Kathleen McNamara, PhD, was awarded a 2017 APA Presidential Citation for aiding veterans, their families and also the people of Hawai'i.
During the 125th Anniversary of the APA, and the 20th Anniversary of the Association of Veterans Affairs Psychologist Leaders (AVAPL) conference, and representing the 115,364 members of APA as well as its Board of Directors, I, Antonio E. Puente, PhD, President of our venerable association present a presidential citation to my friend and colleague, Kathleen M. McNamara.
McNamara received her PhD from Ohio University (1977) in clinical psychology and after a short stint in academia joined the Veterans Administration health care system as a clinical psychologist serving as a caring clinician, effective administrator and beloved trainer.
She has served the profession of psychology in countless ways from being in the leadership of the AVAPL, the Veterans Administration, the National Academies of Practice and the American Psychological Association including serving on its Board of Directors.
McNamara started her professional career with the VA three decades ago. She is known as "Dr. Mc" to veterans and their families. To the veterans on the Island of Moloka'i she is known as the Mother Teresa of Moloka'i. She has not only touched the minds and hearts of the veterans and their families but also the people of Hawai'i.
She has been appropriately recognized with numerous awards including the AVAPL Distinguished Career Award, the American Board of Professional Psychology’s Distinguished Service Award to the Profession of Psychology, a prior APA Presidential citation for veteran affairs and being one of very few psychologists to have a commendation read into the Congressional Record.
After her retirement from the VA she opened an independent practice to continue her passion of taking care of veterans, and returning to her roots as a clinical neuropsychologist in Wailuku, Hawai'i.
Now, therefore, APA and the AVAPL are proud to have Dr. McNamara be one of us. May our careers and lives reflect the humbleness, kindness, warmth, passion and success that she brings to each veteran and the field of psychology. Thank you, McNamara, for allowing us to be part of your life and for you having so deeply influenced ours.