent work
Published research
Witterschein, R. (2026). What makes leaders in human services effective? A pilot study linking systems thinking, perspective-taking, and leadership success. Journal of Nonprofit Innovation, 6(1), Article 11.
A pilot study of eight behavior analysts in leadership roles that introduces the ABLA 2.0, a 48-item instrument joining leadership theory with relational frame theory. The findings are preliminary, and a larger validation study is the next step.
Public service and governance
- Chair, New Hampshire Statewide Independent Living CouncilGubernatorial appointment, second term
- Member, New Hampshire State Rehabilitation CouncilAdvising the state’s vocational rehabilitation program
- Trustee, Strong Foundations Charter SchoolBoard of Trustees and Governance Committee
- Board of Directors, Behavior Analysts for AIBoard and Governance Committee
Let’s talk about the work
Whether you are filling a leadership role, rethinking a program, planning a training, or looking for a research partner, email is the best way to reach me.