Meet Kendrell “Abby” Richmond | Board Certified Behavior Analyst & CEO of BCBAbby

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kendrell “Abby” Richmond and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kendrell “Abby”, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor for me is remaining in motion. I’m always looking forward to something: a milestone in my personal journeys, a new pair of cat ears, a vacation, an outing with loved ones, trying a new recipe, professional development, networking opportunities, etc. I do my best to travel monthly, see a friend at least every other week, intentionally do something that brings me joy at least weekly, and research ways to expand my professional repertoire daily. There’s so much to look forward to, day-to-day, year-to-year, throughout my whole lifetime so I have to keep going. I need to see it all through. Life is too short for me to waste time not setting personal and professional goals then bringing them to life. As far as my business, it’s like planting a seed. I have no way of knowing how big it’ll grow, how long it’ll take to reach its potential, or if it was even worth the soil, but I’m excited to water it each day and see where we end up. My seed could turn into a garden or it could teach me that I don’t have a green thumb. Either way, I’m so proud of myself for having the courage and patience to plant it. Believing in myself, trusting myself, loving myself and respecting myself will always be enough for me to keep going. Regardless of the outcomes of my endeavors, my success lies in my mindset. My only limitations are the ones I place on myself.

What should our readers know about your business?
Becoming a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) requires a master’s degree in a relevant field, completion of an ABA (applied behavior analysis) course sequence, 2000 hours of supervised behavior analytic fieldwork, and passing the board exam. Along my journey to becoming a behavior analyst, I had a lot of challenges with obtaining my fieldwork hours. There were so many barriers including trying to acquire these hours during COVID lockdown, not having adequate guidance, the prevalence of gatekeeping in the field, having supervisors that were too busy for me, and feeling thrown to the wolves in unfamiliar situations with no preparation. Not to mention, paid supervision seemed unrealistic for me with my limited budget due to pricing (some BCBA’s charge upwards of $75 per supervision hour.) Ultimately, I paid for supervision and despite the best efforts of those paid remote supervisors (who I am incredibly grateful for. They were so reasonable.) I still never felt quite like I had the type of guidance I’d need to be confident in my practice. My peers generally had similar fieldwork experiences. BCBAbby was inspired by wanting others to have a better supervision experience than I did. See a need and meet it. It’s also a creative outlet that allows me to teach others in the way that I learn best and visualize my tangled web of thoughts for others, colorfully.

From the feedback I receive, what sets me apart from other remote supervisors is that I do my best to be reasonably priced, organized, and empathetic. The underdogs get almost no respect. I went from feeling unsupported, overlooked, an undervalued as an RBT (registered behavior technician) and BCBA in training, to then suddenly having the red carpet rolled out when I became a BCBA. Only then did I feel my value was perceived within the field of ABA and I resent that. The red carpet should start as soon as you dedicate the time and energy to your professional development. It’s so easy to get discouraged along your journey to self-improvement when there are so many challenges along the way. My goal is to ensure student analysts that they are not alone, someone empathizes, someone really cares, and someone wants them to win. I want the same for RBTs and RBTs in training so I am working on resources to offer them in the near future as well!

The biggest lesson for me has been that only by taking risks do I give myself an opportunity to succeed. There’s a silly phrase I’m fond of: “You gotta risk it to get the biscuit.” If I’m not willing to take a leap of faith, I limit myself to where I am now. I’d miss so many beautiful opportunities with an unwillingness to take risks. I’ve come to realize the only true limitations I’m up against are the ones I place on myself. At the end of the day, I believe in myself enough to trust my own judgement. And I am confident in my own life navigation enough to be sure that even when things don’t work out, I can always re-strategize and try again or scrap it and move on to something else. Not every risk yields a return on investment, but every risk taken yields a lesson. I’d rather learn that it wouldn’t have worked out than wonder what might’ve happened. And who knows, it just might go as planned. Why deprive myself of a lesson and opportunity by living in fear? And opportunity aside, I’m worth the risk. I apply that mindset to my entire life.

What I’d like the world to know about me is that I not only believe in myself, but I also believe that if I’m able to accomplish my goals, so can anyone. Don’t convince yourself that anyone is predisposed to success. If you want it, it’s yours. Only by challenging ourselves can we identify our potential. Henry Ford once said “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” It all starts within.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We’re definitely checking out The Vortex for some good food before we go to The Laughing Skull Lounge to catch some hilarious stand up. Six Flags is a must (and/or White Water if it’s hot outside.) We absolutely can’t miss Skyline Park at Ponce City Market where we can have some good drinks, play fun games, and socialize overlooking the skyline. We can get some good seafood at Fat Boiz, The Juicy Crab, and Blu House Seafood. If we wanna turn up or celebrate, we’ll go to The Basement to make some friends and dance all night. Lastly, we could have a banging Sunday brunch at LIPS ATL where we can watch talented drag queens turn the party out.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Stephanie Saulsbury, CEO of HappinessHealthCourage, LLC has been nothing short of an angel in my life for as long as she’s been in it. Stephanie has connected me with more professional development opportunities, job opportunities, and resources than I could even count. She even encouraged me to start my own business, then became my very first client. I genuinely don’t know where I’d be today without her.
We met working alongside each other providing in-home ABA therapy to two siblings as RBTs (Registered Behavior Technicians.) We soon learned that we were both completing our master’s in ABA at the same university. Since day 1, Stephanie shared her food with me, offered me advice and words of encouragement, and supported every goal I shared with her. Stephanie is truly a testament of how far our ambition and optimism can take us. She inspires me more than she’ll ever know. Stephanie is an amazing colleague and an even better friend. I hope we have a partnership some day!

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