Bud Ballinger earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Texas Tech University in 2000. While in graduate school, he worked in a maximum security psychiatric prison hospital and a juvenile detention facility. He completed a pre-doctoral internship in 1999-2000 at Hutchings Psychiatric Center in Syracuse. Following internship he accepted a full-time position at Madison County Mental Health Department and worked for eight years as the coordinator of forensic services. The duties of this position included serving as the Mental Health liaison to the courts, corrections, and law enforcement, providing or supervising evaluations and treatment for sexual offenders and other mandated clients, and supervising the team responsible for the sex offender treatment program. Dr. Ballinger opened a part-time private practice in 2007 and at the end of 2008 left full-time employment with Madison County to enter full-time private practice providing consultation, forensic evaluations, and courtroom testimony. The majority of his cases involved assessing sexual offenders and making treatment and supervision recommendations including recommendations regarding civil management under Mental Hygiene Law Article 10. In 2013, he was hired by the NY State Office of Mental Health to develop an intensive prison-based sex offender treatment program in Marcy, NY. He continues to work in the prison-based program, which treats high-risk sexual offenders who are likely candidates for civil confinement. He has served on the Advisory Board for the Madison County Children’s Advocacy Center and the Madison County Youth Board. He has served on the Alliance Board since 2010 and on the NYS ATSA Board since 2011. He is the current president of NYS ATSA.