Melissa Olive

Background

About Melissa Olive

When parents tell me that I have changed their lives, I know that what I am doing is working."Missy Olive's brother Mac is the foundation of her mission for Applied Behavior Analysis. In her early teens Missy, along with her 3 other brothers, traveled with her Mom and Mac to his ABA therapy. She credits her pursuit of helping children to working with her family to help Mac complete his ABA homework. Her mother's legacy remains a strong influence because of her determination to make life better for her brother.Missy graduated from MTSU with a B.S. in Elementary and Special Education and went on to complete her M.Ed. in Special Education at Vanderbilt University. There, Missy further saw the true impact ABA had on children with and without disabilities. She learned to apply ABA as an intensive language intervention strategy called EMT. Missy eventually completed her doctorate at University of Minnesota in order learn how to translate research on teaching to better practice in classrooms. It was during her education that she learned how much she could do with ABA, falling in love with the science of ABA, and understanding how to relate to children and their parents.Now, as a clinical leader, Missy finds success in her work when she is able to help BCBAs and students in the profession meet their goals to become the best clinicians possible. She hopes to continue to promote ABA, and its success to the world. Her dedication to teaching how to use ABA is matched by her passion to see change in how parents, teachers, and legislators see ABA, and the people who benefit from it.Mac is still a very big part of Missy's life. He is a constant influence on her and her family. Missy lives with her husband, Norm, in Naples, Florida and Mac is just "up the road" in Cape Coral. Norm's two daughters, her "bonus children", live in Tampa and come to visit often. Missy grew up in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee and has lived in Nashville, Minneapolis, Reno, Austin, and Woodbridge, CT. Her hobbies include running, cycling, gluten-free baking, boating, and traveling. She visited all 50 states prior to her 50th birthday. Her next goal is to visit all the National Parks.