APAGS elections and appointments

The APAGS Committee serves as an advisory committee composed of nine elected officers. Five appointed subcommittee chairs work closely with the APAGS Committee by participating in the business meetings and discussions of the committee. As an advisory group, the APAGS Committee offers comments on APA policies, guidelines, and procedures.

The nine elected APAGS officers include a chair, past chair, and chair-elect, as well as six members-at-large.

There are five APAGS subcommittees:

• Committee for the Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Diversity (CARED)
• Advocacy Coordinating Team (ACT)
• Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (CSOGD)
• Convention Committee
• Science Committee

Each subcommittee has five or more members plus a chair (and vice chair for some subcommittees).

Time commitment and responsibilities

Members-at-large, subcommittee chairs, and subcommittee members serve for 2-year terms from January 1 to December 31 of the following year. Subcommittee vice chairs also serve for 2-year terms from January 1 to December 31 (serving as vice chair during their first year, and subcommittee chair during their second year).

We recognize that individual needs and bandwidths may vary across leaders and through life changes. APAGS leadership values creating spaces and flexibility for those who are passionate about serving our field but may not hold time privilege in other spaces. To this point, approximate monthly time commitments for each position are listed below (please keep in mind specific APAGS initiatives and periods of the year (e.g., convention) may require additional hours to accomplish time-sensitive goals):

• APAGS Executive Committee (chair, past chair, chair-elect): 10–15 hours
• APAGS members-at-large: 3–6 hours
• Subcommittee Chairs: 8–15 hours
• Subcommittee Members: 3–6 hours

Members of the APAGS Committee and appointed subcommittee chairs are required to attend yearly, hybrid, or fully in-person Spring Consolidated Business meetings during their term (held in Washington, DC in March), as well as virtual business meetings held at least two other times during the year. Members must be willing to dedicate the necessary time to sufficiently prepare for these meetings and provide follow-up. Members are also expected to liaise with other boards and committees as assigned, participate in regular conference calls, and communicate regularly over a closed committee email list. Committee members are expected to work on projects related to the APAGS Strategic Plan, as approved by the APAGS Committee and as assigned by the APAGS Committee chair and staff.

Members of the subcommittees have a different set of duties described below.

All applicants should consult with an advisor or other faculty mentor to confirm their support and willingness to allow time away to attend meetings to meet obligations to APAGS.

Things to consider before applying

Participation in APAGS leadership is a rewarding and fantastic professional development experience. Leaders will have numerous opportunities to learn the inner workings of APA and APAGS as well as network with various stakeholders that are involved within the organization. The elected and appointed positions offered within APAGS are voluntary and primarily service-oriented. While leadership opportunities are voluntary and certain responsibilities are flexible, there is an expected level of commitment and dedication towards the successful fulfillment of one’s roles within the term (e.g., attending mandatory consolidated meetings on the weekends or weekdays, submitting reports, liaising to other subcommittees within APAGS, responding to emails within 72 hours, writing public commentaries, initiating/contributing to webinars, blogs, podcasts, social media content, etc.). Should you wish to apply, we advise taking into consideration and reflecting on academic, professional, and personal responsibilities and journeys for the term you intend to serve. Some questions to ponder include: where you will be in your academic career during the term you intend to serve; will this commitment, coupled with other important milestones (e.g. internship, dissertation), impact your ability to be successful in all tasks?

Election of APAGS committee members

Elections are held annually for the chair-elect position and vacant member-at-large positions. A call for applications is released each summer. APAGS members vote online for these positions in late fall via a personalized series of emails over the period of about 1 month, sent to each APAGS member. This includes all graduate student affiliates of APA along with any other student who upgraded their membership level to APAGS.

Appointment of subcommittee chairs

Subcommittee chairs are not elected, but appointed, because the work of each APAGS subcommittee requires particular experience and expertise in specific areas for which regular members of APAGS may be unlikely to have. A call for subcommittee chair applications is released each summer.

Appointment of subcommittee members

Subcommittee member applications are reviewed and candidates are appointed by a selection committee upon reviewing recommendations from the subcommittee chair (in consultation with the outgoing chair, if any). A call for subcommittee member applications is released each summer.

Interested applicants can find specific application procedures and deadlines for all positions.

Eligibility

Applicants must be current masters or doctoral students* in good standing at a regionally accredited institution at the time of application, studying psychology or a related field. (*To be eligible for APAGS chair-elect, applicants must be enrolled specifically in a doctoral program in psychology.)

Applicants must have at least one academic year remaining in a graduate program once they start their term.

Additionally, applicants must be:

• An APAGS member at the time of applying
• Organized, responsive, efficient, and responsible
• Able to work collaboratively and cooperatively as a member of a team
• Willing to commit to a busy term lasting 24 months (36 for chair-elect) to work on behalf of the needs and interests of APAGS and APAGS members

For subcommittee chair and member positions, you must demonstrate interest and/or experience in the substantive area of the respective subcommittee to which you are applying to lead as chair.

