Vickie M. Mays, PhD, MSPH, was presented with this Presidential Citation for her public service, long-term commitment, and leadership in advancing health equity in underserved, underrepresented, and marginalized communities, and to ensuring that the needs of these communities are being highlighted and met during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mays, professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Fielding School of Public Health and the UCLA College, has a long history of research and policy development in the area of health disparities that impact communities of color, particularly the contextual factors that surround HIV/AIDS. She has served the Department of Health and Human Services in a number of capacities including serving on and as the chair of the Panel of Minority Women Health Experts. She has provided testimony to several Congressional Committees on her research findings related to HIV, mental health, and health disparities. Her research on discrimination has been cited in Supreme Court briefs.
Mays was the architect of the mental health and well-being section of the National Academy of Medicine Healthy People 2020 Indicators Report and served as the chair of the Subcommittee on Populations of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics.
Mays has served APA in many capacities, including Board of Scientific Affairs, Board of Professional Affairs, Committee on International Relations in Psychology, and service on the APA National Steering Committee on Health Disparities. She was an integral member of APA’s COVID-19 Workgroup and coauthored a report containing a framework for disaggregating vulnerabilities to COVID-19.
Mays has received numerous awards, including for research on women and HIV from the American Foundation for AIDS Research and several from APA such as Women and Leadership Award. She was recently honored by her colleagues for service to the university with the Academic Senate’s 2020 Senate Service Award.
As a psychologist committed to breaking down social and political barriers, Mays’ tenacity and perseverance have fueled and guided her path to eradicate inequities that lead to the marginalization of communities of color.
Mays, thank you for your commitment and service to APA and the profession of psychology.