Karla Lanier began her life-long career working with/for children when she accepted her first job out of college as the teacher assistant in a 3-year old class at Greenway Child Development Center in Boone, NC. Next, Karla's career took a significant turn when she and her husband, Carl, took a live-in position in a Teaching-Family Model treatment program where they learned specific teaching skills based on Principles of Behavior and Learning Theory. Excited by this work, Karla decided to pursue a specialized Master's Degree in Special Education that focused on Teaching-Family Model theory and principles. As part of her graduate work, Karla completed an internship at Thornwell Children's Home in Clinton, SC, where she researched the unique needs of toddlers with severe behavior deficits. As a result, she developed the A-Z Behavior Curriculum. Karla currently works as the Director of Research and Evaluation at Nazareth Children's Home in Rockwell, North Carolina.