The Commission on Accreditation (CoA) held its annual new member orientation and policy meeting from January 29–February 1, 2025. Eight new commissioners have joined the CoA this year:
Patricia Daza, PhD, APPIC, joins the CoA in a seat nominated by the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers. She is currently an associate professor at Baylor College of Medicine. She completed her PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Houston.
Sara Dolan, PhD, joins the CoA in a seat nominated by the APA Commission on Accreditation. She is currently an associate dean for professional development at Baylor University Graduate School. She completed her PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Iowa.
Krista Freece, PhD, joins the CoA in a seat nominated by the APPIC-Training Communities CoA Nominations Committee. She is currently a board-certified neuropsychologist at Kaiser Permanente. She completed her PhD in clinical psychology at Fielding Graduate University.
David Klemanski, PsyD, joins the CoA in a seat nominated by APA Board of Professional Affairs. He is currently the director of training at Yale University. He completed his PsyD in clinical psychology at the University of Hartford.
Jessica Lanctot joins the CoA in a seat nominated by the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students. She is currently a student completing her PhD at Roosevelt University.
Megan O’Banion, PsyD, joins the CoA in a seat nominated by the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology. She is currently the senior associate dean at the University of San Francisco. She completed her PsyD in clinical psychology at The Wright Institute.
L. James Smart Jr., PhD, joins the CoA in a seat nominated by the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology. He is currently a professor and chair in psychology at Miami University. He completed his PhD in experimental psychology at the University of Cincinnati.
Teri Strong, PhD, joins the CoA in a seat nominated by the APA Board of Professional Affairs. She is currently the CEO of Strong Partners in Health. She completed her PhD in counseling psychology at the University of Oregon.
The CoA is comprised of at least 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 (IR) A-1., Policies for Accreditation Governance (PDF, 187KB)opens in new window. Also, see a complete listingopens in new window of all current CoA members on the accreditation websiteopens in new window.