Tess M. Kilwein, PhD, ABPP

Candidates’ statements reflect their own views and do not represent the positions of APA or APA Services, Inc.

Psychology is being called to meet a defining moment. I see this in practice, in communities, and in the systems where people are trying to heal, lead, work, learn, and belong. We are facing a youth mental health crisis, loneliness across the lifespan, rural and frontier access gaps, attacks on equity, threats to science, provider burnout, and technologies rapidly reshaping human life.

APA must meet this moment – together, and with courage. We must strengthen public trust in psychology as a rigorous science, a health profession, and a force for human dignity, while defending psychological research and practice amid sweeping cuts, political interference, misinformation, and efforts to silence work that protects LGBTQ+, racially and ethnically minoritized, disabled, rural, and other underserved communities.

My commitment is to an APA that expands applied psychology, bringing psychological science into daily life, organizational culture, schools, workplaces, athletic systems, digital spaces, and health care environments. Rural, remote, and frontier communities must remain central to that vision. No population should be left behind because of geography, workforce shortages, stigma, broadband limitations, or fragmented systems. We need integrated care, community partnerships, mobile interventions, and innovative models that reach the hardest-to-reach communities.

APA must also shape ethical technology, including artificial intelligence, social media, content moderation, digital companions, and mobile mental health tools, especially for children and teens. And advocacy must remain central, including parity, sustainable reimbursement, workplace well-being, and protections for psychologists.

I bring both lived and professional experience, unapologetic and fierce advocacy, governance-ready leadership, and an equity-focused commitment to help APA protect the public, defend providers, and make psychology more accessible, trusted, and responsive.

Tess M. Kilwein, PhD, ABPP, is a clinical sport psychologist, consulting psychologist, supervisor, mentor, independent practice owner, and advocate working at the intersection of trauma, identity, rural mental health, and high-performance environments. They founded Unapologetic Psychology, a mental health and performance practice grounded in trauma-informed, identity-affirming, and liberation-focused care for athletes, performers, high-stakes professionals, and equity-deserving communities.

Kilwein’s work centers on a core question: what would it take for clinical, educational, athletic, organizational, and professional systems to become psychologically safe enough for people to live, lead, heal, and perform within them? Their lived and professional experiences across North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Tennessee shape their commitment to rural mental health, access, equity, and applied psychological practice.

They bring current clinical practice, applied psychology expertise, systems-level thinking, and meaningful governance experience. Their service spans APA, state, local, and community settings, including work connected to rural health, sport psychology, LGBTQ+ psychology, reproductive health, public health, sexual violence prevention, and community mental health systems.

As an early career psychologist candidate for the APA Board of Directors, Kilwein is committed to governance-ready, equity-centered leadership grounded in real-world psychological practice. Their priorities include strengthening public trust in psychology, expanding applied psychology, elevating rural, remote, and frontier mental health, defending liberation psychology, protecting providers, and ensuring meaningful early career psychologist representation in APA governance.