Videos of Five Citizen Psychologists
Silencer of a Noisy City
Arline L. Bronzaft, PhD
Recognized as an exemplar of passion, coalition building and leadership for her sustained community activities in New York City, Bronzaft has served as an advisor to five New York mayors as the chairperson of the Noise Committee of GrowNYC.org. By demonstrating the adverse effects of noise on mental and physical health, Bronzaft helped the Department of Environmental Protection of New York to update the New York noise code in order to bring the decibel level down in the city. This noise code has become a model for other cities. She has also assisted in the implementation of a noise education curriculum in the New York public school system. Bronzaft also helped New York develop a readable subway map which has also become a model for other cities.
Charter School Founder
Michele G. Gill, PhD
Gill was recognized for her dedication, advocacy and actions to transform public education through the application of psychological learning principles. In 2010, Gill designed and founded a free K-8 charter school in the high-poverty area of Midway in Sanford, Fla. based on cutting edge educational research. Currently Galileo School is one of the top performing schools in Seminole County and is known for its educational innovations, such as differentiation for all students, and student-selected “creative productivity” learning blocks. Gill continues to serve the school as chairperson of the Galileo School Board and chair of the Curriculum Committee.
Advocate for LGBTQ Populations
Nicholas E. Grant, PhD
Grant was recognized for his stellar leadership and service to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) communities. Grant currently serves on the board of directors of GLMA: Healthcare Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality, where he has developed initiatives around increasing outreach with behavioral health providers, communication and collaboration among trainees from different professional backgrounds, and the dialogue around intersectionality and diversity in healthcare. Grant has served as a subject matter expert on LGBTQ issues in the Office of U.S. Senator Gillibrand, as well as provided support on the health care and military/personnel legislative portfolios.
Peacemaker and Meal Ambassador
Michael Sullivan, PhD
Sullivan was recognized as an exemplar of sustained activities in his community and across the lifespan. From his time volunteering in the Peace Corps and later doing alternative civilian service as a conscientious objector in the 1960’s to his current volunteerism 50 years later, Sullivan now dedicates many volunteer hours to the Meals on Wheels program within Senior Resources, Inc. in support of improving the lives of seniors in Columbia, South Carolina. He initiated a volunteer recognition initiative within this program to ensure that those who cared for others are also cared for. Sullivan also applies his psychology advocacy skills as a spokesperson for the Meals on Wheels program addressing the benefits of community engagement for volunteers.
School Board Leader
Lisa Willner, PhD
Willner was recognized as an exemplar of broad and diverse community leadership, dedicated work ethic and impressive dexterity in working with people, policies and organizations. Willner’s lifelong commitment to the highest quality public education and her commitment to making it available to all students, regardless of their residence, socioeconomic class, unique learning style, sexual orientation or ethnicity culminated in her election to the Jefferson County (Kentucky) Public School Board of Education in 2015. Willner was elected as vice chair of the School Board in 2016, demonstrating strong advocacy for mental health issues, for students’ voices being heard and for greater labor/management collaboration.
More Citizen Psychologists
Alexis Abernethy, PhD
Alexis Abernethy was recognized for her commitment to serving communities. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Abernethy proactively solicited the needs of New Orleans religious leaders as they assisted their congregations in the adjustment following the devastation and mass displacement of their city. She then coalesced a core team of psychologists and raised funds to develop and implement a research-informed, three-year support project that focused on resilience development for clergy and their spouses to help them sustain their efforts in aiding their community. Abernethy has also served African-American men at risk for prostate cancer, Latina breast cancer survivors, residents in the Bahamas, workers in China, and many other populations. As a powerful mentor to her African-American students, Abernethy hosts quarterly students of African descent luncheons in her home to help students explore and navigate the challenges that arise professionally and personally in spaces where their identities are often marginalized.
Erin Andrews, PsyD, ABPP
Erin Andrews was recognized for her commitment to advocacy for parents with disabilities as a founder of the Disabled Parenting Project (DPP). DPP is an online community that serves as an information clearinghouse and interactive space for discussion and connection among a highly marginalized and disenfranchised group: parents and prospective parents with disabilities. This program includes a digital and participatory action research component, created by and for the community. Parents are invited to tell their stories in their own voices through video interviews that are uploaded and available online, with the goal of furthering discussion and informing policy, practice, and education about disability issues and the needs of underserved parents.
