Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, Vol 26(2), May 2026, 51-57; doi:10.1037/bar0000330
This article presents a personal narrative that traces my trajectory from developing animal models of timing as a student to a faculty position doing human operant research and mentoring undergraduates at a teaching-focused institution. It includes reflections on challenges in aligning research priorities with institutional and disciplinary expectations, sustaining productivity under high teaching loads, and finding the right audiences for my work. I consider leadership in terms of integrity, accountability, and arranging conditions for others to succeed, and discuss how gender and identity shape experiences in laboratory science. Finally, I offer advice for emerging behavior analysts about pacing careers, seeking support, communicating across disciplines, and recognizing the power each of us has to make the field more inclusive and sustainable. This narrative is both memoir and commentary: an account of one career, and a reflection on the contingencies and cultural dynamics that shape behavior analysis. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)