The Commission on Accreditation (CoA) held its annual policy meeting on February 4-7, 2021. Seven new commissioners have joined the CoA this year*.
Mitchell E. Berman, PhD, joins the CoA in a seat nominated by the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology. He is a professor and currently serves as the department head of psychology at Mississippi State University. Berman completed his PhD in clinical psychology at Kent State University.
Frances R. Brown, PsyD, joins the CoA in a seat nominated by the APA Board of Educational Affairs and National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology. She is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Michigan School of Psychology. Brown completed her PsyD in clinical and humanistic psychology at the Michigan School of Psychology.
Rebekah Ingram Estevez, MEd, joins the CoA in a seat nominated by the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS). She is an APA member and a member of APA Divisions 17, 44, and 45. Ms. Estevez is currently a doctoral student in counseling psychology at the University of Georgia.
Valerie Stephens Leake, PhD, joins the CoA in a seat nominated by the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs. She is a professor and currently serves as the program director of the counseling PsyD program at Radford University. Leake completed her PhD in counseling psychology at the University of Kentucky.
Adam Lewin, PhD, ABPP, joins the CoA in a seat nominated by the Council of Specialties. He is a professor of pediatrics and currently serves as the interim chief of pediatric neuropsychiatry at the University of South Florida College of Medicine. Lewin completed his PhD in clinical and health psychology at the University of Florida.
Douglas Peterson, PhD, joins the CoA in a seat nominated by the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology. He is currently the chair of the department of psychology and an associate professor of psychology at the University of South Dakota. Peterson completed his PhD in human factors and applied experimental psychology at Kansas State University.
Nicole Torrance, PhD, joins the CoA in an open seat. The CoA solicits nominations from groups, organizations, and individuals to identify psychologist nominees for two open seats on the commission. Selected appointees allow the commission to be responsive to development and evolution in the field of psychology. She is currently a clinical geriatric psychologist at the San Francisco VA Health Care System. Torrance completed her PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Colorado.
The CoA is excited to welcome these seven new members.
The CoA is comprised of 32 members, and care is taken to maintain a diverse balance between academic institutions and programs, practitioners and the publics served by accreditation. For more information about the composition of the CoA, please review Implementing Regulation A-1, Policies for Accreditation Governance. Also, see a complete listing of all current CoA members on the accreditation website.
The nominee from APAGS is for a one-year appointment. All other appointments are for a three-year term.
*Aaron Joyce, PhD, who had served on the CoA in an open seat, has now been appointed to serve in a seat representing the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers Training Communities CoA Nominations Committee.