Div. 55 President

Peter Smith PsyD, MSCP

Peter Smith, PsyD, MSCP, is a licensed psychologist in Maryland. He was previously licensed as a medical psychologist in Louisiana. He was recently appointed as affiliate faculty through the University of Maryland Global Campus for the spring of 2021. Peter has also been affiliate faculty at multiple universities, including Loyola University in Maryland and Argosy University. His academic training has included earning a bachelor's degree in psychology from The George Washington University, a master's degree and Doctor of Psychology degree from The Chicago School, and a Master of Science degree in clinical psychopharmacology (MSCP) from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He also completed the Psychopharmacology Examination for Psychologists prior to being licensed in Louisiana.

He is recognized as a health service psychologist through the National Register of Health Service Psychologists. He is a public service psychologist, having spent the last 9 years working in a juvenile justice setting while also working in an emergency department providing crisis evaluations for the past 10 years. This builds upon his experience working in special education programs and public schools and working in a residential treatment center for adolescents. He has been active in supervision and training of graduate students with externs at many of his past employment settings, including his current site in juvenile justice.

Peter has been active in his state psychological association (Maryland) for many years beginning as a volunteer on the Early Career Psychologist Committee, and working on various committees, including, but not limited to, professional practice, legislative, and multiple task forces including a task force for prescriptive authority for psychologists (RxP). Elected positions within the Maryland Psychologist Association have included a representative-at-large and most recently as the representative from MPA to the APA Council of Representatives beginning in January of 2022. Within Div. 55 of the American Psychological Association, he served as treasurer from 2018–2019 prior to being elected as president-elect. As president of Div. 55, Peter is intent on advancing RxP legislative reach by supporting states pursuing RxP, along with expanding access within federal programs. 

David Shearer, PhD, MSCP, ABMP

David Shearer, PhD, MSCP, ABMP, has been a clinical and prescribing psychologist for the Department of the Army at Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC) in the state of Washington since 2009. He serves as a core faculty member and Director of Behavioral Sciences for the MAMC family medicine residency. Dr. Shearer is fully integrated into the family medicine clinics at MAMC as the primary psychopharmacological consultant and prescriber. In addition, he teaches a year-long psychopharmacology course to psychology doctoral interns as a faculty member of the Department of Behavioral Health at MAMC. 

Derek C. Phillips, PsyD, MSCP, ABMP

Derek C. Phillips, PsyD, MSCP, ABMP, is a licensed clinical and prescribing psychologist in the states of Illinois and licensed psychologist in Florida, a board-certified medical psychologist, and a clinical neuropsychologist and prescribing psychologist in the department of neurology at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center, a nonprofit, regional hospital system in rural east central Illinois. He is executive director of the APA-designated MS in clinical psychopharmacology program within the school of psychology and counseling at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he is also an adjunct professor in the APA-accredited clinical psychology PhD program teaching psychopharmacology. Previous academic appointments include adjunct professorships at Lake Land College and in the MA in clinical psychology program at Eastern Illinois University. Derek served as a health service psychologist in the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program from 2019–2021. 

He earned his BS in psychology and social work (summa cum laude) from Olivet Nazarene University in 2009 and MA in counseling psychology (2012) and PsyD in clinical psychology with a concentration in clinical neuropsychology (2015), both from Adler University (previously Adler School of Professional Psychology) Chicago campus. He completed a one-year internship in clinical psychology/neuropsychology and two-year fellowship in clinical neuropsychology in Lakeland, Florida, at Psychological and Neurobehavioral Services, P.A. of the Centerstone Consortium. In 2019, he obtained his MS in clinical psychopharmacology from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Derek also completed an 18-month prescribing psychology residency at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon, Illinois in 2021.

Regarding prior and current volunteer leadership service, Derek is a former member of the APA Council of Representatives (representing Div. 55, 2018–2019) and former member of the APAPO Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice (CAPP, 2015–2016). He is currently president-elect of the Illinois Psychological Association (2021–present), chair-elect of the APA Board of Convention Affairs (2019–present), secretary of APA Division 42 (Independent Practice, 2019–present), treasurer of APA Division 44 (Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 2021–present), member-at-large of the Illinois Association of Prescribing Psychologists Board of Directors (2020–present), and editorial board member of Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology (2020–present) and Practice Innovations (2021–present). Derek was a 2017 recipient of the Walter Katkovsky Scholarship for Psychopharmacology Training from the American Psychological Foundation and the 2020 recipient of the Patrick H. DeLeon Prize for Outstanding Contributions to the Advancement of Pharmacotherapy from the Society for Prescribing Psychology (APA Div. 55). He is the twenty-first, and first ECP, president of Div. 55!