Companion organization committee will evaluate and prioritize APA’s integrated advocacy agenda
WASHINGTON – Fourteen leaders representing the diversity of the field of psychology and the American Psychological Association’s membership have been appointed to the inaugural Advocacy Coordinating Committee of APA’s new companion professional organization, APA Services Inc.
As envisioned by a presidential work group and approved by APA’s Council of Representatives, the ACC will evaluate and help to prioritize advocacy goals with respect to the impact on both the discipline of psychology and the professions of psychologists so that all voices are heard. The inaugural members have staggered terms, so up to one-third of the committee may turn over every year. In general, ACC members will serve a single three-year term, although the inaugural ACC members with one- and two-year appointments are eligible for reappointment to a full three-year term (as long as they are not serving on another APA or APASI board or committee).
“Every member of this distinguished group of psychology leaders brings to the table experience in governance or advocacy for psychological science, professional practice, education, or public interest issues that will serve psychology and psychologists,” said APA President Jessica Henderson Daniel, PhD. “This group was selected from an extraordinarily rich pool of nominees and reflects the diversity of our field in everything from discipline to demographics, career stage and work setting. We will rely on the ACC to make recommendations in all the areas where we advocate, including health, education and training, research funding, violence prevention and human rights and professional issues affecting our members.”
Within the newly integrated advocacy model of APA and APA Services Inc., the ACC will be responsible for developing a highly inclusive and transparent input process that recognizes the importance of both long-term goals and the need for agility in carrying out advocacy priorities in a fast-paced political environment. The process includes gathering input on priorities from APA’s Council of Representatives, APA’s diverse government relations staff and all of APA’s major boards, including the Board of Scientific Affairs, Board of Educational Affairs, Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest and the Board of Professional Affairs, committees and members.
“APA made tremendous progress to advance our legislative and regulatory priorities in 2018,” Daniel said. “We worked to secure substantial increases for psychological research at the National Institutes of Health, and our work contributed to a more than doubling of federal funding for psychology education and training. APA also helped prevent repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the lifting of the administration’s immigrant family separation policy, and passage of a broad opioids bill.
“There is much work to do in 2019 and beyond, and the ACC will be a big part of ensuring this work continues to be forward thinking and productive. We look forward to seeing the ACC evolve and hope to continue to attract high caliber APA members from all areas of the field to serve on this important committee.”
In August 2018, the APA Council of Representatives approved a proposal to integrate the advocacy efforts of APA and its new expanded companion 501(c)6 organization, now known as APASI. The goal of the integration is to benefit members and seamlessly address the broad range of opportunities and challenges facing the discipline and professions of psychology. In approving this proposal, the council acknowledged the recommendations of the Presidential Work Group on an Expanded APA Advocacy Model that an Advocacy Coordinating Committee be constituted that would be responsible for evaluating and setting annual advocacy priorities with respect to impact on both the discipline of psychology and the professions of psychologists in scientific, educational, public interest, health service practice and applied practice settings.***
MEMBERS
The members of APA’s inaugural Advocacy Coordinating Committee have been assigned staggered terms, so that up to one-third of the committee may turn over every year. Terms for each member are noted below after his or her name.
Co-chair Jennifer F. Kelly, PhD, ABPP (2019 only) is a licensed psychologist and board certified in clinical health psychology. Kelly is director of the Atlanta Center for Behavioral Medicine, with expertise in disorders that involve the relationship between physical and emotional conditions. She serves on the APA Board of Directors as recording secretary and is also a board member of the American Board of Professional Psychology Foundation. She is past president of APA’s Division 31 (State, Provincial and Territorial Psychological Association Affairs); past chair of the Board of Professional Affairs and the Association for the Advancement of Psychology; and a past member of APA’s Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice. A past president of the Georgia Psychological Association, she has served as its federal advocacy coordinator for 20 years. Kelly has received numerous awards, including the 2012 Timothy B. Jeffrey Award for Outstanding Contributions to Clinical Health Psychology; 2011 APA State Leadership Award; 2011 APA Diversity Award; 2000 APA Karl F. Heiser Advocacy Award; 2000 Legislative Award by the Georgia Psychological Association; 2004 APA Practice Organization Federal Advocacy Award; and 2006 Outstanding Psychologist Award from Division 31.
