“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller
Anyone who knows me knows how I love my quotes, especially when they come from an Alabama native. As I begin my term as President of Division 20, I am thankful for your confidence in me, for the extraordinary mentors I have had throughout my career, and for the even more extraordinary mentees who have taught me so much. Thank you for your continued support of APA D20 and our common mission.
As Past-President Wally Boot noted during his term, we live in unprecedented and divisive times. It seems that our current social milieu incentivizes accusatory and mean-spirited passionate rhetoric over emotionally regulated and evidence-based discussion of science, practice, and innovative ideas. I’ve seen nothing like it in my 30-year history as a first-generation scholar and professor of psychology. Federal funding cuts and political incentives including some state laws have changed the way we pursue our science and describe our practice. But these changes have not and cannot be allowed to change our basic values. For these and many reasons, my primary focus throughout my term as president will be strength in unity.
I am proud to be a board certified geropsychologist. I was, indeed, the second woman ever to receive ABPP in geropsychology. Our colleagues in ABGERO strive to provide state-of-the-art services to older adults and their families. My own clinical work has always been significantly enriched by deep collaborative partnerships with community leaders and organizations. The effectiveness of interventions and meaningfulness of science increases when diverse perspectives from minoritized groups are actively sought and integrated into our work. My father, who was a farmer and a certified nursing assistant, used to tell me that if I could not explain to him what I was doing in school in a way that he could understand, what I was doing could not mean much. We need to be communicating with each other and with our communities across socially constructed lines to relish and celebrate our diversity, not demean it. Strength in unity.
Sadly, “integrated” care systems too frequently are fractured with poor communication, decreasing the quality of care patients receive. In contrast, the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System has, for decades, actively recruited psychologists to work in integrated care systems, particularly with older adults. The VA is the gold standard integrated care system in the U.S. and serves a vital role in clinical geropsychology training. As we consider how best to position Division 20 in its mission to further science, practice, education and advocacy on behalf of older adults in the future, we must attend to this constituency and ensure Division 20’s relevance to psychologists in VA systems. This is one reason why our ongoing close collaboration with the Society of Clinical Geropsychology (SCG, APA Division 12, Section II) is so important. We have established a special membership task force to discover and describe areas in which we can better work together to achieve our goals. Through collaboration we can better understand mediators of successful mentorship, career development, and advocacy within the field of psychology and aging. Strength in unity.
Some of you have heard me use the phrase “infiltrate and infuse” in reference to education and training in the psychology of aging. Though tongue in cheek, this idea stems from my belief that every psychology program should introduce students to the psychology of aging in some meaningful way at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. With the aging and diversification of the U.S. citizenry, psychologists working with individuals in any context across the lifespan must gain some level of foundational and functional competencies in the field of aging to stay relevant. Strength in unity.
Division programming at the APA convention is a key mechanism for highlighting these issues and advancing these goals, and we learned in the last year that hours of division programming are directly tied to the divisions you claim when you register. Therefore, I encourage you to claim D20 when you register to attend the APA convention. We welcome submissions on the following themes:
- implementation science and community-engaged translation of aging research;
- novel perspectives and approaches to person-centered and culturally responsive intergenerational engagement; and
- the science of mentorship, career development, and advocacy in the psychology of aging.
I especially welcome submissions involving the integration of emerging technologies including artificial intelligence and smart homes within these themes. I look forward to seeing many of you in Washington D.C. in 2026.
I am grateful, humbled, and excited as I look ahead to the year before us. Thank you for your trust, your support, and your shared commitment to Division 20. We will continue to stand on the shoulders of giants and promote focus on the psychology of adult development and aging in scientific, clinical, educational, and policy arenas. I look forward to working with you in the pursuit of Strength in Unity during the year ahead.