Timothy A. Zercher (00:00)
All right, well thank you so much for joining us, Jeannie. We're really excited to learn a little bit about you and hear some of your story and get some insights from you today.

Jeannie Aguilar (00:08)
Well, thank you for having me.

Timothy A. Zercher (00:10)
Absolutely, absolutely. So our first question is, you've led teams through startups, acquisitions, and large-scale growth. What's one of the biggest lessons you've learned about building clinical teams that really thrive under that constant change that we know is reality?

Jeannie Aguilar (00:26)
I would say clinician stability is the highest point that you want to look at. If you have clinicians that are stable, you're going to have clients that are very stable. So you want to very much invest in the supports for your clinicians, their growth as clinical leaders, their growth in their clinical skills so that they will maintain. And as you're developing them, they will maintain as you are growing and scaling that organization.

Timothy A. Zercher (00:49)
Makes sense. And if you have good people and good teams, then it doesn't matter what changes in the world and the company as a whole. So applied behavioral analysis often focuses on client outcomes, but you've also applied it to organizational leadership. How do you use that behavioral science to shape strong, scalable healthcare systems?

Jeannie Aguilar (00:57)
Yes.

Well, using the very basic principles, you want to look at reinforcement, shaping, and of course, measurement. So you want to identify what it is that you're trying to change and what interventions you're in place so that you're organized about how you're measuring that progress and is it working. I would say, especially as you're looking at scaling, really investing in your in how you're rolling out your clinical initiatives. I always go back to the basic of keep it simple. I have seen with great intent many, many initiatives rolled out, but sometimes when they're rolled out too quickly, you're not able to very clearly measure what change you wanted to come from it. And oftentimes it can have the opposite effect on your clinical team when they feel too many initiatives are being rolled out and they can't keep up with it. And so I always go back to keep it simple and keeping your measurable outcomes at the forefront. What is it that we're trying to change?

Timothy A. Zercher (02:07)
Absolutely. And what is it that is practical to change first, right? Yeah, yeah, reasonable expectations, I think, are another one of those pieces that applies across individuals or organizations. So you're in a pretty competitive space. How does your team go about gaining new clients? What's working for you right now?

Jeannie Aguilar (02:10)
Exactly. That social validity.

Yeah.

It is quite competitive in many of the states. I am currently in a market that is actually I would say 90% Medicaid and you know if you told me this 20 years ago that we would have this opportunity to outreach to families who could not afford ABA. Back 20 years ago it was very, very few families who could afford what ABA is and so now being able to see that rolled out to communities that never had access to such therapies, I am very happy to work in a state where that is where the majority of our clientele is. I would say in terms of marketing, it's not so much marketing, it was very much joining those community partnerships as families are getting connected to those Medicaid services. I'm in a state where they immediately start looking at what therapies are going to benefit family, we're already at the forefront of that. So as soon as they're starting to get connected with Medicaid, they are also getting connected whenever they get that diagnosis for autism to autism services and creating that collaboration across those teams.

Timothy A. Zercher (03:33)
That is awesome. And that is, we're in a rare time right now where we can provide services to those who can't necessarily afford them on their own, which is awesome. What have you found is the hardest part about growing new teams especially?

Jeannie Aguilar (03:45)
I wouldn't say the hardest part, but kind of going back to that clinician development. As you're going to grow a team, you want to ensure that you're a stable team that's going to stay and a team where you're continuing to mentor and coach their clinical skills, their clinical leadership. It's actually very, very personal for me. I have two younger sisters that followed me into the field and we had quite big age gaps. So they were always my young babies. And so as they were joining the field, I was the person that they would turn to. Like, what do I need to look for in a practicum? What do I need to really build on in terms of my skills? Like, now there are leaders outright in their own organizations, which is amazing. But when I'm looking at building my teams, I'm really looking at what would I tell my sister? Like, how would I have her grow in an organization? As I'm, you know, I taught at the university for a while and I still love seeing those students many years later. But, you know, those steps that, you know, going to grow them and they're going to multiply. One of my favorite conversations is when I have a student say, oh well I learned from you and then I taught this person and now they're a BCBA and you know that's happened with my sisters. Your sister's a BCBA and she taught me to be a BCBA and it's just one of those like ripple effects that you get to see many years later but it will have that ripple effect down the line. So as you're growing the organization recognizing that ripple effect what growth are you creating in your clinic now that will then transfer to new clinicians later on down the road even if it's decades later.

Timothy A. Zercher (05:20)
Makes sense. And I imagine too the steps of growth for each clinician is different every single time too, right? It has to be completely customized.

Jeannie Aguilar (05:27)
Absolutely, and it's learning where they need those skills, what experiences have they not yet had and ensuring that we're continuing to build them and not just leave them in their narrow path. The path is very wide.

Timothy A. Zercher (05:40)
Yeah, that makes complete sense. So your job is not an easy one, and I find that almost anyone in the behavioral health industry has a very specific, often very personal reason to be in this space. Would you mind sharing yours?

Jeannie Aguilar (05:53)
Absolutely. I think back to how I ended up in the field. I always knew I wanted to work with families and kids. I joined psychology as a major very early in my university career and my mom was, you know, at home daycare while we were growing up. So I knew I loved working with kids and really as strange as it is, was almost accidental how I came into this field. I was a tutor and as my tutoring position ended, again, very old school. We didn't have Indeed or LinkedIn back then, but there was just a poster at the university that they needed a tutor for their kid and there it noted that the child had autism and it was, you know, back in the time when they had to fly out people from California to come train you how to work with the client. And so I was just very close to the family and very devoted like you know you've trained me to do this I'm going to stick this out and the kid was you know you build that relationship with kid and you realize I am making a difference in a life it's not just a job. It is changing a life and that I think just lit that passion and all the doors opened from there. Like I learned what a BCBA was and the programs opened up and so it fell into that path and then of course as I mentioned my younger sisters then realized what I was doing and saw that change in families, saw that change in clients and just saw that passion and the passion was ignited in them. Oddly enough I think for my youngest sisters we used to peer groups and I would have my youngest sisters come for some of those sessions and so they very quickly like had that connection to clients way before they ever entered college and so as they entered college they knew that was still something that they wanted to maintain and continue.

Timothy A. Zercher (07:35)
Awesome. Awesome. Showing that being able to actually see the impact is a blessing I think in this space that you don't get a lot of others.

Jeannie Aguilar (07:40)
Yeah.

And the connections that still exist. Have those clients that started there in college. They still kind of connect outside, which is amazing to see that that change continues on. And they are their own individuals who are able to reflect back and want to connect with me, which I think was that human connection that it's a family.

Timothy A. Zercher (08:09)
Yeah, that's awesome. That's awesome. Well, perfect. Thank you so much for joining us, Jeannie. We really appreciate getting some of these quick-hitting insights. I appreciate it a lot, and I think our viewers do too. So thank you so much for joining us.

Jeannie Aguilar (08:22)
Thank you for having me.

Timothy A. Zercher (08:24)
Absolutely.