Election rules for elected positions

To prevent APAGS electronic media from being overwhelmed by members promoting their candidacy during the election cycle, APAGS has the following procedures for the use of electronic media:

• Do not use APAGS email lists or APAGS official pages/groups on social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter) for advertising your candidacy.
• During the election cycle, APAGS will distribute emails that provide all candidates with a chance to make a statement for election. This is meant to ensure fair access to all electronic media during the election cycle.

The Executive Committee (EC) works as a unit to advise, guide, and consult with the full APAGS committee, with the chair taking the lead during their tenure. The EC acts as a steering committee for APAGS and is responsible for developing priorities and charges to committee members consistent with the goals of APAGS. The EC presides over the full APAGS committee and acts on behalf of the committee. In addition, the chair concurrently serves on the APA Council Leadership Team and the APA Council of Representatives for one year, and the past chair concurrently serves on the APA Board of Directors.

The chair-elect position starts on January 1 for one year. The chair-elect becomes chair in year two, and past chair in year three. Significant additional APA roles are added in years two and three as described below. In the months between elections and the start of one’s term, the incoming chair-elect will be invited for a nonvoting role on the committee.

Chair tasks

• Takes the primary lead in the EC presiding over the APAGS Committee.
• Oversees and prioritizes issues for all business meetings.
• Conducts the fall and spring APAGS business meetings and committee conference calls.
• Sets the agenda for monthly EC conference calls.
• Serves as the primary APAGS point of contact for other APA and affiliated groups, fielding questions and requests and representing the collective voice of APAGS to these other APA and affiliated entities.
• Serves as an ex-officio member of all APAGS subcommittees, task forces, and work groups (may participate in related conference calls and other meetings).
• Makes official charges to the committee for priorities based on constituency needs/interests, strategic plan, and larger charges made by APA.
• Fields requests for other APA student groups to establish linkages to APAGS.
• Makes preliminary appointments for the subcommittee, task force, and work group chairs, in consultation with the EC.
• Makes preliminary appointments for official liaisonships, in consultation with the EC.
• Serves concurrently on the APA Council Leadership Team and the APA Council of Representatives, which includes approximately 1–2 trips to Washington, DC, or other locations (full travel reimbursement provided).
• Reports on EC, chair, and official liaison activities to the full APAGS Committee via the committee email list and at APAGS business meetings.

Past chair tasks

• Serves as a consultant to the chair in performing the above duties.
• Serves as a mentor to the chair-elect in performing their duties and in preparation of their transition to chair in the following year.
• Oversees and coordinates the annual elections and appointment process.
• Serves concurrently on the APA Board of Directors, which includes approximately five trips to Washington, DC, or other locations (small compensation and full travel reimbursement provided) for Board meetings, Council of Representative meetings, retreats, and so forth.
• Reports on past chair and official liaison activities to the full APAGS committee via the committee email list and at APAGS business meetings.

Chair-elect tasks

• Participates in all EC activities to prepare for their chair year.
• Serves as an official liaison for some of the established APAGS liaisonships internal and external to APA. Sometimes the chair-elect will take on a relatively greater number of these liaison roles to help acclimate themselves to the work of the subcommittees, task forces, and working groups.
• Reports on chair-elect and official liaison activities to the full APAGS committee via the committee email list and at APAGS business meetings.

Members-at-large are elected by the APAGS membership to advocate on behalf of APA’s graduate students.

All members-at-large have the opportunity to participate broadly in the activities of APAGS related to areas of science/research, practice, education, advocacy, and diversity/inclusion. The role of a member-at-large is deliberately open-ended to allow for creative leaders to actively support current APAGS initiatives and advance the current APAGS and APA strategic plans.

General tasks required of every member-at-large

• Lead, support, and collaborate on projects advancing the APAGS Strategic Plan.
• Work very closely and collaboratively with APA staff and other members of the APAGS committee and subcommittees on projects as they arise.
• Comment on proposed APA policies, providing the unique student perspective on drafts in progress.
• Participate in working groups, grant review committees, and the elections committee.
• Contribute articles and commentary of interest for the APAGS blog.
• Prepare for and attend spring and fall APAGS business meetings. (The spring meeting is hybrid or fully in-person in Washington, DC, with expenses covered by APA. The fall meeting is virtual. The locations/platforms of these meetings may change depending on the circumstances.)
• Formally liaise with other APA and external governance groups as assigned.
• Mentor incoming member-at-large person(s) directly after their election(s) are verified. This mentoring piece is critical to the continued smooth and effective functioning of the APAGS committee when the member-at-large term ends.

