Membership Board

Board/committee members:
Merranda Marin, PhD, Chair (science/academic representative)
Norah Aldawsari, MS (affiliate representative)
Tanecia Blue, PhD (diversity representative)
Deidre Bradley, PhD (science and technology representative)
Merry Bullock, PhD (international affairs representative)
Leonardo Caraballo, PsyD (early career representative)
June Ching, PhD, Vice Chair (advocacy representative)
Heidi Hutman, PhD (education representative)
Joann Sorra, PhD (applied representative)

Staff liaison(s):
Sonja Wiggins, MBA

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. In 2023, the membership board sought to further its mission of gaining insight and input from various constituents on trends, potential opportunities and/or challenges in their respective areas as they relate to the recruitment, retention, and engagement of members and affiliates. The following will outline what activities/initiatives were conducted in 2023 and explain how these relate to the APA strategic plan.

Topic 1: The Membership Board will engage in critical issue scanning of current events in society and the field as it relates to APA and/or membership in order to be a conduit for sharing issues to the Membership Office

Overview and background
APA’s Membership Office provides a wide range of resources for its members.  Yet the Membership Office focuses on the process of information distribution, delivery and dissemination but may not be fully aware of content issues impacting the applied practice and education within the field of psychology.  As such, the coupling of membership office and membership board offers a holistic approach to meeting the needs of APA members.  This topic was intended to increase the communication between the membership office and the membership board in an effort to reduce redundancies and increase collaborative efforts towards bolstering membership in the APA.  This important topic of issue scanning was carried over from the 2022 plan as an ongoing effort to continue to be a conduit for sharing issues with the Membership Office.

Strategic alignment
Issue scanning of current events in society and the field as it relates to APA and/or 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
One issue that was presented to the membership office was the challenge that international folks had with regard to the process of payment (i.e. not having a credit card).  This was shared with the membership office who then began exploring alternative payment options (i.e. Venmo).  

Topic 2: Educating the Membership Office about member challenges and member perspectives-particularly those things that might not necessarily show up in market research

Overview and background
Each member of the membership board represents a particular slate (i.e. education, diversity, etc.) and within that representation is the “eyes and ears” of that constituency group. Given the engagement with each constituency, there is valuable information that can be gleaned which may not always be represented or demonstrated in market research.  As such, the membership board, after lengthy discussions, developed what it termed “pain points” that are now shared with the membership office. Additionally, this was also intended to create a greater exchange of ideas and facilitate communication and working alliances between membership office and membership board. 

Strategic alignment
Educating the membership office about member challenges and member-perspectives, particularly items that may not always show up in market research 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
The membership board listed as an item on every agenda “pain points” and this allowed for dialogue around areas that board members were becoming aware of from each of their respective constituency groups. 

Topic 3: Increase representation of perspectives on the Membership Board from multiple constituencies within the field of psychology

Overview and background
The membership board consists of several slates, intended to represent a broad range of members.  Given the changing demographics of the field, it is important for the membership board to constantly examine the noted slates and evaluate whether the current slate categories are reflective of the changing aspects of APA membership to ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion are reflected in the categories.  For example, membership board has a slate to represent early career psychologists, but there was not a slate to represent late career psychologists, who may have a wealth of knowledge and expertise and represent a changing demographic within the field of psychology.

Strategic alignment
Increasing representation of perspectives on the membership board from multiple constituencies within the field of psychology 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
Examination of the slate categories resulted in new slates along with accompanying definitions.  For example, it was determined that the previous slate entitled “advocacy” was no longer needed, as advocacy can and should be encompassed within the other categories represented.  Additionally, this examination resulted in new slates being identified, which are below:

Additional information regarding activities of the Membership Board:

1. The establishment of pods consisting of a first-year member, a second year member, and a third year member was continued in 2023, as this was an effective activity developed in 2022. This structure allows for the work of the membership board to continue throughout the year and maximizes time during our monthly meetings to address unexpected issues that may arise.
2. The membership board has worked closely with membership office in the establishment of a new category of membership for individuals who do not meet the criteria for membership or associate membership, but still would like to engage and promote the field of psychology.