In January, I argued that the world needs psychologists more than ever. I am finishing this year feeling optimistic about the role we play in solving some of our world’s most seemingly insurmountable challenges.
Throughout the year, it was an honor to speak about many societal issues, looking to both our strategic plan and the science you produce for guidance. In doing so, we helped to inform the first major set of legislation on gun violence that Congress has passed in decades. Congress also passed important climate change legislation, enacting policies that will begin to mitigate some of the negative impacts our industrial and technological advances have unleashed. Paralleling congressional action, APA cosponsored a summit with psychological associations from around the world focused on how psychological science can be used to facilitate well-being, reduce societal inequalities, and address climate change. We continue to work with our international partners to develop the next generation of psychology leaders.
These developments give me hope, and I am similarly optimistic about APA’s progress as an organization. APA’s apology to people of color passed by our Council of Representatives last fall was a first. The apology led to a new racial equity action plan passed in August of this year. For the first time, we had a Main Stage session with representatives from the five Ethnic Minority Psychological Associations and APA at our annual convention. For the first time, APA has a gay president and a gay Council Leadership Team chair. And in another historic first, APA also has an all-Black presidential trio.
Two steps forward and one step backward leaves us ahead of where we started. Changes in society and in organizations require planning, commitment, and resolve, and must be sustained over time. APA is working toward being an organization that supports a discipline and a profession for all of society. Thank you for the honor of serving as APA president in this historical moment. With some work, America can be America for all of us.