Kira Hudson Banks was recognized as a catalyst for transformation, learning, and action in the aftermath of the Ferguson, Mo., protests and unrest in 2014 and beyond and for being a leader in racial equity in the St. Louis region. Banks has subsequently served as a racial equity consultant for the Ferguson Commission (2015) and as the racial equity catalyst (2016-2017) for Forward Through Ferguson, the entity developed to further the commission’s calls to action. Banks has brought her knowledge of the effects of discrimination, the impact of the subconscious on decision making, and the importance of advancing both systems and individual-level solutions to bear in advancing the greater Ferguson community.
Kim Baranowski was recognized for her commitment to advocacy and reform of human rights violations and improving the lives of disenfranchised minority populations. Baranowski has used her expertise in psychological assessment of asylum seekers to provide pro bono evaluations in collaboration with law clinics that assist with immigration. Her efforts have been critical in helping plaintiffs in civil cases involving discrimination, maltreatment, and labor exploitation.
Donell L. Barnett was recognized as a catalyst for transformation in his hometown of Langston, Okla., by implementing a shared value model for corporate social responsibility to create sustainable good for his community. He worked with local partners to purchase, renovate, and operate The Langston Center. The Langston Center now functions as a community center bridging Langston University and the town of Langston City and serves as a meeting and planning space for other community development initiatives.
Alfiee Breland-Noble was recognized for the integration of community-based participatory action with culturally relevant research methods to address mental health disparities and improve the lives of young people, families, and communities of color. As the principal director of the African American Knowledge Optimized for Mindfully Healthy Adolescents (AAKOMA) Center and the AAKOMA Project. Breland-Noble has spearheaded volunteer efforts in research capacity-building in Black faith communities, schools and community-based organizations; public speaking with community scientist partners on suicide prevention; and volunteer service on national advisory boards of organizations devoted to reducing mental health disparities. For the last 20 years, she has trained Black faith community leaders to develop and staff “research ministries” designed to reduce the historical exploitation of Black communities in clinical research and “compassionate care teams” designed to train faith communities on how to support congregants with mental illness.
Britney Brinkman was recognized for developing the Gwendolyn J. Elliott Institute, an interprofessional institution within Gwen’s Girls, an organization serving Black girls and young women to enhance the quality of services of Gwen’s Girls participants. Brinkman and her team developed a curriculum for an empowerment-based after-school program for high school girls as well as a PhotoVoice project to train participants at Gwen’s Girls in youth participatory action research to challenge stereotypes about Black girls. She also helped coordinate the first annual Equity Summit hosted by Gwen’s Girls to bring together scholars, policymakers, and service providers to examine issues facing Black girls in western Pennsylvania.
Michael Campbell was recognized for his sustained leadership in public health activities in Barbados and the Caribbean in multiple roles, including as a member of the Caribbean Public Health Agency Research Ethics Committee; vice chair, Caribbean Network of Research Ethics Committees (CANREC); member, Caribbean Regional HIV Stigma and Discrimination Advisory Group, 2011-2012; and chair, Technical Advisory Committee, Barbados National Registries. Campbell has also provided pro bono support for emergency trauma and disaster response throughout the Caribbean region for over 20 years.
Nayeli Chavez-Dueñas was recognized for her grassroots participation and leadership in various immigrant organizations, including the Illinois Youth Justice League (IYJL). In collaboration with IYJL, Chavez-Dueñas was instrumental in supporting the first National Coming Out of the Shadows Rally in 2010, a human rights and advocacy event, which has now expanded to include events across the country and has led to undocumented youth boldly declaring themselves “undocumented and unafraid” while advocating for human rights and immigrant rights. Several of the “Dreamers” who were originally part of IYJL spearheaded the U.S. immigration Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and co-founded the Anhelo Project to support the education of undocumented high school, undergraduate, and graduate students who are leaders in their communities. Chavez-Dueñas and a colleague have also created vital open- access tools and resources for the immigrant community.
Catherine Cook-Cottone was recognized for her advocacy and implementation of evidence-based mind–body practices through the founding of Yogis in Service, Inc., a nonprofit organization whose mission is to create free access to yoga and mindfulness to inner city schools, hospitals, universities, community centers, and treatment centers in western New York. Cook-Cottone integrated and applies evidence-based principles through yoga to help individuals dealing with economic challenges, race-based trauma, and other life stressors find effective and meaningful tools to better their lives and enhance their families and communities.
