This APA Citizen Psychologist Presidential Citation is awarded posthumously to Debra Eisert, PhD, ABPP, 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 APA Board of Directors for nearly twenty years, including two terms as president and two terms as secretary. Eisert advocated widely for the Jasper Mountain Center, 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 kids.
Eisert's commitment to advocacy started early in her career. As a pediatric psychologist at Lenox Baker Children's Hospital, part of Duke University Medical School, she collaborated with an interior designer to develop an accessible play area, where hospitalized children in wheelchairs and other devices could access age-appropriate toys and activities to engage in social and pretend play. Following her move to Oregon in 1984, where she worked for more than 30 years at the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center for Oregon Health and Science University and the University Center of Excellence on Developmental Disability for the University of Oregon, Eisert also served on civic committees that focused on diversity and inclusion for people of color and people with disabilities. For example, for more than ten years, she served on the Partnership in Oregon on Diversity and Disability. She also participated on the Oregon Council on Developmental Disabilities for eight years, which informs legislators and policy-makers about the needs of individuals with disabilities in Oregon. Eisert's focus was primarily on children, but this council gave her more opportunities to work with adults with disabilities in order to hear their perspectives on employment, transportation, health care, housing and other issues vital to quality of life. She also had a well-deserved reputation in the community for researching and advocating to reduce school violence, especially involving girls and for bringing a dating violence curriculum to schools.