Tag Archives: APA Council

Increased Student Voices Across APA! We Won Seats at the Table!

By Quincy Guinadi, MA

On behalf of the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS), I am thrilled to announce that graduate students are now eligible to run for elected and appointed seats on 19 APA Boards and Committees based on the results of the August Council of Representative meeting and the recent membership vote with 82.28% in favor! Graduate students will be eligible to be slated for Board and Committees as early as January 2024, with their terms beginning in 2025 (see list at the end). This exciting and important change will increase the inclusion of graduate student perspectives at some of the highest levels of APA and grant us a seat at the table. This is another huge victory towards our vision of increasing student voices across APA. 

First and foremost, I would like to express my utmost gratitude for the hard work and advocacy efforts spearheaded by my fellow Student Voice Workgroup members and APAGS staff: Mary Fernandes, Nicole Evangelista, Melanie Arenson, Martina Fruhbauerova, Wendy Williams, Heather Dade, and Ritu Verma. They spent countless hours putting together the agenda item, attending town halls, listening and addressing concerns, and finalizing the bylaw amendment changes. Kudos to your perseverance and passionate fight for student voices, what a well-deserved victory!

We also received overwhelming support from our APAGS and APA members from the start through the end of this journey. We would like to recognize and express our sincerest thank you to numerous allies across the Association and beyond. Thank you to the APA Board of Directors, the APA Council Leadership Team, the APA Council of Representatives, and numerous APA Boards and Committees. Thank you for your continued and unconditional support towards the growth and enrichment of our future as a profession and association! 

Last but not the least, a huge thank you to our APAGS leaders and members, APA members, and allies across other organizations who helped us spread the word about this important vote by sharing it on social media, advocating with State, Provincial, and Territorial Psychological Associations, and voicing support across Divisions, Boards, and Committees. We also cannot forget the immense support from voters, the Council of Representatives and APA members; we thank you for utilizing your voting rights and power to advocate for the inclusion of student voices and perspectives in APA. 

What began as a vision last year quickly became a reality. This is another monumental step for APA graduate students and the future of APA. As APAGS, we are thrilled to witness new and diverse graduate students step up and share their wisdom. Graduate students bring a wealth of expertise in practice, research, and advocacy, which propels the profession and association forward as we move into the future of psychology. 

List of APA Boards and Committees seats available to graduate students in 2024:

Again, I am so pleased to share this victory with you. We are elated to welcome new graduate student leaders and their valuable perspective onboard these APA Boards and Committees! You are welcome to reach out to me or our staff if you have any questions.

Yours in solidarity, 

Quincy Guinadi, MA

2023 APAGS Chair 

My Journey through Outrage

Jennifer M. Doran, M.A.

Like so many of you, my reactions to the Hoffman Report ranged from shock, to disgust, to outrage. I couldn’t wrap my head around the report and its findings – that some senior leaders at APA colluded with the Department of Defense in order to allow psychologists’ involvement in settings where detainees were being tortured. As someone who has spent the past 5 years involved in the leadership of APA, I questioned my own judgment, sense of respect for the organization, and passion for engaging in its work. My outrage gave way to embarrassment and sadness. What I previously viewed as a professional achievement now felt like something to hide and run away from.

To make matters worse, the formal responses by APA felt hollow and woefully insufficient. I didn’t see my outrage reflected by the organization, and felt anger in response to what appeared to be “managed” communications. Such was my mindset as I traveled to the 2015 Annual Convention – with a heavy heart, and a suitcase full of disappointment.

But then I arrived. I sat in APA’s Council meeting among many colleagues and friends. And what I saw surprised me. Despite the stress and horror of everything that had transpired, I witnessed the most civil and respectful Council meeting that I had seen over the past three years. I heard passionate pleas for action, personal stories and perspectives on the underlying thread of racism in what had transpired, a range of emotions, and a general will to do good and correct the course of APA. When resolution NBI 23B passed (instituting a policy that clarifies the definition of torture and preventing psychologists from participating in interrogations where detainees are not afforded Constitutional protections), via a verbal roll call, I watched the room erupt in excitement. In a flurry of emotion hugs, cheers, and tears followed. This moved me.

Throughout the convention I witnessed a similar constructive and emotional tone. I heard graduate students share and process their reactions in the APAGS town hall, and the views of the larger membership in the general APA town hall. I watched leaders reflect, listen, feel, and (most importantly) truly show remorse and apologize. Through these events, I felt inspired by the genuine desire to take strong action, correct the problems in APA, and address the horrific transgressions that were perpetrated.

I am still outraged. But that outrage is now blended with small glimmers of hope. I believe that there is much work to be done. “Fixing” what transpired goes far beyond the torture issue alone; rather, such a task necessitates addressing larger cultural problems deeply embedded in the organization. Issues of transparency, collaboration, power and privilege, checks and balances, and the disconnect from the voices of the membership must be addressed. This is no small feat.

But I can see a better APA. An APA that is truly a members-first organization; an APA that prioritizes its values and human rights above other interests, such as prestige and profit; an APA that strives to be a force of good in the world above all else.

And building that APA will take time. It will take strong, dedicated, impassioned leaders to help steer the ship back on course, to rebuild the foundation that has fallen. When I first read the report, I (like many) considered leaving APA. Did I really want to be part of an organization where such things occurred? No, I could not stay.

But then I realized that I had to. Change can only be made by those who are outraged, by those who wish for change to occur. If you choose to leave the table (via your membership or your activity in leadership), you give something up – your voice, which is worth holding on to. For if the most outraged among us – if those who truly value social justice and human rights – choose to leave, change will not occur. We need to stay, and stay loudly.

APA needs the perspectives of graduate students and ECPs to help shape what it will become. It is our future at stake, and our voices must be part of the dialogue. Our outrage can be productive, particularly when combined with passion, hope, and a vision that we can heal. This is why I am choosing to remain a part of the organization. For only with our collective voices can we advocate for a better future – for APA – and, more importantly, for psychology.

To keep up to date on the Independent Review and the actions of APA and APAGS, see: http://www.gradpsychblog.org/ir/#.VdPlFrGFNZQ.