Washington — The American Psychological Association has promoted Michelle Besse-Laino to chief financial officer, recognizing her 12 years of outstanding service as deputy CFO, during which she played a leading role in developing and overseeing the association’s $130+ million budget, among other responsibilities.
Besse-Laino has more than 30 years’ experience managing financial operations in non-profit and educational institutions. At APA, she has led all accounting operations, as well as grants and contracts, payroll and the accounting services the association provides to its divisions.
“We are fortunate to have a person with Michelle’s depth and breadth of experience to lead our financial operations,” APA CEO Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, said in announcing the move. “Michelle has played a key role in developing APA’s annual budget, long-range forecasts and all areas of accounting and financial operations. I expect she will move seamlessly into the CFO role, ensuring continuity of all our budget and operating systems.”
“I am excited to take on new responsibilities and to lead a top-notch, multifaceted department,” Besse-Laino said. “I look forward to continuing to build on the robust systems we have created, as well as continuing to evaluate and improve our systems and processes.”
Besse-Laino succeeds Archie Turner as APA’s CFO. Turner will remain on staff as chief operating officer through early 2023, when he is retiring.
Before joining APA in 2010, Besse-Laino spent 13 years with the National Academies, beginning as a manager of contract and grant accounting and rising to senior financial analyst and, ultimately, director of budget operations and analysis. Earlier in her career, she held finance and/or accounting positions with The Johns Hopkins University, KPMG LLP and the University of Chicago.
She holds a BS in accounting from the University of Illinois at Chicago.