A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
 
Randy White, Ph.D.


Hello, Society of Consulting Psychology Members!

Welcome to the Fall  2006 Issue of the Consulting Psychologist! I hope the Fall season has been a good one for you.  I want to let you know about some things your Board has been doing and some upcoming events that I think will please you.

The executive board of the Division met in Chicago one weekend last month to begin the planning for the next three years of divisional activities.  We had a very productive meeting, and David Peterson bought a few bottles of great California wine as a reward for the diligence of the team.  (Thanks, David!)  During our meeting we worked on putting together a more efficient and effective organizational structure (more details to follow) that puts Members-at-Large in a more mission-critical position.  They—Virginia Mullen, Sheila Kampa (who was recently married....congrats!) and David Brewer—are on the forefront of building our community.  Thanks to each of them for being willing to work so hard on behalf us all.  And a special thanks to David Brewer, who has taken on the role of planning the Division’s contribution to the 2007 APA convention in San Francisco

Our mid-winter conference is coming up!!  Mark your calendars for February 8-11 in Miami .  What better place to be in the middle of the winter!  This is a terrific program put together by Jeff Auerbach and Catherine Ruvolo.  They have found the very best speakers in the area of leadership and diversity and also worked hard to maximize the content for your CE needs.  

I've heard from a few members that “leadership and diversity” is an old topic.  Let me address that concern.  Yes, it is an old topic, but it is even more urgent in 2007, and companies are recognizing the need to develop a broader range of leaders and are spending more on leadership and diversity consulting.  A little context setting:  At last count, there are only a handful as CEO's in the Fortune 500 who are other than white males.  And, while more that 50 percent of midlevel leaders in the US are women, less than 10 percent sit in the senior ranks.  For people of color, GLBT and people with disabilities, these numbers are even smaller.  In my consulting practice, organizations of all types are struggling for better ways to develop leaders who are other than white and male.  

Please join us in Miami for discussions on this critical topic.  I really hope to see you there.

I want to thank you for keeping our division a welcoming place to belong.  We continue to be one of only seven APA divisions showing a growth in members.  That brings me to ask something of each of you:  Would you please give your ten apportionment votes to Division 13 when you are asked to vote in November?  That's the way we were able to secure a second council rep last year.  We would really like to hold on to that seat, and (I may be dreaming) it would be nice to get a third seat in the future.  (Then Council has to pay more attention to the agenda of consulting psychologists.)

Wishing you a warm and happy holiday season,

Randy White, Ph.D.
President, Society of Consulting Psychology