Co-chair Antonio E. Puente, PhD (2019–2020) was the 2017 president of APA. Since 1981, Puente has been a professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. In addition, he has maintained a private practice in clinical neuropsychology since 1982 and is the founder and co-director of mental health services at the Cape Fear Clinic, a bilingual multi-disciplinary health center serving the indigent. He has been involved with advocacy since his presidency of the North Carolina Psychological Association in 1989. Soon thereafter, he became APA’s first representative to the American Medical Association committee on Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), on which he served for 15 years, followed by eight years on the CPT Panel (the fourth non-physician and first psychologist). As the 125th president of APA, Puente worked to increase ethnic diversity within the association to further serve the public interest, especially diversity of demographics and thought. He also expanded public action and improved the military and social justice interface. As a scientist, Puente understands the scientific foundation of psychology; the importance of funding as well as the relationship between basic and applied psychology. Including psychologists in Medicare’s physician definition was a core APA initiative during his APA presidency. As a clinician, Puente is concerned about health care policy; integrated health care; licensing across state lines; and protecting the psychology doctoral degree.
Sharon Berry, PhD (2019–2020) served as a member of the Presidential Work Group on an Expanded APA Advocacy Model, as an APA Education Directorate federal education advocacy coordinator (since 2003), and on the Psychology PAC Advisory Board and PAC Advisory Committee for Education. Berry has also served in association governance as a member and chair of the Board of Educational Affairs, as well as a leader of Divisions 54 (Society of Pediatric Psychology) and 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology). In addition, she was the recipient of the first Education Advocacy Distinguished Service Award in 2003 and first Political Advocacy Champion Award in 2015. She was successful in building collaboration between education and practice toward improved sustainability of accredited internships by ensuring that all states allow billing by doctoral and postdoctoral trainees. She serves as the associate clinical director of Minneapolis Psychological Services and director of training for the nationally accredited doctoral clinical internship at Children’s Minnesota Hospital
Kathleen S. Brown, PhD (2019–2021) is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in health and rehabilitation psychology. Brown is involved in consulting, teaching and supervision in her independent practice in Fort Myers, Florida. Previously, she worked for 12 years in a Department of Defense treatment facility; within rehabilitation hospitals; and in independent practice. Her career has involved working in health and rehabilitation systems in multiple roles: direct clinical care; education and training; and clinical research. She has served in governance as an APA Council representative (1999–2001; 2008–2013); on the Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice (2012–2017, including as chair in 2016-2017); a member of the Committee of State Leaders (2000–2005); and on the Executive/Advisory Committee of the APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology (2008–2018; vice chair, 2016–2018). As president of APA Division 22 (Rehabilitation Psychology), president, Hawaii Psychological Association, and legislative chair, Florida Psychological Association Calusa Chapter, she has been involved in legislative advocacy within state psychological for over two decades.
Zeeshan Butt, PhD (2019–2020) is president of the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers (APA Division 12, Section 8) and president-elect of the Society for Health Psychology (APA Division 38). Butt has served as an advisory committee member for the APA/APA Practice Organization Mental and Behavioral Health Registry and as a member of the Committee on Division/APA Relations (2014-2016). He is a licensed clinical psychologist and associate professor in the departments of Medical Social Sciences, Surgery (Division of Organ Transplantation), and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He provides psychological evaluation and treatment in Northwestern’s Comprehensive Transplant Center. His research focuses on the development and application of patient-reported outcomes in the post-surgical context, with an eye toward improved care quality. He also provides mentorship and guidance to faculty interested in patient-driven research.
Jo Linder‐Crow, PhD (2019 only) has served as the chief executive officer of the California Psychological Association (CPA) and the CPA Foundation since 2005 and was APA’s associate executive director for education from 1995‐2002. Linder‐Crow is chair of the Council of Executives of State, Provincial, and Territorial Psychological Associations (CESPPA) and serves as the CESPPA representative on APA’s Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice. She previously served on the board of the California Society for Association Executives and as chair of its Professional Development Committee. Linder-Crow received the 2016‐2017 CalSAE award for Outstanding Association Executive of the Year.
Lucinda DeGrange, PhD (2019–2020) served as president of the Louisiana Psychological Association (LPA) from 2016–2017. As the legislative chair for LPA from 2014 until elected to the APA Council of Representatives in December 2017, DeGrange led efforts on the passage of a bill requiring the Louisiana Department of Education to accept licensed psychologists’ diagnosis of ADHD for special education services. She held personal conversations with nearly every member of the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to advocate for passage. As a diversity delegate from LPA, she visited legislators on Capitol Hill and returned to Washington, D.C., as a member of the Committee of State Leaders in spring 2018. She is in private practice in New Orleans.