New subcommittee chairs will be mentored by their predecessor as soon as appointments are announced and are expected to work collaboratively in the final months of the outgoing chair’s term. Mentoring is especially important for the APAGS subcommittee chairs because their roles require particular expertise in the specified areas.

Each subcommittee chair is responsible for gathering applications and recommending their own subcommittee members, pending approval by a selections committee. Outgoing chairs will work closely to review and provide feedback on the incoming chair’s recommendations.

Universal responsibilities for all subcommittee chairs

• Lead a subcommittee of five or more members on specific ongoing and emerging projects to support the mission of the subcommittee, APAGS, and APA.
• Solicit, recruit, and evaluate applicants for subcommittee member positions.
• Participate in the selection process of the next subcommittee chair and provide mentoring.
• Orient new committee members.
• Orient new subcommittee vice chairs for select subcommittees (i.e., science subcommittee, convention subcommittee).
• Conduct monthly committee conference calls, or as needed.
• Prepare for and attend (in-person/virtual) spring and fall APAGS committee business meetings. (The spring meeting is hybrid or fully in-person in Washington, DC, with expenses covered by APA. The fall meeting is virtual. The locations/platforms of these meetings may change depending on the circumstances).
• Report on subcommittee projects as well as official liaisonship activities. Develop a yearly subcommittee-focused work plan, with the assistance of APAGS staff.
• Contribute articles of interest to the APAGS blog.
• Participate in working groups and award review committees.
• Collaborate with the APAGS chair and the rest of the APAGS committee in determining priorities for the subcommittee, considering the availability of resources to support those activities.
• Work very closely and collaboratively with APAGS staff who serve as advisors and guides to APAGS leaders.

Specific duties associated with each subcommittee chair role

Advocacy Coordinating Team (ACT)

• Monitor federal legislative issues through the Advocacy Office and Advocacy Coordinating Committee; consult as needed on student issues; and disseminate alerts for student action on these issues.
• Serve as the APAGS point of contact for relationships with State, Provincial, and Territorial Psychological Associations.

Committee for the Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Diversity (CARED)

• Develop programs and initiatives to promote the interests and needs of ethnic and racial minoritized students.
• Collaborate with APAGS committee on projects related to ethnic and racial minority issues.

Convention Committee**

• Review and rate between 70 and 100 convention program and poster proposal submissions (January). Coordinate the reviews of the members of the 5-member Convention Committee in conjunction with the Convention Committee Vice Chair.
• Chair virtual (winter) team meeting to review all submissions and finalize convention programming (Two days in January or February) (January).
• Collaborate with APAGS staff and Convention Committee members to develop APAGS convention programs (January–March).
• Attend monthly informational meetings hosted by the APA Board of Convention Affairs.
• Coordinate Convention-related activities including (but not limited to) the APAGS Ambassador program, Convention Blog Posts, Programming for the Emerging Leaders Network, etc.
• Participate in the biannual APA Consolidated Meetings (virtually or in person), which usually occur in Spring and Fall of each year.
• Participate in bi-monthly Full Committee Conference Calls as the Convention Committee representative.
• Work with the Convention Committee to update evaluation processes, update the call for proposals, and update review rubrics for the next year.
• Chair monthly internal subcommittee meetings (January–August).
• Respond to inquiries from presenters (March–August).
• Attend the APA convention, monitor execution of APAGS programs, lead APAGS programs as necessary, and attend social events (August). Note, travel expenses are fully funded by APAGS.
• Grant convention-related APAGS award
• Compile feedback from the APA convention and make modifications/recommendations as appropriate.
• Work throughout the year to mentor the Vice Chair to take over as chair in the following year

Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (CSOGD)

• Identify and advocate for the needs of LGBTQ+ students in training and professional settings.
• Develop APAGS resources, programs, and initiatives to promote the interests and needs of LGBTQ+ students.
• Collaborate with other APAGS subcommittees on projects related to LGBTQ+ issues.

Science Committee**

• Promote APAGS Science Committee-founded grants, such as the Psychological Science Research Grant (PSRG) and the Junior Scientist Fellowship (JSF).
• Oversee reviews for PSRG and JSF and review over 100 application proposals.
• Develop new materials and topics for special issues in the Translational Issues in Psychological Science (TPS) journal.
• Participate in TPS journal calls monthly.
• Work with APAGS Science Committee members to create proposals for convention programs.
• Establish relationships and promote collaborations with the Science Directorate.

Learn even more about the work of each subcommittee, and read the following section on roles for subcommittee members.

* Please note that subcommittees with chair and vice chair roles, the duties listed will be distributed between both roles after discussion between the chair and vice chair.

