I am so excited to be starting off this new year. Division 50 is an amazing organization, with such an important mi s s ion of advancing addiction psychology in all of its many forms— clinical , education , research, and policy. Substance use disorder is the second most common psychiatric disorder in the U.S. population, and other behavioral addictions add to the mix, including Internet, gambling, and shopping. Perhaps the day will come when Division 50 will no longer be needed—when some pill or procedure can eradicate addictions. But until then, there is so very much to be done.

I have thought a lot about themes that I believe are important in the year ahead. Below is a summary. Most of all, I extend a warm invitation to all to participate in any that may appeal to you, so please get in touch if you would like to join forces on any of the themes listed here, or have other ideas for what you would like to see.

There is a lot of potential to enhance Division 50 through technology. Three new projects are as follows:

a. Webinar series.
We have many talented members, but limited time at conferences with them. I am thus piloting a webinar series that would offer Division 50 members free CEUs for addictionrelated learning via the web. Stay tuned on this—the goal is to have at least two webinars this year, and to solidify our procedures for an ongoing series if there is interest.

b. Go green.
This is one of those “win-win-win-wins.” It helps the environment, it reduces the Division 50 budget (of which printing and mailing TAN is a big chunk), it is quick, and it makes use of existing technology. I have initiated this fall’s transition from paper to the electronic TAN by creating a paper-opt-in model in which all members will be switched to the electronic version only starting this January, unless they actively indicate the wish to continue receiving the paper version. Email or call Keith Cooke if you want to keep receiving the paper TAN (kcooke@apa.org; 202-216-7602).

c. Web-based repository / archives for Division 50.
The goal is to set up a secure web location to store Division 50 administrative materials for current use, as well as artifacts of historical materials. For example, with changes in committee chairs or elected officers, information is available in patchwork pieces, forwarded on emails, or all too often in no written form at all. To smoothly transition and help each other along, the web repository will keep committee minutes, tips and guidelines, spreadsheets and other “back office” resources. In addition, we don’t want to lose what is an increasingly rich history, and thus will also store archival material such as early mission statements, photos, etc. The new Division 50 website is a terrific and spiffy resource thanks to the work of the web committee last year (Nancy Piotrowski, John Kelly, Liz D’Amico, Michael Woodward, Wen Pin [Kevin] Lai, Lisa Najavits). That committee is now ended; thus, I am launching this new project to aid the division. Currently we have Amee Patel, Division 50 secretary, gathering materials from the current leadership, and Nancy Piotrowski, former president, in charge of the historical archive.

This has long been a priority of the division, including past-president Tom Brandon’s initiative last year to try a free first year to new members. This year, I am emphasizing two areas:

a. The “amazing race” for members—with a prize!
To add some new fun, there is now a yearlong competition to bring in as many new members as you can. See the announcement in this issue and may the best contestant win.

b. Career-related opportunities.
Watch the listserv for announcements of some terrific career opportunities. As president, I receive various emails from APA for such opportunities and am sending them immediately to the full membership so that anyone can self-nominate into these roles. In August, for example, there was an option to join the Prevention Guidelines Committee of APA and several members self-nominated for that position. In September, there was a call for new advisory board members for the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration. These can be high-impact, high-prestige roles. So many members in Division 50 have real contributions to make and this rapid-response option can both enhance the addiction focus in various organizations, as well as offer members some new opportunities.

There is a need for mentorship at all career levels. Typically, junior colleagues are identified as the mentees and mid- or senior ones as the mentors. But throughout a career, there can be challenges on many fronts, such as how to balance work and personal life, how to think strategically about career moves, how to get unstuck in research and writing and ways to manage delicate ethical or interpersonal dilemmas. All career levels can benefit from both mentor and mentee roles. So here are two ideas to help put this into action:

a. The new “one-hour mentor” project.
See the announcement in this issue for the new “one hour mentor” project. Anyone can offer an hour of their time to consult over the phone in various categories (clinical, research, policy, education, work/personal life balance, ethical dilemmas, career choice-points, diversity, technology, and interpersonal challenges). Each mentor will be asked to indicate their career level (junior, mid-, or senior) and will select the category in which they would like to offer their free hour. After we attain our list of mentors (please do volunteer!), an announcement will be posted to the listserv, and then it will be “first come, first served” until all slots are taken. All pairings will be kept confidential, and will incur no obligation to each other beyond the one hour.

b. Special interest groups.
There are various subgroups within Division 50 such as those who work in government, privatepractice, community, academia, or with particular populations such as adolescents, veterans and homeless. Creating connections between them using technology and other approaches may help link members up for collaboration, networking, and support. For example, several members, Harry Wexler, Joshua Wexler, and Jessica Martin, are currently working to develop a social-networking initiative (see the article in this issue of TAN).

Note that each of these areas are at tempt s to br ing value-added opportunities to your Division 50 membership. Inevitably, some of these initiatives will fly and some may fade, so vote with your “feet” on which matter to you. E-mail Lnajavits@hms.harvard.edu if you would like to be part of these, have other ideas for the year, or want to join any of the existing Division committees (see the website for a list of active ones). Finally, a big thank you for the opportunity to serve in this role. I will bring all I can to making this a terrific year and to working with you collaboratively to make things happen.