Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest

The Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest (BAPPI) shall consist of not fewer than 10 members elected for three year terms. Nine of the members must be members of the American Psychological Association. The tenth member shall be a public member appointed by BAPPI for up to a three year term. The mission of the Board shall be to encourage the generation and application of psychological knowledge on issues important to human well being. It shall have general concern for those aspects of psychology that involve solutions to the fundamental problems of human justice and that promote equitable and just treatment of all segments of society.

BAPPI shall encourage the utilization and dissemination of psychological knowledge to advance equal opportunity and to foster empowerment of those who do not share equitably in society's resources.

The Board shall be concerned with increasing scientific understanding and training in regard to those aspects that pertain to, but are not limited to culture, class, race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age and disability.

The Board shall support improving educational and training opportunities for all persons in psychology and continue the promotion of culturally sensitive models for the delivery of psychological services.

The Board shall be sensitive to the entire range of APA activities as they pertain to the mission of this Board and make recommendations regarding ethically and socially responsible actions by APA when appropriate.

The composition of the Board shall reflect diversity in terms of ethnic minorities, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities and religion, as well as the range of interests characteristic of psychology in all its aspects. APA Bylaws, Article XI, 12.

• BAPPI Structure and Function

• Call for Nominations for Public Interest Awards

Words from Karen Fraser Wyche, PhD (2012 Chair)

Issues of social justice and public interest were ingrained in the fabric of my early childhood experiences and continue today. As a child growing up in New York City in the area of Central Harlem, I lived in a racially homogeneous African American community. At that time the community ranged from families and individuals living in poverty to those who were upper class professionals, and from the church going faithful to the junkies on the corner.

To outsiders, the single dimension of race defined the community's identity, rather than what it was -- a rich mosaic of interacting characteristics. When we rode the bus to go downtown below 96th Street (Harlem is uptown Manhattan), the racial and social class dynamics changed. I didn't feel underprivileged. I knew my four generational family, living under the same roof, was loving and nurturing. But, as one of the few African American scholarship students in a private elementary school, I was told I was underprivileged because I lived in Harlem and not in the high-rise doorman-guarded buildings along Central Park West or the Upper East Side.

These early experiences shaped my professional life to engage in the fight against discrimination and stigma and to advocate for human rights. My beliefs that community service could be a way to bring about a better life for people led me to my first career in social work. However, I kept seeing clients struggle with the same structural issues, restrictive social policies, and discriminatory practices that kept people in their place and devalued them as individuals. I was drawn to psychology because I realized that I needed more training. I wanted to understand how research could be used to help people and to change social policy. It is not surprising that within APA I am drawn to the issues that define the Public Interest Directorate. Becoming the Chair of the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest (BAPPI) offers the opportunity to work with colleagues to forge ahead and to tackle the social issues that define areas of public interest psychology. In today's political climate the challenges are many for public interest psychology to make a difference in people's lives. I look forward to working with BAPPI, the Public Interest committees, and the greater APA community in meeting these challenges.

Committees

• Ad Hoc Committee on AIDS in Psychology

• Committee on Aging

• Committee on Children, Youth and Families

• Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology

• Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs

• Committee on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns

• Committee on Socioeconomic Status

• Committee on Women and Psychology

• Committee on Psychology in the Public Interest Awards

BAPPI Agenda Books

• BAPPI 2009 Spring Agenda Book (PDF, 12 MB)

• BAPPI 2008 Spring Agenda Book (PDF, 20 MB)

Annual Reports

• 2008

• 2007 (PDF, 378 KB)

• 2006 (PDF 414 KB)

• 2005 (PDF, 85 KB)

• 2004 (PDF, 50 KB)

• 2003 (PDF, 72 KB)

• 2002

Convention

• 2011 Public Interest Convention Highlights

• 2009 BAPPI Convention Highlights