Robert Frank, PhD (2019–2021) served on the board of Division 22 (Rehabilitation Psychology), as its president and its representative to APA’s Council of Representatives. Frank also served on and was chair of the Board of Educational Affairs and its Continuing Education Committee. He was selected as a Robert Wood Johnson health policy fellow in 1991–1992, which led him to work on health policy for U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman for five years. Frank ran Missouri’s health care reform effort, the Show-Me Health Reform Initiative. He also has extensive experience working with state legislatures when dean at the University of Florida (UF) and president of the University of New Mexico (UNM). At the University of Missouri, UF and UNM, he oversaw large clinical practice organizations. He is director of the Center for Innovation in Health and Education at the University of New Mexico.
April Harris-Britt, PhD (2019–2021) assisted in developing practice guidelines around diversity as a member of the APA Committee on Professional Practice Standards. Harris-Britt is ending her tenure with the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest, during which she has been involved in advocacy. She is a member of the North Carolina Psychological Association and was member (2011–2013) and chair (2013) of APA’s Committee on Professional Practice and Standards. A licensed psychologist since 2003, she owns a multidisciplinary practice that promotes mental health and wellness for children, adults and families from diverse backgrounds. She is also active in teaching, mentoring, research and scholarship through various faculty appointments.
Steve Kozlowski, PhD (2019–2021) proposed and chaired Division 14 (Society for Industrial and Organization Psychology) Scientific Affairs Committee’s Science Advocacy Task Force to develop a strategy to advance impact on workforce-related federal science and practice policy (2010–2012). As SIOP engaged in advocacy in 2014, Kozlowski was elected president and led SIOP’s efforts to build institutional capacity for advocacy. He was then elected SIOP research and science officer, with advocacy a core asset in his portfolio. He also has had considerable experience on National Research Council advisory boards, journal editorial boards, and as a journal and book series editor. He is a professor of organizational psychology at Michigan State University.
Sara Jo Nixon, PhD (2019–2020) served as the member-at-large (science) and president for Division 50 (Society of Addiction Psychology) and is a fellow of Divisions 28 (Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse) and 50 (Society of Addiction Psychology). Nixon is serving her second consecutive three-year term on APA’s Board of Scientific Affairs and concluding a second consecutive term as its chair. She has engaged in state-level advocacy during which funds were secured to support workshops providing instruction in science-based interventions to addiction counselors in rural areas. She also has a history of advocacy work with the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA). She is co-chair of RSA’s Government Affairs & Advocacy Committee. Her research blends human laboratory methods with strong community outreach to explore the neurobehavioral and psychosocial correlates of substance use/misuse.
Joanna R. Sells, MS (2019 only), is an APA student affiliate and active participant in APA divisions as an APAGS representative, advocacy committee member, and programming co-chair for the APA convention. Following the completion of her BA in psychology from American University in Washington, D.C., she worked on cultural diversity studies at the University of Southern California before she won an Intramural Research Training Award fellowship at the National Institutes of Health. After two years coordinating an in-patient clinical trial to treat comorbid alcohol use disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, she began her MS and PhD studies in clinical psychology at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland. During graduate school, Sells completed an internship in the Office of National Drug Control Policy under President Obama. She has published and presented articles that promote student engagement in policy. Sells is completing her clinical internship at the San Francisco VA Health Care System, continuing her clinical work with military and veteran populations, and developing policy and leadership skill sets.
Williams Stoops, PhD (2019 only) has served APA in several capacities, including as a fellow in APA Divisions 3, 6, 28, and 50; past president and current APA council representative for Division 28 (Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse); and as Board of Convention Affairs member (2015-2018) and chair (2017). He is editor of the APA journal Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. Stoops has considerable experience interacting with policymakers locally and nationally to advocate for research funding and to incorporate research priorities into pending legislation. He is a professor in the Department of Behavioral Science at the University of Kentucky, focusing on intervention development for substance use disorders.
Joshua R. Wolff, PhD (2019 only) serves as an APA Education Directorate federal education advocacy coordinator and has helped APA successfully lobby Congress for funding of graduate psychology training and student loan relief programs. Wolff has assumed numerous leadership positions within Division 44 (Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation & Gender Diversity), including co-chair of the Education & Training Committee and the Task Force on Religion. His passion for advocacy began as a 2013–2014 APA congressional fellow in the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. There, he learned how to work with lawmakers, lobbyists and diverse constituencies. He is an assistant professor at Adler University in Chicago and will become a staff psychologist at The Family Institute at Northwestern University in January 2019. He is also a contractor for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration on various projects related to reducing sexual/gender minority health disparities and supporting the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative.