The Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences Foundation has elected Michael Lewis, PhD, to its roll of honorees for his contributions to child development. Lewis is a university distinguished professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and director of its Institute for the Study of Child Development. The foundation enhances the understanding of the sciences of mind, brain and behavior and educates the public about the contributions of these sciences to the well-being of individuals and society.
Before leaving office, President Barack Obama named Barbara Van Dahlen, PhD, to the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition. She is the first member with expertise on emotional well-being and mental health to be added to the council, which works with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of the Surgeon General to advance Americans' health and wellness. Van Dahlen is the founder of Give an Hour, a nonprofit that offers pro bono mental health services to military service members and their families. In 2015, she also launched the Campaign to Change Direction, a national effort to change the culture of mental health in America. Obama also appointed University of Virginia psychology professor Daniel Willingham, PhD, to the National Board for Education Sciences, which oversees the Institute of Education Sciences. Willingham, who joined the university's faculty in 1992.
Steven Beazley, PsyD, is the new president of California Southern University, an online university based in Costa Mesa, California. Since 2014, he has been a member of the university's Board of Trustees and a faculty member teaching master's and doctoral courses in the School of Behavioral Sciences.
The Presidential Leadership Scholars Program has selected Scott Nolen, JD, PhD, a former APA Congressional Fellow, as one of its 2017 class of scholars. The program offers opportunities to learn about leadership at the presidential centers and libraries of George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush and Lyndon Johnson. Nolen is the director of the Drug Addiction Treatment program at Open Society Institute in Baltimore.
Leaders of the biannual National Multicultural Conference Summit, held in Portland, Oregon, in January, honored 13 psychologists for their service to multicultural psychology. The Elder Award winners include Ruth Fassinger, PhD, Linda Forrest, PhD, Natalie Porter, PhD, and Fran Trotman, PhD. The Shining Star winners are Y. Barry Chung, PhD, and Debra Kawahara, PhD. The Rising Star winners are Kevin Nadal, PhD, and Nadine Nakamura, PhD. The Ancestors winners are Helin Stavridou Astin, PhD, Phyllis Bronstein, PhD, Giuseppe Constantino, PhD, James M. Croteau, PhD, and Richard Henry Dana, PhD. Also at the meeting, the Council of National Psychological Associations for the Advancement of Ethnic Minority Interests presented the Tomes Award for Distinguished Lifetime Contributions to the Advancement of Ethnic Minority Psychology to Diane J. Willis, PhD, and the Tomes Award for an Emerging Leader in Ethnic Minority Psychology to Wendy Peters, PhD.
The Troy, Michigan, Chamber of Commerce presented Lewis Smith, PhD, with its Best Businesses of Troy Award in the Counseling and Mental Health category. Smith, who runs Neuropsychological Consulting, specializes in neuropsychological evaluations and treatment for patients who have suffered traumatic brain injuries or post-traumatic stress disorder.