skip to main content

President's Column

Our commitment to citizen psychologists

My thanks to the many psychologists who are bringing this presidential initiative from concept to reality

By Jessica Henderson Daniel, APA president

June 2018, Vol 49, No. 6

Print version: page 6

2 min read

Jessica Henderson Daniel, APA president
APA Style leaf logo Cite This Article in APA Style
Henderson Daniel, J. (2018, June 1). President's column: Our commitment to citizen psychologists. Monitor on Psychology, 49(6). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/06/pc

When I began my term as APA president, I spoke with leaders I admire for their insights on what makes an effective president. Dr. Drew Faust, president of Harvard University, was in the top tier. Her advice? Integrity and collaboration are the most important qualities. That insight helped to guide me as I created the Citizen Psychologist initiative, which recognizes leaders who through public service, volunteerism and other strategic roles seek to improve the lives of others. Here, I want to acknowledge and thank those who are moving this initiative forward from concept to reality by creating our survey, developing educational materials and identifying Citizen Psychologists.

The Citizen Psychologist Working Group members are: Kathleen (Kate) Brown, PhD (co-chair); Ronald Rozensky, PhD (co-chair); Sharon Bowman, PhD (citations); Lara Bruner (high school curriculum); Kermit Crawford, PhD (internship curriculum); Cynthia de las Fuentes, PhD (citations); Cynthia Gomez, PhD (survey); Amber Hewitt, PhD (postdoctoral curriculum); Elizabeth McQuaid, PhD (internship curriculum); Jeff Mio, PhD (undergraduate curriculum); Carlos Montalvan (high school curriculum); Roger Reeb, PhD (graduate curriculum); Ana Ruiz, PhD (undergraduate curriculum); Peter Sheras, PhD (graduate curriculum); Wayne Siegel, PhD (postdoctoral curriculum); Jennifer Taylor, PhD (lifelong-learning curriculum) and Wendi Williams, PhD (lifelong-learning curriculum). We are also fortunate to have the support of our APA staff colleagues, including those in the association’s Education Directorate and Office on Early Career Psychologists.

We recently recognized the following Citizen Psychologists:

  • Arline Bronzaft, PhD, honored as an exemplar of passion, coalition building and leadership for her sustained community activities in New York City.
  • Michele Gill, PhD, recognized for her work to transform public education by applying psychological learning principles.
  • Nicholas Grant, PhD, celebrated for his stellar leadership and service to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning communities.
  • Lisa Willner, PhD, lauded as an exemplar of broad and diverse community leadership, dedicated work ethic and impressive dexterity in working with people, policies and organizations.

I am deeply grateful for the energy and commitment of our APA community to the Citizen Psychologist initiative. 

Nominations are now open to all member categories of APA: full members, affiliates, associates and lifetime status members. Be sure to nominate your colleagues no later than July 1. To nominate or learn more about the Citizen Psychologist initiative, visit www.apa.org/about/governance/citizen-psychologist/.

Letters to the Editor