Carol Lynn Courtney was recognized for sustained leadership both in her community and internationally, particularly for the pro bono service-learning projects provided over the past 20 plus years with her husband, Richard Olson, PhD (below). Following her initial service trip to South Africa in 1996, for a project which successfully continues today, Courtney continues to develop new pro bono international consulting and coaching service programs (e.g., Ecuador, Austria, Turkey, Belize) every other summer, most recently to Ireland, providing access to a level of business expertise unavailable otherwise. For the last 10 years, she has volunteered coaching services to students at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and has involved these students in the international service projects that she and her husband, Olson, lead every other year. These projects enhance the organizations where they consult; improve the skills of the individuals within these organizations where they build capacity, skill, and confidence; and enrich the graduate students who learn, grow, and are mentored through these projects. Courtney also provides pro bono coaching to leaders in other nonprofit groups on an ongoing basis.
Sara Dolan was recognized for her role as the coleader of the Psychological Intervention Team, an integral part of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) at the Waco-McLennan County, Texas, Health Department. In this role, she is called upon to provide behavioral health support in times of disaster or crisis. Dolan provides an annual training in psychological first aid for students at Baylor University and as a continuing education unit opportunity for other mental health care providers in the central Texas area. Her role in the Medical Reserve Corps includes consultation to the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District and Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, providing behavioral health support and consultation during live disaster role-play exercises.
Eisert is recognized posthumously for her sustained volunteer service and leadership in her community, in particular to the Jasper Mountain Center, a non-profit treatment center that brings healing to severely traumatized children and their families. Eisert served on the board of directors for nearly twenty years, including two terms as president and two terms as secretary. Through her advocacy in the legislature, in the psychology community and in the community at large, Eisert persistently addressed significant challenges of the Center by helping others understand the scientific approaches to treatment of child abuse and always maintaining the focus on the well-being of the children.
Margaret Ann Gardner was recognized as a community activist through her work to identify problems and needs within the mental health service delivery system in the Austin, Texas, metro area and make recommendations for improving access to and resources within the system. Gardner has long championed ensuring effective public access to psychological and emergency psychiatric services in the community; developing better coordination within existing networks of care; and educating officials on issues relating to the intersection of criminal justice and the mental health system, including diversion of people suffering from substance use disorders and people with nonviolent offenses to rehabilitation programs rather than to jail or prison. She has advocated for the unique opportunity for psychology to cross traditional disciplinary lines and encourage greater interagency cooperation for the solution of common problems.
Robyn Gobin was recognized for addressing the silence, shame and lack of mental health knowledge in the Black church by speaking about mental health issues within the Church of Christ. In addition to serving in local church communities, Gobin shares mindfulness and trauma research at the Danville Illinois Correctional Center through the Education Justice Project, a college-in-prison program that provides academic offerings to incarcerated individuals. As underutilization of therapy remains high, particularly in ethnic minority populations, Gobin created the TransformU iPhone application and a podcast series to address how psychological and spiritual principles can be applied to managing life’s challenges. Gobin also serves on the Board of Directors for LBWI (Life Balance and Wellness Institute), to provide evidence-based tools that support women in achieving and maintaining optimal wellness in all areas of life, and for DREAAM (Driven to Reach Excellence and Academic Achievement for Males) House, a school-to-college pipeline program that provides academic and emotional skills training for African American boys.
Alan L. Goldberg was recognized for his leadership as a 25-year volunteer judge for the Southern Arizona Research, Science, and Engineering Foundation (SARSEF), a nonprofit that runs one of the largest science fairs for students from kindergarten through high school. As a board of directors member of SARSEF for six years, Goldberg has been a stalwart advocate for the recognition of behavioral sciences as an important venue in science education and has been instrumental in the inclusion of more young women and underserved children from Title I schools. He currently serves as chair of the Senior Division Behavioral Sciences category.
Lee Gurel was recognized for his sustained advocacy for psychology at the secondary level and high school psychology teachers nationwide. Gurel has donated generously to the American Psychological Foundation (APF) to support his steadfast vision of increasing high-quality resources and professional development opportunities for high school teachers of psychology. Gurel initiated the APA/TOPSS/APF Clark University Workshop for Teachers of High School Psychology, which brings together 25 high school psychology teachers annually to learn from master teachers and psychology faculty to enhance their teaching and understanding of psychological science. Through his generosity, participants are able to attend for free.
