2022 Annual Report
Board/Committee Members:
Gabrielle Jones, PhD, Chair (business representative)
Norah Aldawsari, MS (affiliate representative)
Tanecia Blue, PhD (diversity representative)
Merry Bullock, PhD (international affairs representative)
Leonardo Caraballo, PsyD (early career representative)
June Ching, PhD (advocacy representative)
Merranda Marin, PhD (science/academic representative)
Nancy Sidun, PhD (technology representative)
Stephanie Vitanza, PhD (applied psychology representative)
Staff Liaison(s):
Sonja Wiggins, MBA
List activities/initiatives and explain how these relate to the APA strategic plan
Topic 1: Increase the historical knowledge of the Membership Board for greater governance impact
Overview and background:
The membership board, formerly the membership committee, has been in existence since 1951. Over the decades, the membership board has evolved to meet the needs of the larger APA membership through development of representative slates, improving the collaboration of work between the membership board and membership office, and being a voice for the larger APA membership. Unfortunately, much of the work that has been done by the membership board has not carried through as board leadership has changed. As a result of this lack of historical information, the membership board has often addressed issues that have already been solved by previous membership boards. This repetition and lack of historical knowledge has hindered the membership board from reaching its full potential. This topic was intended to reduce the likelihood that the membership board would spend excess time on issues that have already been solved, and further, provide a template for further improvement of any existing issues that have been addressed previously.
Strategic alignment:
Increasing historical knowledge of the membership board aligns with APA’s larger strategic goals in the following areas: Prepare the discipline and profession of psychology for the future (Attract, diversify, develop, and support the next generation of psychology professionals), engage with and deliver value to members, build a stronger association, and increase organizational effectiveness.
Outcome:
The membership board developed a sub-committee to develop a membership board onboarding manual. This manual was then evaluated by the larger membership board and will be utilized at the beginning of every board member’s term. Every new board member will have access to the historical information of the membership board, including rationale for current membership board practices. This will facilitate leadership development among psychologists new to APA governance and reduce the intimidation of continued service due to the perception of lack of direction new leaders feel when they step into APA governance.
Topic 2: Increase the organizational effectiveness of the Membership Board through its operational procedures
Overview and background:
Like topic 1, the membership board has a long history of processes and procedures used to make decisions and collaborate with other APA entities. Unfortunately, those have not carried well through board leadership transitions. The responsibility is placed on the liaison to review how the membership board functions. As a result, the question of sun setting the membership board due to lack of clarity and direction has been salient. Confusion has contributed to lower participation in membership board leadership, with potential candidates inquiring about the membership board’s function given the membership office’s existence. This topic was intended to provide clarity, direction, and standardization within the membership board regarding the way it functions, the work the board does, and the way in which the board and the membership office operate collaboratively. This topic also intended to increase value to the larger membership through active engagement between the membership board slates and their constituents.
Strategic alignment:
Increasing the organizational effectiveness of the Membership Board through its operational procedures aligns with APA’s larger strategic goals in the following areas: Prepare the discipline and profession of psychology for the future (Attract, diversify, develop, and support the next generation of psychology professionals), engage with and deliver value to members, build a stronger association, and increase organizational effectiveness.
Outcome:
The membership board was broken into sub-committees to identify common procedures that were not clear or explicit upon one’s service term. In collaboration with the membership office and staff liaison, the sub-committee was able to compile a policy and procedures manual for the membership board that included standardized practices for membership applications, calls for comment, and engagement between other boards and committees. The development of this manual assisted in making board meetings more efficient, increased comfort among board member asynchronous work, and provided opportunity for the board to identify ways to improve the impact of the membership board for the larger APA membership. This manual will now be provided annually to new members and existing board members will have access to this manual if they arrive at questions about how something is addressed by the membership board.
Topic 3: Issue scanning to better facilitate relationships with marginalized groups within APA membership
Overview and background:
APA has made an intentional effort to improve racial equity within the organization through the development of an EDI Executive Office, the development of specific racial equity priorities for the organization at large, and through taking initial steps to identify and own its part in the sustaining of racist practices within the field of psychology. As the membership board, this topic was intended to create space for the voices of minoritized populations currently within the APA membership to be heard and acknowledged. This topic was also intended to foster a lens of racial equity in all the work conducted by the membership board.
Strategic alignment:
Issue scanning to better facilitate relationships with marginalized groups within APA membership aligns with APA’s strategic goals in the following areas: Utilize psychology to make a positive impact on critical societal issues, prepare the discipline and profession of psychology for the future, strengthen APA’s standing as an authoritative voice for psychology.
Outcome:
A sub-committee was developed to review current slates, develop a draft of slate definitions, and identify how each slate was addressing the larger membership board and APA missions. Through this initiative, the membership board was able to identify new slates that were more encompassing of psychologists who may not generally be represented in APA leadership. The membership board was also able to identify how to represent constituents more accurately through current states by changing the name of the slate and creating definitions of each slate that are in alignment with the membership board’s mission. The new and renamed slates include Science/technology, Education (formerly Business Slate), Global Perspectives (formerly International Slate), and Practice Slate. The slate definitions are currently in draft and are scheduled to be finalized in the 2023 year. Additionally, upon completion of issue scanning, the membership board began focusing on international members and ways in which APA can improve equity among international members. This initiative will continue throughout the 2023 year. Finally, the membership board was active in participating in the development of the racial equity priorities of APA through participation in the EDI Virtual Summit: Psychology’s Role in Dismantling Systemic Racism and participation in the racial equity priorities listening sessions. Among the membership board members, there were also several meetings that involved candid discussions about racial equity in the way membership applications are reviewed. This allowed for more equitable standardization of the review process.
Additional information regarding activities of the Membership Board:
- Membership Board Association Rule Change for fellows: The membership board identified an outdated limitation of leadership involvement on the membership board related to being a fellow and being on the membership board. The membership board was able to address this potential conflict and placed a rule change for a vote from the membership at large.
- Associate Voting Timeline: The membership board, to facilitate equity among associates, put forth a change in which associates are eligible to vote in APA without the 5-year associate requirement. This was done to create parity between associates and graduate students of APA.
- Development of “Pods”: To increase organizational effectiveness and to make a larger/ more efficient impact through initiatives, membership board “pods” were developed in which a first year, second year, and third year board member work on an initiative together outside of the general monthly meetings and provide updates to the larger board as needed. This structure allowed the work of the membership board to continue throughout the year and maximized time during general monthly meetings to address unexpected issues that may arise.