Committee on Division/APA Relations welcomes Değirmencioğlu and Pittman

Every year, each division is invited to submit one nomination for the two seats that become available on the Committee on Division/APA Relations (CODAPAR), one of APA's standing committees made up of six APA members who have extensive background in division leadership. 

For the 2024–26 term, CODAPAR welcomes Delishia M. Pittman, PhD, MPH, ABPP and Serdar M. Değirmencioğlu, PhD. As their term begins, each will be assigned to a group of divisions to represent on the committee. Meet each new member below.

Serdar M. Değirmencioğlu received his PhD. in life-span developmental psychology in 1995 from Wayne State University in Detroit. His interest in policy and interdisciplinary research led him to Northwestern’s Institute for Policy Research, where he joined the MacArthur Foundation Network on Successful Adolescent Development as a postdoctoral fellow to study the joint influences of families, friends, schools and neighborhoods on adolescent development. It was during this time that he developed a profound interest in community psychology.

In 1997, he returned to Turkey and joined the department of psychology at Middle East Technical University in Ankara. His focus on children’s rights resulted in three ground-breaking books addressing young people’s right to participation. As a true believer of longitudinal research, he joined forces with documentary maker Can Candan to produce an award-winning film documenting the experiences of six youth taking the university entrance exam in Turkey.

He served as vice-president of the Turkish Psychological Association (TPA) and as president of the TPA’s Istanbul Branch. He later served as the coordinator of the Children’s Rights Network of Turkey. His dedicated work led to him getting elected as president of a 27-country network, the NGO/UNICEF Regional Network for Children in CEE/CIS and Baltic States.

He has been a dedicated promoter of community psychology. He was one of the founders of the European Community Psychology Association and served in many roles, including as president. In Turkey, he pioneered linking university students to communities particularly in impoverished areas and working class neighborhoods. During this time, he developed an interest in action research.

He also developed a particular interest in identifying and addressing big gaps in the psychological literature. With community psychologist Carl Walker, he edited the very first and only book on psychosocial consequences of personal debt around the world. He also produced the first and still the only book on militarism and martyrdom in Turkey. Another book he edited provided an in-depth analysis of for-profit higher education and its contribution to the decline of universities in Turkey.

Değirmencioğlu was a professor of psychology and department chair at Doğuş University when he was fired in April 2016 for having signed a peace manifesto. In 2017, he was banned from public service for life. Forced to go in exile, he has held visiting positions in Cairo, Macerata, Brussels and Frankfurt.

In 2019, he served as president of the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence (Peace Psychology). In 2020, he was awarded the Josephine “Scout” Wollman Fuller Award by Psychologists for Social Responsibility for his work on peace and social justice for children. In 2022, he was awarded the Outstanding Service Award by the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence (Peace Psychology).

As an outspoken advocate of children’s rights, he writes a Sunday column focused on children’s rights and well-being in a daily newspaper in Turkey since 2008.

Delishia M. Pittman, PhD, MPH, ABPP is an associate professor of counseling and director of clinical training in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at The George Washington University. Her research examines the contributions of race and racism, culture, environment and diverse lived experiences on health behavior and health outcomes in Black emerging adults.

She is the founder and clinical director of the Paradigm Shift Psychological Wellness Collective, a boutique psychotherapy practice centering the wellness of BIPOC millennials. She is dually licensed as a psychologist and licensed professional counselor, and the first African American to be board-certified in counseling psychology in the District of Columbia.

Pittman earned her PhD in counseling psychology at the University of Georgia. Her professional work and contributions have earned her several recognition including Early Career Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Counseling Psychology (2022, Division 17: Society of Counseling Psychology), award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Independent Practice (2022, American Psychological Association), the Early Career Psychology Diversity Award (2021, American Board of Professional Psychology), and the Early Career Award for Racial/Ethnic Minority Psychologist in Trauma Psychology (2019, Division 56: Trauma Psychology).

Pittman has a long history of service to APA and the counseling profession. In addition to her new role on CODAPAR, she also serves as diversity chair for the American Board of Counseling Psychology (ABCoP) and ABCoP Trustee on the ABPP Board of Trustees, APA Council Representative for Division 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology), and chair of the Council of Representatives Public Interest Caucus.