Perry Halkitis was recognized for his unwavering dedication to stemming the HIV/AIDS epidemic through sustained advocacy that addresses important social and public health issues of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. Halkitis has collaborated with agencies such as the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, Harlem United, the Hyacinth Foundation, and the New Jersey Community Research Initiative to facilitate the rapid translation and dissemination of new and critical information to both underserved community members and social service and health care providers serving LGBT youth and adults. He has also been involved in numerous projects with the New York City LGBT Community Center, such as working with its leadership to develop and evaluate innovative curricula. Halkitis has also worked with the staff of Project Samaritan, an AIDS service organization, to create and implement training conferences about the sexuality of HIV-positive individuals.
W. Rodney Hammond was recognized for his leadership and advocacy of mental health and well-being within the community in which he lives and the nation at large. Hammond has served nationally on the Mental Health Task Force of the Carter Presidential Center and on the national board of directors of Prevent Child Abuse America. He is currently on the national board of directors of Neighbor to Family, a multistate children’s foster care program emphasizing keeping siblings together. Locally, Hammond began service as a member of the board of the Berkeley Lake Homeowners Association; created the Berkeley Lake Conservancy, with a focus on a land trust dedicated to green space; and currently serves as chair of the City Planning and Zoning Commission of Berkeley Lake, Ga.
Jeanne Alice Swickard Hoffman was recognized for her focus on the well-being of children, families, our armed forces, and the public interest. Hoffman’s early research on childhood exposure to heptachlor, a pesticide used on pineapple crops in Hawaii, contributed to its ultimate ban in U.S. agriculture. Her background in pediatric psychology informed her many volunteer expert consulting roles, including as a member of the APA Task Force on the Psychological Needs of U.S. Military Service Members and Their Families, aimed at assisting children, youth, and families affected by military deployment, and serving on the Army Surgeon General’s task force on brain health, addressing head injury and recovery.
Skyler D. Jackson was recognized for his sustained dedication to equity and social change through use of his psychological training and leadership skills to reduce prejudice and intergroup conflict among California youth. Throughout his graduate training, Jackson was affiliated with Western Justice Center/ ENCOMPASS, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a more civil, peaceful society. There he served as a long-distance consultant on various prejudice-reduction interventions, traveled to deliver in-person anti-bias trainings to hundreds of beginning K-12 teachers, and found ways to use his emerging psychological research skills to expand the organization’s community impact.
Christopher Liang was recognized for his leadership and sustained community advocacy to increase the focus on equity and inclusion in the Central Bucks School District in Pennsylvania. Liang is a founder of a grassroots, parent-driven group called Central Bucks Community Council for Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. He facilitates meetings of parents and concerned community members, attends school board meetings, and speaks directly to the board and administrators addressing issues that impact the students who are often invisible in his community. He provides training to teachers, school counselors, and district leaders on masculinity, adverse childhood experiences, racism, and academic disparities as a way to bring about inclusive and trauma- informed schools. Liang has also worked to create space for people from multiple faiths to come together to support Muslims who face the threat of ban and violence.
Bruce Liese was recognized as an elected and appointed community leader in Lecompton, Kan. He was a member and then president of the city council and a member of a countywide commission known as ECO2 (Eco-squared), composed of city and county leaders aiming to facilitate economic and environmental growth in the community. He was elected for two consecutive terms by the county commission to serve on the 10-member Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission, having been elected twice by his peers to serve as chair. During his tenure on the commission, Liese developed the Planning Commission Orientation Program, still in operation today. Liese has served on the board of directors and continues to advocate strongly for Headquarters Counseling Center, a suicide prevention crisis center serving Douglas County and the state of Kansas.
Richard Mayer was recognized for his sustained leadership in education. Mayer was first elected as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Goleta Union School District in 1981, and is currently in his ninth term, making him the longest-serving school board member in his county. Mayer served as president, vice president, and clerk of the board on multiple occasions. Mayer is credited with being involved in maintaining low class size (e.g., 20-to-1 in primary grades) to allow for differentiated instruction for all students; creating preschools for children from low-income families and for students with special needs to insure students enter kindergarten ready to learn; developing academic summer programs for students from low-income families who need academic help to avoid summertime losses in achievement; and adding after school programs and childcare to serve families who need a safe after school environment for their children. In addition, he is credited with insuring that the district offers psychological and social services to promote social-emotional learning; providing additional instructional support in schools that are most in need to reduce the achievement gap; providing all students with access to instructional technology that is tied to district curriculum; providing professional development for employees based on treating teachers as professionals and partners; developing evaluation programs based on tracking individual student growth; and maintaining rich instructional programs in art, music, science, language arts, and math, focused on student understanding and development of learning skills.
