Division 31 – The Division of State, Provincial, and Territorial Association Affairs

1. 1. Are you a member of the psychological association of your state, province, or territory?

I am a member and Fellow of the Georgia Psychological Association.  I have been a member since 1991.

1. 1. What offices or positions have you held in your SPTA, and when?

President (1999-2000)

Secretary (1997-1999)

Federal Advocacy Coordinator (2000-Current)

Treasurer of the Political Action Committee (2000-Current)

Past Chair-Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee (1992-1997)

Past Chair-Membership Committee (1991-1992)

Peer Review Committee

1. 1. Describe your activities and accomplishments at the local/SPTA level which have strengthened your SPTA.

I have been involved in state level psychological activities since I moved to Atlanta in 1991.  I believe each position I have served in has contributed to strengthening the Georgia Psychological Association.  For example, while serving as chair of the Ethnic Minority Affairs Committee we began developing programs that focused on increasing the engagement and membership of ethnic minorities in the association.   In addition, we began a tradition of holding an annual diversity brunch, which continues.  The Brunch provides an opportunity for psychologists of various cultures and ethnicities to fellowship and network, as well as recruit members to the association. As Federal Advocacy Coordinator, a position that I have served in for 20 years, I advocated for legislation that makes a difference for our members and society, such as mental health parity and the Medicare Mental Health Access Act.  One of the things I want members to understand is that GPA should be their psychology home, as it is “where the rubber meets the road” in terms of addressing issues that impact on the profession.

I believe that the organization is strengthened by the relationships that are formed, the support that we provide each other, and working toward a common goal—benefitting society and improving people’s lives. 

1. 1. Describe your activities on the national/APA level which have strengthened or benefited SPTAs.

I believe that what strengthens the national organization ultimately has a positive impact on the SPTAs.  Therefore, the activities that have benefitted APA also benefit the SPTAs.  That includes activities during my service on the Board of Professional Affairs, Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice (CAPP), APA Council Representative, Board of Directors, including Recording Secretary, President of Division 31, and co-chair of the Advocacy Coordinating Committee. For example, while serving on CAPP I was on the Grants Committee.  The grants to state psychological associations are of benefit in promoting the legislative agenda and in some cases keeping the organizations operating. 

I currently serve on the Advisory Board of the Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology; prior to this I served on the Executive Board and faculty of the Institute.  Within LIWP we have worked with and mentored mid-career women psychologists, assisting them in advancing their professional life while addressing the demands of their personal lives.  We have also worked hard to increase the diversity, number and effectiveness of women psychologists as leaders. Many of the leaders of the program entered the program with a goal of becoming more engaged in leadership positions within their SPTA.

While serving on the APA Board of Directors as Recording Secretary, I was the liaison to the Ethics Committee (including the Ethics Commission), and the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest (BAPPI) and its committees.  BAPPI assures that psychology serves the public interest and advances social justice, health and well-being for all people.  My liaison work with BAPPI was harmonious with commitment to diversity and my belief that it is critical if we are to solve concerns facing society.

I am, perhaps, most proud of my work with the Diversity Leadership Development Workshop, a program that was my presidential initiative while serving as president of Division 31, a program that continues to occur every two years.  With the support of a CEMRRAT grant and other funding, the leadership development/training workshop has the primary goal of assisting ethnic minority diversity delegates to advance into leadership positions within their respective SPTA.  Since the program started in 2009, sixty-nine psychologists of color have gone through the program and have progressed into leadership positions within their SPTA, including President.

An exciting development in APA that will be of benefit to SPTAs is the Integrated Advocacy. APA has its first Chief Advocacy Officer, and the new integrated advocacy is centered around an inclusive and collaborative process, driven by the association’s strategic priorities.  The model gives APA members and governance the opportunity to provide input and prioritize the association’s advocacy agenda.  As psychologists and members, we are now positioned to advocate on key issues that impact SPTAs, our nation and world, as well as investments in health, education, science and technology.

1. 1. What do you perceive as being the issues of greatest concern to SPTAs, as organizations?

One of the primary issues relates to keeping the organization financially viable, meaning keeping the doors open.  The amount of revenue needed to maintain an office and staff can be challenging.  Most of the revenue generated to maintain the organization is from membership dues.  There can be some income generated from the annual meeting or the continuing education courses, but most of it is from membership dues. Many SPTAs have opted to have management companies manage the association, but that places much burden on the volunteer officers to meet the needs that one expects from psychological associations. At the same time that there are financial challenges, there is the need to keep the organization relevant, meeting the needs of the members.  There is a need to attract the early career psychologists, our future.  This is especially important as we are an aging association.

It is important to remain focused on legislative issues.  This is critically important because legislation that impacts on members nationally are often initiated on the local level.  The small/very small SPTAs are especially vulnerable to this so it will be important to make sure they have a robust legislative agenda.

1. 1. What do you perceive as being issues of greatest concern to members of SPTAs?

The primary issue to many members of the SPTAs is reimbursement, how to bill for services and be adequately and appropriately compensated for the services they provide. Most of the members are in independent practice and they turn to their psychological association to address the areas. 

Members want to see more social justice involvement from their SPTA.  In the past there has been more focus on SPTAs being guild organizations, focusing on reimbursement issues and making sure that psychologists are financially viable, for example.  Now there is the need to balance that with making sure that we have social justice involvement. 

Members also have concern that they may not be getting enough for what they are paying for.  They want to make sure that the organization is meeting their individual needs.

1. If elected to the APA Presidency, what would you do to address these issues?

One of the most effective ways that APA can address SPTA issues is connecting with the Practice Directorate, in which there is a state advocacy office and an effective government relations team (part of the C6—APA Services Inc). The Leadership Conference is important in addressing SPTA concerns as well.  There has been much evolution of this, from the State Leadership Conference, to the Practice Leadership Conference, and to the Leadership Conference.  Although it is not yet clear how all of this will play out with the new structure, it will be critically important to make sure that practice does not lose its focus.  During the past leadership conferences, there was much support for the SPTAs, the officers, Executive Directors, Early Career Psychologists, and Diversity Delegates. The leadership conference has done a good job in the past in infusing social justice into the congressional messaging, and hopefully the SPTAs will take that back to their own organization. We want to make sure that this is something that will continue. 

It is known that 50% of the members of APA do not belong to their SPTA or to divisions.  There needs to be a way in which the SPTAs can attract these other members, through a nationwide membership campaign targeting this other 50 percent members.