Julie Takashima-Lacasa, PhD, is awarded a Presidential Citation for her dedication to increasing access to quality mental health care for diverse and underserved communities.
Through her service on multiple APA boards and committees, particularly in her home state of Hawai'i, Takashima-Lacasa has constantly demonstrated her commitment to creating more healthy and resilient lives for all members of our society. This includes her efforts to include Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and Alaska Natives in APA programs and committees.
Takashima-Lacasa has been elected to several APA boards and committees, starting with the Committee on Rural Health. She was then elected to two terms on the Committee of State Leaders and served as that body’s chair. During her term on the Board of Professional Affairs, she served on the executive committee and the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion liaison team. With her rural health colleagues, she published a peer-reviewed article discussing the unique challenges of applying APA ethical standards in rural, remote and frontier practice settings with historically underserved and marginalized populations. She is committed to eliminating barriers to effective mental health care for communities that often lack access to it.
In Hawai'i, Takashima-Lacasa has led the state psychological association’s advocacy for solutions to the many issues that challenge the profession, including expanding access to health for marginalized communities and to protecting and expanding the scope of practice for psychology. While serving on the Hawai'i Psychological Association’s executive committee, she coordinated the publication of the first science-focused social justice statements in the association’s history. They included statements of reproductive rights, antiracism, Mauna Kea, Indigenous health, and antisemitism.
Takashima-Lacasa has risen to the challenge of leading the response to disasters affecting Hawai'i, primarily the devastating 2023 wildfires on the island of Maui. She consulted for the Hawai'i Psychological Association’s coordinated disaster mental health response to the wildfires, which can become a practice model for other devastating climate change events.
In recognition of the tireless efforts involved in improving the access to quality mental health care for all communities, the APA honors Julie Takishima-Lacasa, PhD, for her service to the practice of psychology. She exhibits the profession’s highest ideals, and represents the best of APA’s mission.