APA fellow status is an honor that recognizes evidence of unusual and outstanding contributions to or performance in the field of psychology that has had an impact beyond a local, state, or regional level.
In Division 18 (Psychologists in Public Service), we view election as a fellow to be an honor not only for the individual but also for the division, and we welcome the nomination of outstanding division members for this distinction who have made substantial contributions to public service psychology.
We would like to congratulate Jacque Gray, Gayle Iwamasa, Anne Klee, and Matthew Ubben, who were elected to fellow status in 2019. Femina P. Varghese was elected to fellow status in 2020.
Varghese, Gray, Iwamasa, Klee, and Ubben, join an illustrious group of psychologists who have APA fellow status in Div. 18.
Femina P. Varghese, PhD, is a professor in the counseling psychology PhD program at the University of Central Arkansas. She investigates risk and protective factors in recidivism in justice-involved adults and youth, particularly the role of work. She also studies the effectiveness of telehealth modalities. She is past president of Div. 18 and also served as chair of its Criminal Justice section. She currently serves as as an associate editor of the peer-reviewed journal Psychological Services, Div. 18's official journal.
Jacque Gray is a Choctaw/Cherokee research associate professor and associate director of Indigenous Programs at the Center for Rural Health (CRH) at the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She also serves as director of the National Indigenous Elder Justice Initiative (NIEJI), a national resource center for Native American elder abuse. NIEJI has been funded since 2011 to address elder abuse in Indian Country. In addition, Gray is the lead for the Strong Heart Study Psychosocial Work Group, a longitudinal study of cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders in American Indians that began in 1988. She has worked to address health, mental health, and health disparities across Indian Country for more than 35 years and internationally, working with Māori suicide prevention. She participated in the White House Conference on Aging in 2015 to address elder justice issues and has worked with tribes across the U.S. for more than 35 years. Gray received a doctorate from Oklahoma State University in 1998 and has been at UND since 1999. Gray is a member of the Psychologists in Indian Country Section of Div. 18.
I am a clinical psychologist and currently serve as National Mental Health Quality Improvement and Implementation consultant and National Inpatient Mental Health Services coordinator for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In these roles, I provide technical assistance and consultation across the VA system regarding implementation of evidence-based treatments and required mental health services and serve as a subject matter expert regarding inpatient mental health care. My initial involvement with APA began when I was in graduate school at Purdue University as a fellow for APA’s Minority Fellowship Program. I have been actively involved with APA since that time and have served in governance on the Committee on Women in Psychology, the Board of Convention Affairs, and several Presidential Task Forces. In addition to serving as chair-elect for the Div. 18 VA Section, I also currently serve on the division’s Diversity Committee. I also have been actively involved in Divisions 12 and 45. I am currently serving as faculty for APA’s Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology and I also serve on multiple editorial boards of APA journals. I’m honored to have been inducted as a fellow in Div. 18 and will encourage others who actively contribute to the division to apply. 
Anne Klee, PhD, is a past president of Div. 18 (Psychologists in Public Service) of the American Psychological Association (APA), current APA Council representative for Div. 18, and the past chair for the APA Public Interest Caucus. She is also the outgoing president of the Connecticut Psychological Association and formerly was their federal advocacy coordinator. Regionally, she is a member of the CT State Innovation Model Practice Transformation Task Force.