** Both convention and science subcommittees have chair and vice chair roles.

Subcommittee members are appointed to serve on one of five APAGS subcommittees for a 2-year term. Every member is expected to:

• Participate in monthly subcommittee conference calls, or as scheduled.
• Communicate regularly via a closed email list.
• Develop, implement, and execute subcommittee-specific projects to further the work and mission of the subcommittee and APAGS.
• Review grant applications.
• Review and prepare public comments for proposed APA policies and guidelines.
• Inform APAGS of graduate student needs and concerns.
• Promote APAGS to peers.
• Support the strategic direction of APAGS as a part of APA.
• Be accountable for projects and deadlines as negotiated with the chair.

Additional responsibilities are defined as follows, alphabetically by subcommittee.

Advocacy Coordinating Team

The Advocacy Coordinating Team (ACT) empowers students to bring their voices to bear on the important issues affecting our discipline and the public through education, training, and advocacy.

ACT members:

• Develop and disseminate student-focused advocacy resources and training.
• Collaborate with APAGS Executive Committee, APAGS members-at-large, and other APAGS subcommittees (e.g., CARED, CSOGD, Science, Convention).
• Disseminate information about advocacy issues related to psychology.
• Promote advocacy as a central tenet of the identity and leadership development of emerging leaders in psychology.
• Consult with the APA Advocacy Office and Advocacy Coordinating Committee formally and informally on issues related to advocacy.
• Distribute information about APAGS activities and membership, and benefits through various networks to help facilitate communication between APAGS and its constituents.
• Provide feedback and support for projects and plans related to advocacy.

Committee for the Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Diversity

The Committee for the Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Diversity (CARED) exists to promote a psychology pipeline that is representative of the nation’s ethnic diversity and foster culturally relevant and adaptive science and practice in psychology.

CARED members:

• Identify issues of importance to ethnic minority graduate students.
• Monitor and oversee cultural diversity initiatives and activities of APAGS.
• Develop programs, resources, and activities to promote the interests and needs of psychology graduate students of color.
• Advocate for ethnic minority graduate students in APA and other relevant organizations.
• Collaborate with the APAGS committee, APA staff, and boards and committees on projects related to issues of racial and ethnic diversity in graduate psychology education and training.
• Establish relationships and foster connections with and among psychology graduate students of color.

Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity

The Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (CSOGD) works on behalf of the community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer graduate students in psychology and their allies nationwide. The committee provides education, advocacy, and personal and professional development opportunities to ensure the successful graduate experience of LGBTQ+ and allied students. The committee aspires to build, strengthen and empower its members through the development of resources, collaborative advocacy, and inclusive practice.

CSOGD members:

• Identify issues of importance for LGBTQ+ students.
• Develop APAGS resources, programs, and initiatives to promote the interests and needs of LGBTQ+ graduate students.
• Advocate for LGBTQ+ students in APA and other relevant groups.
• Collaborate with other APAGS subcommittees to address LGBTQ+ issues.

Convention Committee

The Convention Committee is responsible for planning APAGS convention programs and activities for the annual APA convention, with the assistance of staff. Convention Committee members are funded to attend the APA convention and members participate in annual virtual planning meetings each winter during their terms of service.

Convention committee members:

• Evaluate and select APAGS convention programs.
• Develop student-focused programming and activities.
• Create and develop materials for students to use at the APA convention.
• Speak in small and large sessions at the APA convention, providing highlights of APAGS convention programming.
• Monitor programs at the APA convention.
• Collaborate with other APA divisions, boards, committees, and leaders to help make the APA convention attractive and relevant to graduate students.
• Dedicate the necessary time to sufficiently prepare for meetings, convention, and follow-up. APAGS Convention Committee members are very busy at the annual convention, overseeing and monitoring APAGS programs, assisting staff, helping at the APAGS booth, participating in APAGS dinners and social hours, and attending daily meetings. Convention committee members are expected to represent APAGS at the convention, which can be simultaneously exhausting and exhilarating.

Science Committee

The Science Committee represents and advocates for the perspectives and concerns of graduate students in psychological science. The subcommittee’s work is guided by:

• advocating for the promotion and integration of science across multiple psychological science organizations by establishing active collaboration with groups aiming to advance psychological science
• working for increased allocation of resources to fund student research in psychological science
• encouraging the development of innovative programming for the annual APA convention that meets the needs and interests of science focused students and provides invaluable resources for the APAGS community as a whole
• examining and recommending strategies for the recruitment and retention of emerging scientists within APA

Science committee members:

• Develop programs, resources, and activities to promote the needs of science-oriented students.
• Advocate for science-oriented graduate students in APA and other relevant organizations.
• Review grant submissions for the Psychological Science Research Grant and the APAGS/Psi Chi Junior Scientist Fellowship.
• Comment on APA policy from a science perspective.
• Collaborate with APA staff and boards and committees to address science issues.
• Participate in monthly conference calls for APA’s Translational Issues in Psychological Science journal.