Boards and Committees

Lauren G. Sommers, JD, PhD
Head of Psychology in the Public Interest

• Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest (BAPPI)
  BAPPI assures that psychology serves the public interest and advances social justice, health and well-being for all people. BAPPI accomplishes this goal through interactions with its reporting committees, other APA boards, committees and divisions, and through collaboration with like-minded external professional and interest groups.

• Committee on Disability Issues in Psychology (CDIP)
  The mission of the committee is to promote the psychological welfare of people with disabilities, the development and implementation of psychological service delivery models responsive to the needs of people with disabilities, the awareness of disability issues in psychological research as well as specific research activity in disability areas, and the inclusion of knowledge about disabilities and disability issues in education, training programs and professional development of psychologists.

• Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA)
  CEMA promotes scientific understanding of the roles of culture and ethnicity in psychology, foster the development of culturally sensitive models for delivery of psychological services, foster cultural diversity in the preparation of psychologists who teach, provide services and conduct research with ethnic minority populations, and promote development of more educational and training opportunities for ethnic minorities in psychology. CEMA also advocates for the perspectives and values of ethnic minority psychologists to the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest for formulation of the policies of the association.

• Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention and Training (CEMRRAT2) in Psychology Task Force
  The CEMRRAT2 Task Force charge is to foster the association-wide implementation of the CEMRRAT plan. This five-year plan is grounded in the nation’s changing demographics and the current significant underrepresentation of ethnic minorities in psychology. It sets forth specific objectives and actions for encouraging all psychologists to attain some minimal level of multicultural competence in their training, research and practice activities, and for dramatically increasing the number of people of color who are psychology students, faculty and professionals.

• Committee on Aging (CONA)
  The goal of CONA is to advance psychology as a science and profession and as a means of promoting human welfare by ensuring that older adults, especially the growing numbers of older women and minorities, receive the attention of the association. CONA works toward the optimal development of older adults, expanded scientific understanding of adult development and aging, and the delivery of appropriate psychological services to older persons.

• Ad Hoc Committee on Health Equity (HEC)
  The mission of the Ad Hoc Committee on Health Equity (HEC) is to advance health equity and reduce disparities, with a particular focus on addressing the systems, policies, regulations, and institutions that promote and maintain inequities and the resulting adverse health conditions and outcomes among marginalized communities and populations.

• Committee on Socioeconomic Status (CSES)
  The mission of the Committee on Socioeconomic Status is to further the major purpose of the APA “to advance psychology as a science and a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare” by ensuring that issues of socioeconomic status receive the full attention of the association. The committee will identify and act as a catalyst in the association’s efforts to address issues of SES and promote appropriate attention to SES in psychological research and practice.

• Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (CSOGD)
  The CSOGD (formerly the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns) encourages objective research in areas relevant to LGBT concerns, considers research's impact, and examines the consequences of inaccurate information and stereotypes. CSOGD nomination opportunities include the CSOGD Outstanding Achievement Award.

• Committee on Women in Psychology (CWP)
  This committee furthers the major purpose of the APA — "to advance psychology as a science and a profession and as a means of promoting health, education and human welfare" — by ensuring that women in all their diversity achieve equality within the psychological community and in the larger society, nationally and globally in order that all human resources be fully actualized. Its mission is to function as a catalyst by means of interacting with and making recommendations to the various parts of the APA's governing structure, to the APA's membership, and particularly to the Society for the Psychology of Women, Association for Women in Psychology and other relevant organizations, including groups whose missions address the status of women.

• Committee on Children, Youth, and Families (CYF)
  The committee’s goals are to identify and disseminate information concerning the psychological status of children, youth and families for psychologists, other professionals, policy makers and the public, offer consultation to relevant APA boards and committees that are responsible for the educational standards for psychologists who conduct research and provide services for children, youth and families, encourage psychological research on the factors that promote or inhibit the development of individual and family competence, contribute to the formulation and support of policies that facilitate the optimal development of children and youth within families, and designate priorities for APA involvement in the issues affecting children, youth and families, including issues related to gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and disability.

• Committee on Psychology in the Public Interest Awards
  The intent of the awards program is to recognize psychologists who have made distinguished contributions to the Public Interest that advance psychology as a science and/or a profession.