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Essential for Living (EFL) es un plan de estudios y un marco de habilidades funcionales para la vida cotidiana diseñado para mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas con discapacidades moderadas a graves. EFL da prioridad a las habilidades más importantes para la seguridad, la autonomía, la comunicación, la salud, la dignidad y la participación significativa en la vida cotidiana.
Lo que distingue a EFL no es solo el plan de estudios en sí, sino el equipo de médicos, educadores y colaboradores que continúan desarrollándolo, implementándolo y perfeccionándolo en escuelas, clínicas y comunidades de todo el mundo.
Liderazgo y equipo central

CEO, Chief Clinical Officer (CCO), Co-Author of Essential for Living
Troy Fry
CEO, Chief Clinical Officer (CCO), Co-Author of Essential for Living
Troy Fry is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and co-author of Essential for Living. He serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Clinical Officer, providing overall clinical leadership, strategic direction, and stewardship of the Essential for Living curriculum.
Troy has spent decades working with individuals with moderate to severe disabilities across educational, residential, and community-based settings. His work has focused on ensuring that assessment, skill selection, and intervention decisions are grounded in social validity, dignity, and meaningful quality-of-life outcomes. Through his leadership, EFL has continued to evolve as both a practical curriculum and a broader framework for ethical, functional, and compassionate practice.
In addition to his leadership role, Troy is deeply involved in advanced consultation, mentorship, and content development. He plays a central role in shaping strategic partnerships, guiding clinical priorities, and supporting organizations and practitioners implementing EFL across diverse service systems and cultural contexts.
Áreas de especialización
- Co-author and clinical steward of Essential for Living
- Clinical decision-making, integrity, and oversight
- Advanced case consultation and mentorship
- Strategic relationships and long-term vision for EFL
Medios de comunicación

Founder, Co-Author & Senior Clinical Advisor
Patrick McGreevy
Founder, Co-Author & Senior Clinical Advisor
Patrick McGreevy is the founder and co-author of Essential for Living and a foundational figure in the development of functional, socially meaningful approaches to teaching individuals with moderate to severe disabilities. He received degrees in Psychology and Special Education from the University of Iowa and earned his Ph.D. in Education from the University of Kansas under the mentorship of Ogden R. Lindsley.
Patrick has served as a special education teacher, university faculty member, author, journal editor, consultant, and international presenter. He is the author of Teaching and Learning in Plain English, founder and first editor of the Journal of Precision Teaching and Standard Celeration Charting, and the first author of Essential for Living. His work has profoundly influenced the application of Precision Teaching, verbal behavior, and functional skills instruction worldwide.
For more than 30 years, Patrick has provided consultation to school districts, residential programs, and hospitals, specializing in the simultaneous management of severe problem behavior and the teaching of communication and language skills to individuals with limited repertoires. He continues to serve as Senior Clinical Advisor to EFL, contributing to curriculum refinement, clinical philosophy, and decision-making to ensure the integrity and longevity of the framework.
Áreas de especialización
- Foundational development and authorship of Essential for Living
- Clinical philosophy, Precision Teaching, and verbal behavior
- Advisory leadership in curriculum evolution and integrity
- Consultation for severe problem behavior and communication development

Director of Strategic Partnerships & Development; Senior Consultant / Trainer
Miguel Ávila
Director of Strategic Partnerships & Development; Senior Consultant / Trainer
Miguel Ávila is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and international consultant with extensive experience in applied behavior analysis, crisis management, and professional training. He supports the strategic growth and international development of Essential for Living through systems-building, partnerships, training, and consultation across educational, clinical, and community settings.
Miguel has played a central role in the international dissemination of Essential for Living, including coordinating, translating, and editing the Spanish editions of the Professional Practitioner’s Manual and the Assessment and Record of Progress Manual. His work has contributed to the expansion of EFL implementation across the United States, Latin America, and other Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking regions.
Prior to his work with EFL, Miguel served as a Project Specialist and Instructor with the Professional Crisis Management Association (PCMA), delivering crisis management training using a train-the-trainer model and providing consultation nationally and internationally. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of West Florida.
Miguel is fluent in English and Spanish and is deeply committed to integrating compassionate, trauma-informed approaches with applied behavior analysis.
Áreas de especialización
- Strategic planning and international expansion
- Training, consultation, and mentorship (English & Spanish)
- Integration of EFL with complementary frameworks (e.g., crisis management, PFA/SBT)
- Development of certification pathways and partnerships
- Ability to deliver PCM Practitioner-level courses

Operations Director
Karie Seifert
Operations Director
Karie Seifert oversees the operational systems that support the delivery of training, consultation, and curriculum distribution.
Áreas de especialización
- Operations and administrative workflows
- Billing and logistics
- Scheduling and coordination
Consultores, formadores y especialistas en contenidos

