Tammy L. Hughes, PhD

Personal Statement:

The Division has made significant strides over the last three years in communicating how evidence-based practices are viable in a variety of contexts worldwide. The Division's commitment to the global context has ultimately extended the application of the Specialty of School Psychology to new venues. This foundation has prepared us well for the new opportunities anticipated in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation starting to come on-line in 2014. Indeed, as communities all across the country are reaching consensus that we need to address the health and mental health needs of children on a large-scale basis, school psychology is situated to design high yield context specific services to meet theses new opportunities – it is an exciting time to serve in schools.

From my current position on APA's Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) I have chaired the Task Force that developed and will now confer the annual Golden Psi Award. The Golden Psi Award recognizes prek-12 schools for their use of psychological science to promote effective and innovative environments for student learning and development. Further, I am active in supporting Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) and the working group addressing Restrictions Affecting Diversity Training in Graduate Education; this group addresses how programs should prepare and respond when graduate students assert their personal beliefs preclude the competency considerations required for training professional psychologists to serve a diverse public.

As a past president of the Division along with my experiences in the APA governance structure (2009 APA presidential Task Force on the Future of Psychology Practice & now at BEA) has informed my thinking about how best the Division can position itself for the new realities developing within APA around changes being made to improve the policy making processes within the organization. Specifically, as data from the Good Governance project – an initiative that began in 2011 to “[assure] APA's governance practices, processes and structures are optimized and aligned with what is needed to thrive in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex environment” – has been considered there has been a good deal of recognition that the traditional processes of Board and Committee reviews that ultimately end in a vote by the APA policy making body the Council of Representatives is long, indirect and often far from timely. As such, I anticipate that the traditional role of the Division Representative(s) to the Council will change. It is critical that that our next Representative(s) to the Council are prepared to not only to adjust to a new process but also to be able to negotiate the unfolding uncertainty in a way that productively supports the Division's efforts toward positive outcomes for children and the systems that serve them. Further, advancing the School Psychology Specialty within APA will also continue to support all of the Division's efforts.

Over the years, each of my roles within the Division (Past-President, VP-PCCA & Convention Chair) as well as others I have held in various organizations in the field has allowed me to visit with many of you along with other APA colleagues. I recognize how others interpret and react to Division initiatives, I am experienced at negotiating difficult (e.g., MLA) and courageous (e.g., ACA) conversations and I am committed to interagency collaboration (NASP, CDSPP, SPLR, ABPP, ABSP, SSSP, ISPA, TSP, and the other child coalition divisions) as primary driver for success. I will remain highly engaged in these efforts. I feel confident I am prepared to support the Division through this transition.

If elected, I would work with the executive committee and experienced colleagues to define the steps that further articulate who we are, where we are going, and how School Psychology can affect children and youth positively over the long-term. As always, our main goal should be to reliably impact children in a manner that promotes healthy academic and social life experiences. In closing, I am honored to be nominated for the Division Representative to the Council. I look forward to serving the Division and welcome your support.

Background Information

Tammy L. Hughes, Ph.D. is the Martin A. Hehir Endowed Chair for Scholarly Excellence, Professor and Chair of the Department of Counseling, Psychology and Special Education at Duquesne University. Active at the national level she currently serves on the American Psychological Association's (APA) Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) She is the Past President of the Division of School Psychology (16) of APA, Past President of Trainers of School Psychologists (TSP), and served on the 2009 APA Presidential Task Force on the Future of Psychology Practice. Dr. Hughes is an Associate Editor for Psychology in the Schools and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of School Violence and International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. Her writing is in the area of childhood aggression including: differentiating emotional disturbance and social maladjustment, identify the treatment needs of youth with autism in detention facilities (specifically those who are incarcerated for sexual offenses) and understanding the relationship between emotional dysregulation and conduct problems in children. Her clinical experience includes assessment, counseling and consultation services in alternative education and juvenile justice settings focusing on parent-schoolinteragency treatment planning and integrity monitoring.

Bonnie K. Nastasi, PhD

Personal Statement:

I am honored to be selected by the Nominations Committee as a candidate for the position of Council Representative and member of the Executive Committee (EC) of Division 16. I have been active in the leadership of School Psychology since the early 1980s and bring to the position a range of experiences in research, teaching, administration, and service. I have served for six years on the Division 16 EC as Division 16 President (2010; Presidentelect, 2009; Past-President, 2011) and Treasurer (2005-2007). I am currently serving as Co-Chair of the APA Committee for International Relations in Psychology (CIRP). I look forward to the opportunity to resume my participation on the Division EC and to representing School Psychology in APA governance.

