Diverse Racial Ethnic and Multicultural (DREAM) Special Interest Group

Mission: To actively address issues impacting children, youth, and families from historically underrepresented diverse populations and communities.

Vision: To promote training, education, policy, and practice focused on diverse, racial, ethnic, and multicultural issues, and to support collaborative exchange among members who share the same interests. 

Goal: To provide members with the opportunity to engage in meaningful collaboration, community outreach and engagement, and information dissemination and exchange on local, national, and international levels that advance the mission of Div. 37 and the SIG.

Training and education

• Host virtual speakers where the talks are free for anyone not seeking CE credit; work towards increasing access to training opportunities.
• Highlight a new issue to focus on quarterly (could connect to the topic for the LEAD peer collaboration group).
• Organize and lead the Div. 37 annual Walk-a-Mile collaborative session and the Peer Mentoring for International Students at the APA convention each year.

Community outreach and engagement

• Work on building partnerships with relevant outside organizations to disseminate information to/collaborate with (including by asking organizations/community members what best practices would be most helpful and beneficial).
• In collaboration with CYF and other APA offices and divisions, organize and host a community summit with local communities and organizations in the APA convention city or a nearby city.

Information dissemination

• Maintain a list of anti-racism resources for professionals working with children and families.
• In collaboration with CYF, develop best practices for specific areas of practice and research as they pertain to underrepresented diverse populations.
• Collaborate with Div. 37 taskforce and CYF project initiatives and contribute toward its RESilience Project and information dissemination.

Leading Effectively and Diligently (LEAD): a peer-collaboration group meeting

The “LEAD” peer-collaboration group serves as an opportunity for Div. 37 members and DREAM SIG members to virtually meet for a shared reflection and discussion that will help strengthen their skills related to practice with clients, training and education, supervision of students and staff, direction of counseling centers and other agencies, and research with diverse, racial, and ethnic minority populations, and offer members the opportunity to give and receive support from their peers while promoting their feelings of togetherness.

SIG members meet once every other month/six sessions per year with the first meeting of the year in February.

Meeting date/time: first Friday of the month, 3–4 p.m. ET
Location: virtual meeting

Students, early career to advanced career professionals who are Div. 37 members are welcome to join us and contribute to achieving the mission of the SIG. To find out how you can play a role in our efforts, please contact Mirian Ofonedu.

SIG executive committee members support the SIG’s mission by taking an important leadership role in coordinating the SIG activities.

• Mirian Ofonedu, PhD, LCSW-C, director of training, Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities at Kennedy Krieger Institute
• Anita Jones Thomas, PhD, executive vice president and provost, St. Catherine University
• Sonia Rubens, PhD, assistant professor, Department of Counseling Psychology, Santa Clara University
• Carla Adkison-Johnson, PhD, LPC, professor, Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Department, Western Michigan University
• Stephanie Miodus, MA, MEd, doctoral student in school psychology, Temple University
• Chanda Reynolds, PsyD, postdoctoral fellow, Kennedy Krieger Institute