Emily Beal Wilkinson
Senior Consultant, Clinical Training & Implementation; Event-Based Teaching & Health & Wellness
Emily Beal Wilkinson, M.S., BCBA, LBA, earned a B.A. in Communication Studies from California State University, Northridge, and an M.S. degree in Education from the University of Southern California. She has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst since 2016 and also specializes in supporting individuals with dyslexia and other learning differences.
Emily has worked across higher education, clinical, and school-based settings. She previously served as a reading and learning specialist at the University of Oregon, supporting first-generation college students and neurodivergent learners. She currently works at Victory Academy, a private year-round school for students with autism and related disorders, where she piloted and led the development of a Health and Wellness program focused on teaching students to tolerate essential home, health, and community routines.
Emily is an active conference presenter and international consultant, supporting organizations and practitioners in translating EFL principles into practical, event-based learning opportunities. Her approach to Event-Based Teaching is strongly influenced by her interests in gardening, cooking, athletics, and designing goods for community markets, which she uses as inspiration for meaningful, functional instruction.
Áreas de interés
- Practitioner training and mentorship
- Event-Based Teaching
- Health, wellness, and quality of life
- Group-based instruction and staff training
- Clinical implementation and systems support

Kristina Montgomery
Senior Consultant, Clinical Training & Implementation; Event-Based Teaching & Health & Wellness
Kristina Montgomery, M.A., BCBA, LBA, earned a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and Women’s Studies from the University of Oregon and an M.A. in Applied Behavior Analysis from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is a licensed regular education teacher, licensed special education teacher, and Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
Kristina has worked in applied behavior analysis since 2002, supporting children and young adults across home, public school, and private school settings as a teacher, consultant, program director, supervisor, and trainer. Her work emphasizes strong collaboration with parents and caregivers, group-based instruction, and the design of learning environments that support health, wellness, and quality of life.
Within Essential for Living, Kristina specializes in designing and scaling Event-Based Teaching across full school or treatment days, supporting teams in goal writing, staff training, parent coaching, and the implementation of functional routines in both individual and group contexts. She provides in-person and virtual trainings, consultation, and mentorship internationally. Kristina draws inspiration for her work from her interests in gardening, cooking, reading, crafting, and spending time outdoors.
Áreas de interés
- Event-Based Teaching
- Health, wellness, and quality of life
- Group-based instruction and staff training

Janine
SLP / BCBA — Consultant, Trainer & Clinical Advisor
Janine is dually certified as a behavior analyst and speech-language pathologist, with over 18 years of experience supporting the speech, language, and social development of children and adolescents. She remains one of a small group of clinicians worldwide holding both credentials.
She speaks internationally at conferences and training events and is a passionate advocate for collaboration between behavior analysts and speech-language pathologists. Janine co-authored Chapter 6 of Essential for Living and continues to serve in an advisory capacity related to communication and language development.
Áreas de interés
- Communication and methods of speaking
- Vocal Profiles
- Clinical advising on language development
- Co-author, Chapter 6
Alcance internacional
EFL se implementa y cuenta con apoyo en múltiples regiones de todo el mundo, con líderes locales que impulsan la formación, la publicación y el desarrollo de la comunidad.

United States
Headquarters — training, consultation, and curriculum development

Latin America
Spanish-speaking regions — Diversitad (Diana Vergara)

Brazil
Publishing, training & certification — CEDIN (Amanda Bueno & Daiton Martins)

Italy
Clinical partnership & training — Dr. Chiara Pezzana

Russia
Translation project

China
Translation project

France
Translation & online training
Afiliaciones clínicas y estratégicas
EFL colabora con organizaciones y líderes afines para apoyar prácticas compasivas y basadas en la evidencia para personas con discapacidades moderadas a graves.

Pivot PCM
Crisis intervention training built on Applied Behavior Analysis principles.
Visitar el sitio web
FTF Behavioral Consulting
Practical Functional Assessment (PFA) and Skill-Based Treatment (SBT) training and consultation.
Visitar el sitio web
Standard Celeration Society
Advancing the science and practice of Precision Teaching and Standard Celeration Charting.
Visitar el sitio web
Nuestros servicios
Ofrecemos un programa funcional de habilidades para la vida, Essential for Living, para distritos escolares, escuelas privadas, programas residenciales, hospitales y familias. También ofrecemos consultas presenciales y virtuales para niños y adultos con discapacidades moderadas a graves, problemas de conducta y habilidades de comunicación limitadas, junto con talleres y sesiones de formación intensiva de seguimiento para los profesionales que trabajan con estas personas.
Nos dedicamos a proporcionar servicios de calidad para niños y adultos con discapacidades moderadas a graves y productos relacionados basados exclusivamente en principios y procedimientos científicamente validados del análisis conductual aplicado (incluido el análisis del comportamiento verbal de B. F. Skinner), el análisis experimental del comportamiento, la terapia conductual, la instrucción directa y la enseñanza de precisión.
También nos comprometemos a proporcionar servicios acordes con el derecho de cada persona a recibir una enseñanza y un tratamiento eficaces, es decir, el derecho a que se le aplique el procedimiento menos restrictivo que tenga una alta probabilidad de dar lugar a una enseñanza o un tratamiento eficaces.
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