Public Interest Directorate Convention Highlights

Applying psychological science, benefiting society

For the 2013 APA Annual Convention, the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest invited Public Interest committees to design programming that clarified a particular health disparities issue for their constituent groups and addressed cross-cutting and intersectional issues that influence the well-being of these groups.

Symposia addressing health and health disparities, as well social justice, diversity and human rights, appear below and at individual Public Interest Office links. Public Interest Award Addresses follow symposia.

The Disability Resource Room is available to our convention attendees with disabilities and those with chronic or medical health conditions. For hours, location, and services, visit Resource Room for Persons With Disabilities.

PROMOTING HEALTH AND REDUCING HEALTH DISPARITIES

• Symposium: APA and BET Networks Partnership: Using Media as a Platform to Address HIV Disparities Among Youth
  Friday, Aug. 2, 9:00—9:50 a.m. 
  Convention Center, Room 307A
  Chair: Gwendolyn P. Keita, PhD, Public Interest Directorate, APA
  Participants: Scyatta A. Wallace, PhD, St. John’s University; Vikki Johnson, BA, BET Networks; Chandra Graves, PhD, Emory University School of Medicine
  Discussant: Velma McBride Murry, PhD, Vanderbilt University

• Symposium: Older Women and Health Disparities
  Friday, Aug. 2, 10:00—10:50 a.m.
  Convention Center, Room 318B
  Chair: Joan C. Chrisler, PhD, Connecticut College
  Participants: Alisha N. Ali, PhD, New York University; Ellyn Kaschak, PhD, San Jose University; Naleen N. Andrade, MD, University of Hawaii at Manoa
  Discussant: Karen A. Roberto, PhD, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

• Symposium: Abuse of Women With Disabilities as Reflected in Health Disparities
  Friday, Aug. 2, 11:00—11:50 a.m.
  Convention Center, Room 327
  Chair: Julie L. Williams, PsyD, Wright State University
  Participants: Susan M. Fraker, BA, Wright State University; Angela Kuemmel, PhD, Louis Stokes VA Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
  Discussant: Kim Gorgens, PhD, University of Denver-GSPP

• Symposium: Comfort and Burden – The Paradox of Weight in Black Women
  Saturday, Aug. 3, 10:00—11:50 a.m.
  Convention Center, Room 317B
  Chair: Gwendolyn P. Keita, PhD, Executive Director, Public Interest Directorate, APA
  Participants: Suzanne B. Johnson, PhD, Florida State University; James Jackson, PhD, University of Michigan—Ann Arbor; Cheryl T. Grills, PhD, Loyola Marymount University
  Discussant: Lula A. Beatty, PhD, Public Interest Directorate, APA

• Symposium: Culture and Health Disparities Among Asian Americans and Native Hawaiians—Indigenous Theory, Research, and Practice
  Saturday, Aug. 3, 12:00—12:50 p.m.
  Convention Center, Room 305B
  Chair: Laurie McCubbin, PhD, Washington State University
  Participants: Davianna McGregor, PhD, University of Hawai'i at Manoa; Laurie McCubbin, PhD, Washington State University; Claire Hughes, MS, Department of Health, Honolulu; Noa E. Aluli, MD, Independent Practice, Kaunakakai, Hawai'i 
  Discussant: Hamilton McCubbin, PhD, University of Hawai'i at Manoa

• Symposium: Health Disparities—Emerging Biopsychosocial Challenges of Older Adults Living With HIV
  Saturday, Aug. 3, 12:00—1:50 p.m.
  Convention Center, Room 323C
  Chair: Monica Rivera Mindt, PhD, Fordham University/Mount Sinai School of Medicine
  Participants: Lawrence H. Pick, PhD, Gallaudet University; Monica Rivera Mindt, PhD, Fordham University/Mount Sinai School of Medicine; Rob Paul, PhD, University of Missouri, St. Louis; Ramani Durvasula, PhD, California State University, Los Angeles; Perry N. Halkitis, PhD, New York University; Patrick K. Kamakawiwo'ole, PsyD, Clinical Psychology Hawai'i School of Professional Psychology, Argosy University, Hawai'i
  Discussant: Mark Brennan-Ing, PhD, AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA)

• Symposium: Can Psychology Accommodate Divergent Views on Size? Barriers to a Nuanced Understanding of Obesity
  Saturday, Aug. 3, 1:00—1:50 p.m.
  Convention Center, Room 321A
  Chair: Kim Gorgens, PhD, University of Denver-GSPP
  Participant: Maureen C. McHugh, PhD, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
  Discussant: Julie L. Williams, PsyD, Wright State University

PUBLIC INTEREST APA AWARDS

• Invited Address: 2013 Public Interest Award for Distinguished Contributions to Research in Public Policy: Michelle Fine, PhD
  Friday, Aug. 2, 10:00—10:50 a.m.
  Convention Center, Room 301A
  Chair: William E. Cross, Jr.

• Invited Address: 2013 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest (Early Career): Thema Bryant-Davis, PhD
  Friday, Aug. 2, 11:00-11:50 a.m.
  Convention Center, Room 323C
  Chair: Jessica Henderson Daniel, PhD, Children's Hospital, Boston, Mass.

• Invited Address: 2013 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest (Senior Career): Derald Wing Sue, PhD
  Saturday, Aug. 3, 12:00-12:50 p.m.
  Convention Center, Room 317B
  Chair: Thomas A. Parham, PhD, University of California, Irvine

• 2013 American Psychological Association and American Psychological Foundation Awards Ceremony
  Saturday, Aug. 3, 4:00-6:00 p.m.
  Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort, Coral Ballroom IV
  Chairs: Donald Bersoff, PhD, JD; Dorothy W. Cantor, PsyD