Lisa Merlo Green was recognized for her sustained leadership in volunteerism since earning the 200+ Community Service Hours Award each year during high school. Most recently, discouraged by the lack of civil public discourse in addressing problems affecting her community and the nation, she is a founder of “Be the Kind,” an inclusive organization dedicated to spreading positivity in the community through activities such as partnering with a local refugee services organization to distribute clothing from a collection drive she organized, collecting school supplies for underserved students, making “blessing bag kits” to distribute to the local homeless population, assisting with hurricane relief efforts, and more. Merlo Green has also been serving as a founding board member and subject matter expert for “Drawn From Valor, Inc.,” a nonprofit charity dedicated to assisting children and families affected by chronic health conditions by educating through entertainment.
Garth Neufeld was recognized for his leadership in social justice and human rights by providing at-risk children with the tools to avoid a life of extreme poverty and work within the sex trade in Thailand. Neufeld and his wife co-founded Shared Space for All (SSFA) in 2016, a nonprofit NGO designed to meet the educational needs of at-risk children in Thailand, where sex tourism thrives and sex work discriminates. Girls from poor families are at risk of dropping out of school to help with family finances. SSFA aims to stop sex work before it begins by providing a safe educational and mentoring space. Neufeld is the president of SSFA’s board of directors and oversees the work with its domestic and international operations. His efforts involve everything from fundraising to public speaking to working with individual and organizational partners such as lawyers, accountants, graphic designers, nonprofit organizations, NGOs, and school districts.
Arlene Noriega was recognized for her leadership in the LGBT community in Atlanta, Ga. Noriega has worked with Positive Impact, a community organization providing mental health services to HIV infected/affected clients and was a founding faculty member of Positive Impact’s Cultural Diversity Institute to ensure cultural competence of mental health providers in Atlanta who work with individuals affected by HIV. Noriega later joined the board of the Health Initiative, a nonprofit providing health care access to marginalized segments of the LGBT population, where she became the lead coordinator in a social networking group called Fourth Tuesday. She was named the 2014 Grand Marshal of the Atlanta LGBT Pride Celebration in honor of her work.
Richard D. Olson was recognized for sustained leadership both in his community and internationally for pro bono service-learning projects over the past 20 years (with his spouse, Carol Lynn Courtney, PhD, above). Olson began providing pro bono coaching to ministers in the early 1990s, helping them develop their leadership skills, work with multiple constituencies, manage their stress, and improve their self-care. Olson leads pro bono international consulting and coaching service programs (e.g., Ecuador, Austria, Turkey, Belize) every other summer, most recently to Ireland, with his wife providing access to a level of business expertise unavailable otherwise. These projects enhance the organizations where they consult; improve the skills of the individuals within these organizations where they build capacity, skill, and confidence; and enrich the graduate students who learn, grow, and are mentored through these projects. Olson also provides pro bono coaching to leaders in other nonprofit groups on an ongoing basis.
Mian-Li Ong was recognized as a graduate student for his leadership in building an online ecology to raise the accuracy and visibility of psychological knowledge on Wikipedia and Wikiversity by blending research, teaching, and service in a way that multiplies opportunities for students, generates tangible products, and gives back to the world. Ong is a skilled Wikipedia editor; has taught more than 200 students, graduate students, and faculty how to make webpage edits; is an official Wiki Ambassador for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and is co-founder of 
Michael Salamon was recognized for his transformative work in raising awareness of the prevention and treatment of child sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community and aiding victims to obtain the help and support they needed. Salamon helped formulate a model of procedures for congregations to guide rabbis and staff in responding to accusations within synagogues, including accusations against the rabbi or other employees and situations in which members are suspected of abuse. Salamon also has served for 12 years as co-chair of the Educational Board of Parents for Torah for All Children, a nonprofit dedicated to yeshiva students with special learning needs, and as former chair of the Board of Education of Hebrew Academy of Five Towns and Rockaway.
