Board of Scientific Affairs

The Board of Scientific Affairs (BSA) is the primary advisory body to APA Science. Along with its committees and affiliated groups, BSA is concerned with all aspects of psychology as a science.

BSA is responsible for encouraging, developing and promoting psychology as a science. Its activities include sponsoring scientific programming at the annual APA convention; overseeing APA awards and honors recognizing scientific contributions; advising on APA's relationships with other scientific organizations; providing feedback to APA advocacy staff on issues related to research funding and policies; and proposing and refining new APA policies and activities for advancing psychological science.

Members of the Board of Scientific Affairs are selected by the Council of Representatives to represent the broad range of areas within the discipline. Current BSA members are listed below. 

Jessica Hopey

• 2026 Chair: Tara Behrend, PhD (2025–27)
  Michigan State University
• Member-at-large: Leslie B. Hammer, PhD (2024–26)
  Oregon Health Science University
• Member-at-large: Nancy A. Piotrowski, PhD (2024–26)
  Piotrowski Consultation

• Brian Bauer, PhD (2025–27)
  University of Georgia

• Anne Cleary, PhD (2026–28)
  Colorado State University

• Brendan Lam, BAH (2025–27)
  Yale University

• Linda Reddy, PhD (2026–28)
  Rutgers University

• Deborah Rivas-Drake, PhD (2026–28)
  University of Michigan

• Idia Thurston, PhD (2025–27)
  Northeastern University

• Frances L. Wang, PhD (2024–26) 
  University of Pittsburgh

• Advisory Steering Committee (ASC) for Development of Clinical Practice Guidelines

• Committee on Animal Research and Ethics (CARE)

• Committee on Human Research (CHR)

• Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment (CPTA)

• Committee on Scientific Awards (COSA)

• APA Presidential Task Force on Neuropsychological Test Norming in Diverse Populations

• Work Group for Journal Reporting Guidelines for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Justice in Psychological Science

• APA Task Force Report on Violent Video Games (PDF, 285KB)opens in new window

• Data Sharing: Principles and Considerations for Policy Development HTML | PDF (155KB)opens in new window

• Appointment, Tenure, Promotion, and Merit Review Considerations for Psychologists with Joint Faculty Appointments and Involvement in Interdisciplinary/Multidisciplinary Research and Scholarship: A Resource Document (PDF, 648KB)opens in new window

• Task Force for Increasing the Number of Quantitative Psychologists

• Task Force to Recommend Changes to Convention That Would Appeal to Scientists

• Advisory Group on Conducting Research on the Internet

• Task Force on Statistical Inference (TFSI)

• Joint Committee on Testing Practices (JCTP)

• 2025 (PDF, 70KB)opens in new window

• 2022

• 2021

• 2020

• 2019

• 2018

• 2017