Div. 32 membership update: Winter 2015

As we start the fall with a new membership chair, our numbers for membership continue to grow with each continuing update from APA. That said, we continue to lose full, voting members (those who are members of APA and Div. 32) compared to previous years. We continue to see growth in our international and student membership with each year, which is a positive for the division. We hope to continue to entice active, previously active and new members to join as 2015 begins. In starting my term as membership chair, and working with my committee and the board, we are hoping to expand the opportunities for early career psychologists, in particular, to aid student members in their transition following graduation. Below are the continued and new initiatives for the upcoming years, and the committee is always open for suggestions and ideas.

Student Ambassadors: One student from each major humanistic graduate program selected to network. We are meeting through Skype once a month. We continue to work to provide opportunities for mentoring of students.

Student Track at the Conference: This year we added a student track that focused on presentations aimed at helping students. We are hoping to continue this in future years, as well as adding a “meet and greet” for interested students.

T-shirts and Raffle: One thing that hinders students from coming to big events like the Div. 32 annual conference and the APA convention is financial concerns. We were able to distribute $550.

Facebook: The student's page has over 1,750 followers, the Society for Humanistic Psychology Facebook page has over 6,900 followers; this is a great door into our society. Our goal is to encourage our Facebook followers to attend the annual Div. 32 conference, as well as direct them to mentors in our division, to keep them active and engaged in division activities.

Regional Membership Committee: We have had a few rough starts trying to get a regional membership committee together. The idea is that there would be one person who would each be responsible for recruiting five regions of the U.S. (Northeast, Northwest, Midwest, Southeast, Southwest). This membership outreach goal has been extended into 2015.

Early Career Psychologists: Members of the Div. 32 board have helped to target the next generation of early career psychologists, and find ways to get them involved in: task forces, the APA Convention hospitality suite, various conference planning committees and other opportunities for conference and convention participation. This is a planned area of continued focus for the membership committee in the coming years as we work toward greater membership retention.

Membership Push: With APA moving toward contacting people for APA membership renewal online, the board is hoping to do the same, utilizing the Div. 32 Listserv as a way to remind members to renew their membership.

Membership Committee Members: Trisha Nash, PhD, chair; Richard Bargdill; Krissana Sharon