Felicitas Sebastian was recognized for her leadership in helping underserved, formerly incarcerated women restore their dignity by moving them toward independence and reducing recidivism. Sebastian oversaw the restoration of two condemned buildings and led the capital campaign on those properties for Labyrinth Outreach Services to Women, a nonprofit organization in McLean County, Ill. Sebastian co- leads Labyrinth, which provides comprehensive reintegration services to formerly incarcerated women who have returned to the community. Sebastian engaged city council members and key civic leaders in learning about the importance of rehabilitating these women and the benefits of helping them and their families. She was the founder, co-president of the board, and co-director of this organization from 2012 to 2016, after which it merged with the YWCA of McLean County, Ill. That merger realized Sebastian’s dream of creating a program that provides safe housing, mental health counseling, employment coaching, and mentoring for women who otherwise might likely return to the courts. She now serves on the board of the YWCA of McLean County and co-directs an advisory board for Labyrinth.
Rachel Singer was recognized for her social justice advocacy by creating a partnership with the African Affairs Advisory Group, a community advocacy group that focuses on the needs of the African immigrant community in the state of Maryland to further their efforts to destigmatize mental health care help-seeking behaviors and to disseminate accurate information about mental health. Singer engages in monthly outreach efforts and co-leads pro bono talks to provide psychoeducational instruction about mental health and inform the community about options for mental health care treatment. Singer testified and advocated for creation of a sanctuary city in Rockville, Md., that would separate the role of the police department from that of immigration authorities. Since this testimony, Rockville has adopted a new law that enhances the relationship between the police department and the refugee/ immigrant community. Singer also advocated for increased opportunities to provide pro bono services through her involvement in Montgomery County’s Immigrant Community Services (ICS), a local nonprofit organization. Her work with ICS facilitated critical mental health community outreach to communities that had not previously received such services.
Michael A. Smyer was recognized for his leadership and sustained commitment to education and activism in the area of climate change and its detrimental impact on older adults. Smyer is the founder of Graying Green: Climate Action for an Aging World, an international project that empowers elders to engage in efforts to reduce climate change and global warming and educates the public about the impact of climate change on the older adult population. This grassroots program also brings together scientists, business leaders, policymakers, and the media to enhance awareness of two critical global patterns: the impact of climate change on mental and physical health and the aging of the world population.
Rebecca Thomley was recognized for her disaster relief efforts nationally and internationally. Thomley created the nonprofit Headwaters Relief Organization to bring hope to, and build resilience among, people and communities following a natural disaster. Headwaters forges connections between those who are being served, the Headwaters team, and the community at large. Headwaters ensures that every volunteer, regardless of age, background, skills, or experience, feels valued and motivated to continue to serve others. With over 2,000 volunteers, it is a member of Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters and a member of InterAction, an organization to connect NGOs working internationally. Headwaters has responded to tornadoes, flooding, the Minneapolis bridge collapse, the Gulf oil spill, earthquakes, and hurricanes, providing clean-up, rebuilding, mental health support, public health interventions, and medical support. Headwaters provides ongoing mental health and public health services in New Orleans’ Ninth Ward and Haiti. Headwaters has also developed training curricula for staff and volunteers addressing such issues as psychological first aid, compassion fatigue, and grief and loss.
David Van Nuys was recognized as a contributor to international public education about psychological science and practice in his innovative podcast, “Shrink Rap Radio.” Van Nuys has conducted more than 700 in-depth interviews with leaders of psychological science and practice over the past 13 years. Every branch of psychology and every school of psychotherapy have received an equally respectful opportunity to present their work. Van Nuys has delivered a positive image of psychology and rich, scientifically based psychological content to listeners in more than 212 countries. Shrink Rap Radio interviews are used at universities for course instruction and for about 100 online CE units through the Zur Institute. Shrink Rap Radio has more than 16,000 subscribers and more than 5 million downloads. Van Nuys’s public podcasts have become the first points of contact with psychological services and psychological training.
Diane Willis was recognized for enhancing behavioral health services for children in Native American communities and for being on the front lines of assuring health equity to underserved children and families throughout her career. Willis has demonstrated long-standing public service, including an appointment to the State of Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission Task Force to evaluate and coordinate services to Indian children and youth; lobbying for more professionals to fill tremendous needs in the Indian Health Service clinics; establishing Early Head Start and Head Start programs of research and service for American Indian/Alaskan Native youth and families; developing child psychology clinics within the Indian Health Service and tribal programs; and consulting to the federal Head Start program and Zero to Three in early childhood education and mental health programs for Native American tribes. Willis has also served as core faculty with Project Making Medicine, training behavioral health professionals in Indian Health Service and tribal programs in child physical and sexual abuse.