I have a strong commitment to promoting and protecting the well-being of children, families, and communities at local, national, and international levels, through the application of psychology. My research and applied work have taken me beyond the boundaries of the profession and the United States through opportunities to work with other professionals in anthropology, education, sociology, medicine, and public health; and with community members in developing countries. I have been active in the area of Child Rights in my leadership within Division 16 and the International Association of School Psychologists. My experiences have taught me the benefits of collaboration with a diverse group of partners not only for enhancing the lives of others but also for advancing my own knowledge. Moreover, these experiences have enhanced my awareness of the unique strengths and limitless potential of school psychologists, and the responsibility of psychology to address social and health-related issues that face individuals worldwide.

As President of Division 16, I facilitated the formation of three Division Working Groups to address issues relevant to Globalization, Social Justice and Child Rights, and Translation of Research to Practice. The chairs of these groups have formed partnerships with other organizations and with colleagues within the U.S. and internationally. For example, The Social Justice and Child Rights group is working in partnership with the International School Psychology Association (ISPA), and the Globalization group has several international members. The EC has supported the continuation of these three efforts to date.

I welcome the opportunity to participate in APA governance as a Division 16 Representative to Council and to work collaboratively with other members of the Council in facilitating the contributions of psychology to the wellbeing of children, families, schools, and communities. Furthermore, I look forward to the opportunity to forge relationships with other organizations that represent our profession and to work together with professionals from other disciplines and stakeholders from other sectors in guiding the future of psychology, mental health, education, and social justice child rights.

Background Information

Bonnie Kaul Nastasi, PhD (Kent State University, 1986), is a Professor in the Department of Psychology, School of Science and Engineering, at Tulane University, and Associate of the International Institute of Child Rights and Development Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria, British Columbia. Dr. Nastasi has held leadership positions in American Psychological Association, Division 16, International School Psychology Association (ISPA), National Association of School Psychology (NASP), Society for the Study of School Psychology (SSSP), and Council for Directors of School Psychology Programs (CDSPP). She has served as President and Treasurer of Division 16, and Treasurer of SSSP. She is currently Chair of the Professional Development and Practices Committee of ISPA, and has served as international liaison to ISPA for both Division 16 and SSSP. She is currently leading an ISPA-sponsored research initiative on promoting psychological wellbeing globally and joint ISPA-Division 16 efforts to prepare school psychologists as advocates for child rights. She co-chaired the Interdisciplinary Qualitative Research Subcommittee of the Task Force on Empirically Supported Interventions in School Psychology (cosponsored by SSSP, Div 16, and NASP), the Committee on Women in School Psychology for Division 16, the Children's Services Committee of NASP, and has been a member of numerous committees of professional organizations in psychology and education at international, national, and state levels.

Dr. Nastasi has conducted applied research and published chapters and journal articles on mental health and health risk (including substance abuse and sexual risk) among school-age and adult populations in the United States and Asia. Her interests include mental health promotion, health risk prevention, use of qualitative and mixed methods research in psychology to develop culturally specific interventions and assessment tools, and promoting school psychology internationally. She has co-authored School-Based Mental Health Programs: Creating Comprehensive and Culturally Specific Mental Health Programs (APA, 2004), School Interventions for Children of Alcoholics (Guilford Press, 1994), and three editions of Exemplary Mental Health Programs: School Psychologists as Mental Health Service Providers (NASP, 1997, 1998, 2002). Dr. Nastasi has served as Associate Editor on School Psychology Quarterly and School Psychology Review and editorial board member on several other journals in the social sciences (e.g., Journal of Applied School Psychology, Journal of Educational Psychology, Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, International Journal of School and Educational Psychology, Journal of School Psychology, Review of Educational Research, School Mental Health).

Dr. Nastasi is committed to applying psychology to enhance the wellbeing of children, families, schools, and communities at both local and global levels. Since 1995, she has been involved in international work to inform development of culturally constructed psychological theory and interventions, application of culturally sensitive research methods, child rights advocacy by school psychologists, and professional development of school psychologists within a transcultural and transdisciplinary perspective. She has conducted research and development projects in Sri Lanka and India to promote health and mental health among child, adolescent, and adult populations. She is currently lead investigator on a multi-country study of children's/adolescents' psychological wellbeing with 15 site partners in 12 countries. Following the December 2004 Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, Dr. Nastasi assisted schools in Sri Lanka and New Orleans, respectively, in developing programs to facilitate long-term recovery from natural disasters. She is a co-director of the trauma specialization in the School Psychology doctoral program at Tulane, and is actively working in partnerships with schools in New Orleans to enhance delivery of comprehensive school-based mental health services.