Candidate Statement

Exclusion is easy but inclusion is power. APA is a 150,000 member organization of some of the most able minds in the world. We should be leading the world toward peace and humanity. When we have factions and fractures, our power is diluted and we do not take on the major issues of our time. We must draw a circle that includes all of our practitioners, all of our scientists, all people of color, all international psychologists, all state and regional associations, genders, religions, all with disabilities, all gays, lesbians, bisexuals, all orientations, all ages, all ethnicities. In APA we have been working on welcoming many of these groups and have a focus on multiculturalism and diversity, but we have much more to do. Some of our colleagues who are scientists need to feel more welcome. Some of our practitioners need to feel that APA is more relevant. We must devote time to drawing a bigger circle that results in a much stronger and more inclusive organization and profession. I want a more powerful and inclusive APA because we need to help academic programs that get threatened with closure when they are not bringing in enough grant dollars. We need a more powerful APA in order to generate more research dollars from federal agencies. We need a more powerful APA so that practitioners can earn a respectful living. We need a more powerful and inclusive APA so that our scientists and our practitioners can design the most effective interventions for individuals and organizations. We need our scientists and practitioners to help us figure out how to end violence in our streets, end conflicts, get out of wars and stay out of them. It is time for APA to step up, include all of us and deal with what matters.