Washington — The American Psychological Association announced that Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, will retire as chief executive officer of APA and APA Services, Inc., effective January 3, 2028. His tenure has been marked by record membership growth and an expanded role for psychology in addressing societal challenges.
At the Board’s request, Evans agreed to extend his service beyond his contract’s original end date to allow time for a comprehensive national search and a deliberate handoff to his successor. He will continue to lead both organizations throughout the transition.
“Arthur has made APA stronger, more influential and more consequential,” said Wendi S. Williams, PhD, president of APA and chair of its Board of Directors. “He has grown the association’s capacity to shape national policy on a wide range of issues important to psychology and to society. He recognizes the importance of bringing psychological science into the development of technologies that are reshaping how people live and work, and has helped build the partnerships to make that possible. The Board appreciates Arthur’s willingness to continue leading the association through this transition. I’m grateful for his partnership and confident in the work still ahead of us.”
Evans began his tenure as CEO in March 2017. Under his leadership, APA modernized its operations and strengthened its capacity to serve and advocate for the entire field. These changes positioned the association to advance the strategic direction established by the APA Council of Representatives in 2019 and expand psychology’s influence and impact.
“I came to APA convinced that psychological science and expertise had far more to contribute to solving society’s most pressing challenges,” Evans said. “Together, we have changed where psychology shows up and what it is expected to deliver. I am proud of that, and grateful to our members, elected and appointed leaders, and staff who made it possible.”
Evans has championed the belief that psychological science and expertise belong in every room where decisions affecting people’s lives are made—in health systems, in public policy, in schools, in workplaces and, increasingly, in the technologies that shape people’s development, relationships and well-being. Over the past decade, Evans has engaged with thousands of psychologists across the U.S. and internationally, crediting their candid perspectives with helping shape APA’s priorities and direction.
Evans has guided the association through some of the most turbulent years in its history, including the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic and a rapidly changing scholarly publishing market, all while maintaining financial stability and growing revenue. He also led the creation of the Center for Behavioral Science and AI, which will work with leading technology companies to bring psychological science into how AI systems are designed, evaluated and deployed.
Under his leadership, APA strengthened its support for psychological research and the people who conduct it, expanding open science practices in its journals to advance transparency and reproducibility and helping lead a broad coalition defending scientific integrity and federal research funding, and publishing its six millionth record to APA’s premier indexing database, PsycInfo®.
Evans built up the association’s advocacy capacity, enabling the organization to more effectively advance the field’s priorities and shape public policy. Far-reaching advocacy gains included expanded telehealth coverage, improved reimbursement for psychological services that help patients manage physical health conditions, protections for federal training opportunities despite government-wide hiring freezes, and continued access to higher federal student loan limits for many psychology doctoral programs.
APA’s membership and affiliate base grew from approximately 114,000 when Evans arrived to more than 190,000 today, with especially strong growth among students and early-career psychologists. Media coverage of APA and its work, including research from its more than 90 journals, has increased by approximately 1,000% during Evans’ tenure. The organization has been recognized with multiple “top workplace” awards, reflecting an intentional effort by leadership to have the association model the same psychological principles it promotes externally.
During the transition, Evans will continue to advance the priorities established by the Council of Representatives, including strengthening psychological science and practice and expanding psychology’s contributions to critical societal issues. “My focus over the next 15 months is to build on that momentum and ensure my successor inherits an organization ready for what comes next,” Evans said.
An APA CEO Search Committee will conduct a comprehensive national search for Evans’ successor. A separate announcement with additional details will follow in the coming days.