Whatever communities we belong to, protecting the value of our degrees, licenses, and work is essential. As the other sections demonstrate, I have a long history of standing up for psychologists and our professions. Here I want to affirm an equally important commitment: supporting, protecting, and respecting historically marginalized communities—both within psychology and among the people we serve.

Women

I have stood up for women through both direct service and advocacy.

I provided care to more than 10,000 girls and young women, coordinated a psychiatric hospital’s girls’ unit for approximately 15 years, developed services for girls who self-injured, and created treatment programming for adult women with borderline personality disorder. Through the Missouri Psychological Association, we have alerted psychologists to threats to reproductive rights and offered continuing education on women’s health. I voted for APA’s Maternal Mental Health Resolution on Racially Minoritized Women and have worked to strengthen Medicaid, telehealth, and community-based care for children and families.

Diverse groups

I have worked to ensure that diversity is reflected in who is heard, who is protected, and who helps shape psychology’s future. With Dr. Mayra Zoe Ortiz, I organized an independent national gathering of more than 40 state psychological associations to share successful social justice initiatives. I have served on Division 31’s Diversity Leadership Task Force that offers advanced leadership training to members of marginalized groups. I provided invited trainings on effective advocacy in politically challenging environments for the Advocacy Office, several Divisions and SPTAs, and at Convention. I led an award winning association recognized for its diversity programming. In APA Council, I proposed protections for members of racial and ethnic communities who could face doxxing or retaliation because of published votes. I have also spoken firmly against antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred, supported broader representation on Council, and accepted a Presidential appointment to APA’s special committee on psychological safety.

LBGTQ+ and Transgender communities

I have supported the LGBTQ+ community throughout my career. As director of residential services for a large community behavioral health center, I worked with, hired, promoted, and wrote letters of recommendation for many LGBTQ+ colleagues, including people hired into senior positions. In my clinical work with more than 20,000 adolescents and their families, I treated many young people who identified as gay, lesbian, or transgender, for whom gender-related concerns were often central to their care. As CEO and Director of Professional Affairs for the Missouri Psychological Association, I arranged specialized education on gender-related issues and offered support and guidance to psychologists who received cease-and-desist letters from our state’s attorney general because of their involvement in lawful gender-affirming care. We worked with APA to assist those psychologists and joined Empower in a coalition supporting the LGBTQ+ community.