Kristina McGinnis

Dr. Kristina McGinnis is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Arizona State University's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Baylor University, where she worked under the mentorship of Dr. Stephanie Gerow. Dr. McGinnis is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and a Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA) in Arizona and Texas.

Before joining ASU, Dr. McGinnis was a research associate at Baylor University and served as a special education teacher in Arizona and Texas. She has extensive experience teaching children with developmental disabilities, particularly those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in both self-contained classrooms and inclusive settings.

Her research focuses on the social validity and efficacy of evidence-based practices, with a particular emphasis on training caregivers and educators to implement these interventions. Dr. McGinnis has been a key contributor to several large-scale research projects, including studies on telehealth coaching for caregivers of children with ASD, which have been published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behavior Modification, and the Journal of Behavioral Education.

In her role at ASU, Dr. McGinnis teaches undergraduate courses in special education and evidence-based practices. 

Research Interests:

• Telehealth coaching for caregivers of individuals with IDDs
• Social validity in caregiver-implemented interventions
• Training natural change agents to implement evidence-based practices
• Autism spectrum disorder and applied behavior analysis