Eric Russ, PhD (2019 Chair/SPTA Representative); Erika Carr, PhD (2019 Vice- chair/Divisions Representative); Amber Hewitt, PhD (Public Interest Representative); Abbey Hughes, PhD (Science Representative); Jasmin Llamas, PhD (Education Representative); Scott Sperling, PsyD (SPTA Representative); and Chrysalis Wright, PhD (Governance and Membership Representative).
Staff Liaisons: Lucia Gutierrez, PhD, and Eddy Ameen, PhD
The Committee on Early Career Psychologists (CECP) represents the unique interests and concerns of early career psychologists, promotes their expertise, and fosters leaders with the passion and innovation to advance psychological advocacy, education, practice and science. CECP is guided by the following priorities: a) encourage ECPs to understand their civic responsibility to the field and society, including increasing engagement in leadership within APA and their communities, b) promote the financial wellness of ECPs, and c) promote the career and educational development of ECPs.
CECP sponsored a variety of ECP-focused programs at the APA Convention, including over six hours of programming in the main Solutions Center, six hours of programming in PsycCareers Live, and 12 hours of programming in the “Emerging Leaders Network,” a hospitality space in the Solutions Center that was shared with the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS).
At APA’s Practice Leadership Conference in March, CECP supported ECPs attendance through an orientation, training, and programming track. In June, CECP hosted a popular webinar on effective strategies to engage with the media as a psychologist, providing tips on how to pitch stories on psychological science to the public.
CECP funded five ECPs to deliver community-based workshops or training on important public health issues in their local communities around the country. The District of Columbia Psychological Association received the Early Career Licensure Project Award to improve access to psychological services and health care shortages by advocating (in their jurisdiction), for the counting of pre-internship hours for licensure.
CECP was able to support the attendance of 22 ECPs at APA Convention (many attending for the first time), through the APA Achievement Award for Early Career Psychologists. Early Career Psychologist Champion Awards were presented to Mary Peterson, PhD and John Robinson, EdD, for their exceptional support of early career members, and for their proactive efforts on issues related to early career psychologists. An additional award was presented at the August 2019 Council of Representatives meeting to APA Division 42 - Psychologists in Independent Practice, for promoting ECP participation in the Council of Representatives and in APA Divisions.
CECP continued to focus on opportunities to advocate for ECPs, including concerns about the implementation issues of the forthcoming second part of the national licensure examination for psychologists, including the roll-out of timelines, the preparation for candidates, mobility, validation, and test fees. The committee is also concerned about ensuring fairness in testing for the current examination. Following the closure of Argosy University, CECP remains concerned about residency requirements that may prohibit Argosy students from practicing in Arizona and Georgia. Also concerning licensure, CECP provided technical assistance to state psychological association leaders who are working to move their states to count pre-internship hours for licensure. Elsewhere, CECP worked on advocacy efforts in the following areas: preserving fairness in options to repay and forgive student loans; on issues of adjunctification and fairness in the academic job market; and financial literacy. CECP also attended the Fourth Interorganizational Summit on Specialty Training and Certification which was held in June 2019 at the APA headquarters, and is working to support the adoption of the taxonomy across training programs.
CECP, in conjunction with APAGS, and with support from the Office on Early Career and Graduate Student Affairs, created a leadership development fellowship to increase awareness of, and readiness to serve on APA Divisions, SPTAs and the APA Council of Representatives. 9 ECPs and 5 graduate students from SPTAs and APA Divisions, respectively, will participate in a year-long program in 2020. The program involves attending Practice Leadership Conference, the Emerging Leaders in Psychology Academy, and the August Council of Representatives meeting, as well as receiving a year-long mentorship from a Council member. The SPTAs and APA Divisions that nominated fellows, were also presented a grant to develop their own leadership pipelines.