First off, thanks to all who contributed to making the APA 2022 Convention in Minneapolis so successful—I know that those of you who made it there remarked how wonderful it was to be together again. And I hope those who couldn’t make it this year will join us next year in Washington, D.C. The mega-social hour we led at APA 2022 with APA’s Committee on Children, Youth, and Families was a hit, with five other divisions committed to children and families networking with us—hopefully we can offer similar cross-divisional opportunities next year to our members.
Check out elsewhere our wonderful award winners for 2022 and keep a lookout for the upcoming call for award nominations as well as the call for serving the division in an elected office. This is a great time to get more involved in the division. Despite progress, our division still has much to focus on: the pandemic that had a substantial impact on the lives of children and their parents, gun violence in schools, and increasing legislative actions that target or disproportionately affect marginalized communities. Please remember that even brief contacts with policy makers (local or state officials) makes a substantial difference because your voice as a professional is taken seriously—if you want to follow APA Advocacy effortsopens in new window, they have newsletters, send out alerts, and always seeking partners in their efforts at the grassroots level. When you ask yourself why someone hasn’t spoken up about an issue, remember that someone could be YOU!
You will soon see in your membership renewal materials that, after many years, the Executive Board recently voted to slightly increase the annual dues for professional division members. We deliberated as a group on how to fund the expenses we prioritize: e.g., contributions to congressional briefings and organizations advocating for children and families where our input can make a difference; increasing the dollar amounts for division members who win the awards and grants we offer, particularly those focused on early career professionals and students; and seeking to subsidize low-cost CE webinars for division members. We are maintaining our “first year free” model for early-career professionals. And we reduced the dues for students to a memorable $4.37 (read this as, “for 37") to ensure that as long as someone is considered a student, their division membership would not be a burden. Hopefully this commitment to supporting students and ECPs, and the noteworthy causes the division supports, will make this small dues increase for professional members worthwhile to all.
As the year comes to a close, I wanted to thank you all for your continued support and membership in the division. It has been a pleasure and honor to serve this particular division. You will see that I will remain active in the division after my presidential term ends this year because this division has proven to be a great experience to work alongside remarkable colleagues to advance the causes in which we so deeply believe. Join us on the board to become a part of that experience—I promise you won’t regret it!
A reminder for those trying to reach me: I have assumed a new faculty position as professor and director of clinical training for the doctoral PhD program in clinical psychology at Old Dominion Universityopens in new window—you can reach me there via email.