The revelations in the recently released Hoffman independent review report represent an unprecedented crisis for our association. As your CEO, I want to express my deepest regrets for the events described in the report, which hurt us all tremendously. Many of you have shared with me the range of reactions that you've experienced and I understand how deeply painful this time is for you. I personally feel that my heart is broken — broken more than I imagined possible — because of my love for APA, our members and our staff.
Despite the strong emotions that so many of us are experiencing, I also feel optimistic about APA's future. The basis of my optimism stems from my knowledge of, and faith in, our great members and staff, who care for APA as I do, and who want APA and psychology to be unquestionable forces for good in the world. To be a force for good is why we became psychologists in the first place, and this desire will be a foundation of APA's future.
My optimism also stems from the knowledge that amid any crisis, there often exists a less obvious opportunity. In this crisis, APA has an opportunity to learn and grow as an organization. There are always lessons to be learned from an organizational crisis, and I am confident that APA will take the lessons from the current crisis seriously, and use them to make changes that will result in improvements in many areas. We will surmount this crisis as we have others in the past and be stronger because of it. As difficult as parts of the report are for us to digest, we nevertheless must move forward as colleagues to seize the opportunity for organizational evolution that it presents to us.
Our leaders on the APA Board of Directors and the Council of Representatives have already begun the process of organizational evolution, and I am certain there will be more avenues for wider involvement of our members. APA continues to have much to offer the public and the field of psychology. APA is so much more than the revelations in the report. It should not be solely defined by them. But the revelations are extremely serious and correcting them must be an immediate focus of the association. There is clearly much work for APA to do to restore the faith and trust of our members, the wider psychology community;and the public. It will take time, but I am confident we will get there.
Thank you all for your dedication to APA.