About Ryan Witterschein

Who I am

I am a behavior analyst, an organizational leader, and a father first and foremost. For more than fifteen years I have worked where behavioral science meets real organizations: residential and community programs for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, forensic and high-acuity services, schools, and the leadership teams that run them.

I hold a Doctor of Education in Leadership and Learning with a specialization in organizational psychology, and I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a Licensed Behavior Analyst in Vermont. Both fields of study ask the same question from different directions: why do people do what they do at work, and what would help them do it better? Behavior analysis gives me precise tools for answering that question one person and one behavior at a time. My doctoral study of leadership and organizational psychology taught me to ask it of teams, departments, and whole organizations.

My personal motto is Semper Dignitis, always with dignity, because every individual deserves to be treated with dignity. It is the standard I hold my own work to, and it is why I do not use restraint.

How I got here

I did not start in behavior analysis. My first training was in criminal justice and military policing. I served in the New Hampshire Army National Guard as a military police soldier from 2008 to 2014 and earned an associate degree in criminal justice along the way. It was my first education in standards, preparation, and accountability.

In 2011 I took a job as a direct support professional at a New Hampshire agency serving adults with developmental disabilities, many of them involved with the justice system. I stayed in that work. I finished a psychology degree in 2015 and moved into a behaviorist role, then earned a master’s degree in applied behavior analysis from Antioch University New England in 2017 and became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.

From 2018 to 2022 I also worked as a BCBA consultant, supervising up to 28 behavior technicians and seven master’s-level clinicians. Every technician I prepared passed the Registered Behavior Technician certification exam on the first attempt, and every BCBA candidate I have supervised has passed the board exam. From 2020 to 2024 I served as adjunct faculty in the graduate behavior analysis program at Simmons University, mentoring and supervising graduate students across the full BACB Task List. I found the work deeply rewarding and stepped away to focus on my dissertation.

After a period as Director of Adolescent Services at ABA Behavioral Consulting, I co-founded a behavioral consulting practice in 2022 and returned to the agency where I had started in direct support, this time as Director of Behavioral Services, a role I held until 2026. Across all of those roles one premise kept proving itself: the most persistent problems in human services are organizational as much as clinical. My doctorate was built on that premise. I completed it at Aspen University in January 2026 and graduated as a Distinguished Doctor.

Experience

1. 2022 to presentCo-Founder & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)Witterschein & Unger Behavioral Consulting, LLC
2. 2022 to 2026Director of Behavioral ServicesNew Hampshire agency serving adults with developmental disabilities
3. 2021 to 2022Director of Adolescent ServicesABA Behavioral Consulting
4. 2020 to 2024Adjunct FacultySimmons University, graduate program in applied behavior analysis
5. 2018 to 2022BCBA ConsultantWJW Educational & Behavioral Consulting Services, Inc.
6. 2015 to 2021BehavioristNew Hampshire agency serving adults with developmental disabilities
7. 2011 to 2015Direct Support ProfessionalNew Hampshire agency serving adults with developmental disabilities
8. 2008 to 2014Military PoliceNew Hampshire Army National Guard

Public service and governance

Governance is where systems are set, so I serve where I can help set them well.

• Chair, New Hampshire Statewide Independent Living CouncilAppointed by the Governor and serving a second term. The council develops and monitors the State Plan for Independent Living for Granite Staters with disabilities.
• Member, New Hampshire State Rehabilitation CouncilAdvises the state’s vocational rehabilitation program on services for people with disabilities who are seeking employment.
• Trustee, Strong Foundations Charter SchoolBoard of Trustees and Governance Committee for a New Hampshire public charter school.
• Board of Directors, Behavior Analysts for AIBoard and Governance Committee, serving where behavior analysis meets artificial intelligence.

What drives me

The advocacy I care about most is for people the system has no place for. Adults with developmental disabilities and severe behavioral needs often have no level of care between a family or agency home and a hospital bed, and many specialized programs end at age 21. I have sat in the planning meetings for people boarding in emergency departments and waiting on discharge. I want to change that system, not solve one placement at a time.

The second thing that drives me is the workforce. Direct support professionals, paraeducators, and new clinicians carry the hardest moments in human services, often with the least preparation. Training them well, supervising them well, and giving them reasons to stay is the most reliable way I know to improve what happens for the people they support.

Education and credentials

Education

• Doctor of Education in Leadership and Learning, Specialization in Organizational PsychologyAspen University, 2026. Distinguished Doctor.
• Master of Science, Applied Behavior AnalysisAntioch University New England, 2017
• Bachelor of Science, PsychologyMount Washington College, 2015
• Associate of Science, Criminal JusticeHesser College, 2009

Credentials

• Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA)Behavior Analyst Certification Board
• Licensed Behavior Analyst, Vermont (LBA-VT)Vermont Office of Professional Regulation
• Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT) facilitatorCertified through Correctional Counseling, Inc.
• Pearson Assessment QualificationLevels A through C
• Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and Black BeltUdemy, 2025

Research ethics

• Protecting Human Research ParticipantsNational Institutes of Health, 2016
• Social, Behavioral, and Education Sciences: Responsible Conduct of ResearchCITI Program, current through May 2027
• Information Privacy and SecurityCITI Program, current through May 2027

Additional training

• Foundations of LeadershipThe National Society of Leadership and Success, 2022
• Professional Life Coach CertificationUdemy, 2024

As a behavior analyst, I conduct functional and behavioral assessments. I do not provide psychological or psychiatric diagnosis.

Beyond work

Away from work I keep a small homestead in Concord, where I raise Silver Fox rabbits. I am also preparing a podcast, Phase Change, about behavior, leadership, and meaningful change, from the perspective of behavioral science and lived experience.