I wanted to take a moment to provide an update from the annual Midwinter Meeting. For those that do not know, per division policies and procedures (P&P), the Executive Board meets a minimum of twice per year. We meet once at convention and once in January, also known as the Midwinter Meeting (MWM). This year, I held the MWM in Las Vegas, NV – my home and backyard – on January 27 & 28, 2023. We had intense two days together.
Here is a summary of what we did and my reflections:
-
Met with APA EDI office to discuss APA’s efforts to continue building equity and justice within the association and discussed how Division 44 can continue building equity and justice within our own home.
-
Those that were attending in-person attended a 3-hour Diversity-Equity-Inclusion (DEI) training focusing on liberation psychology.
-
Reviewed de-identified aggregate data about APA convention submissions. Discussed recent difficulties with submissions initially being sent for review with identifying information and how APA mis-stepped during this process.
-
Grappled with white supremacy culture and how it continues to show up in Division 44. In recent years, the MWM has become a source of tension and stress as the leadership team has often experienced some rupture due to racism, sexism, and/or other -isms that show up. This year, we experienced that again. My own take is that we handled it with better care this year than previous years. I think we’ve done a lot of work to improve in this area. Having said that, we need to do better. People were harmed. I’ve been engaging in a lot of reflection on how I responded during and after the meeting. I have been appreciative of the feedback my colleagues have given me as the President so that I can do better. I’ve also given feedback to others. My hope is that we continue to call out and work to dismantle white supremacy culture in all its forms within our division.
-
We will be submitting a proposed change in bylaws regarding our Nominations Committee to distribute power and increase the diversity of voices nominating future leaders within Division 44. Membership will be asked to vote on this proposal later this year. Pending bylaws changes, we also approved a change in the P&P regarding the nominations committee. If the bylaw changes are approved, I’ll provide an update on the policy and procedure change.
-
We approved a change in P&P regarding the parity rule for elected positions. Previously, certain elected positions (e.g., President, Secretary) had a gender parity rule where one year the nominees were male/nonbinary identified and the following year the nominees were female/nonbinary identified. We made a change to this parity rule. Now, one year the nominees are BIPOC folks of any gender, one year the nominees are women, trans, and nonbinary folks of any race/ethnicity, and one year the nominees are open to any racial/ethnic and/or gender identity. Our hope is that by centering historically excluded identities, we will be more intentional about seeking and supporting more diverse leadership.
-
We approved a change in P&P regarding the APA Convention Program Coordinator and Suite Coordinator positions. Previously, we had one Program Coordinator and one Suite Coordinator. The Program Coordinator would focus on convention programming and mentor the Suite Coordinator. The Suite Coordinator would focus on suite programming and then move into the Program Coordinator role the following year. Now, we have a Senior Program Coordinator, a Junior Program Coordinator, a Senior Suite Coordinator, and a Junior Suite Coordinator. The Senior positions are the leaders in coordinating their respective roles with the responsibility of mentoring the Junior positions into becoming the Senior positions the following year. Our hope is that by increasing the number of folks and separating the positions, our coordinators will feel less burden, more support, and have a more diverse body of voices in the planning process.
-
I appointed a working group to review our current bylaws and P&P manual with a focus on equity and inclusion. The working group will meet regularly over the next three months and develop recommendations for the executive board to consider at the next board meeting in April. The goal will be to create recommendations that focus on enhancing DEI efforts within the division. Following the April board meeting, I will provide additional updates.
This is, of course, a brief summary. I believe in transparency and being open about the work and process being done behind the scenes; however, it is difficult to capture all of the moving parts. Please do not hesitate to respond with any questions or concerns or reach out to me directly if you would prefer to talk more privately.
–Editor's note: This edition of the Newsletter has a new feature – click on the “Download Issue” link at the upper right corner of the newsletter homepage. This will allow you to read the entire Spring 2023 Newsletter, including “From the Newsletter 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 & 35 Years Ago” and other articles that did not fit in the digest format of APA online division newsletters.