Vote Now for APA Council Rep Nominees

Information On APA Council of Representative Candidates

Check Your Email: Ballots Have Been Mailed Out!

Three SIOP members have recently been nominated as candidates for the APA Council of Representatives. SIOP members who are also voting APA members will elect one candidate to serve a 3-year term on the APA Council of Representatives. The election will be conducted by APA and ballots have been sent out. Voting continues until June 6 and results are expected later in the month. Potential voters can learn more about the candidates by reading their personal statements below.

The Council of Representatives is the legislative body of APA and has full power and authority over the affairs and funds of the association, including the power to review, upon its own initiative, the actions of any board, committee, division, or affiliated organization. Council is composed of representatives of divisions, representatives of state, provincial, and territorial psychological associations and the members of the APA Board of Directors.

Like SIOP, APA uses the Hare system where candidates are selected in rank order. The top vote recipient after the Hare system is complete will become our new APA representative. The winning candidate will also serve as a member of SIOP’s Executive Board of Directors and take office January 1, 2020. SIOP’s current APA representatives are Tammy D. Allen, Jeffrey McHenry, Stephen Stark, and Sara P. Weiner. Dr. Stark will complete his term in December 2019.

Steven D. Ashworth

SIOP’s relationship with APA has a long and successful history.  To be truly successful as a professional organization, SIOP needs to connect and collaborate with fellow psychologists from all other disciplines of psychology.

I am a long-time member of both APA and SIOP.  I believe we can continue to forge a successful working relationship between the two organizations, perhaps even make it more successful.  APA has many advantages as an organization from which SIOP can benefit– APA’s sheer size makes visibility and influence less of an issue for them.  At the same time, SIOP’s voice within APA is relatively small.  I believe that I can help influence APA and share in its direction by using the very skills that makes one a successful I-O psychologist.  Skills related to organizational design and development, evidence-based research practice, and advanced quantitative analysis.  SIOP is an organization where diversity matters, and members feel a strong sense of belongingness.  APA is also a highly diverse organization, but do SIOP members of APA feel the same sense of belongingness that they feel for SIOP?  I believe the answer is “no” and we can help do something about that.

Both SIOP and APA are healthy, vibrant organizations.  My goal as a council representative of Division 14 would be to nurture the relationship between the two organizations, looking for opportunities to advance I-O psychology as a profession, and protecting the interests of practitioners and scientists within our profession.

Gavan O'Shea

My service to SIOP has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my professional career, which includes 13 years at HumRRO, preceded by 5 years at American Institutes for Research. I recently served as chair of the Workshop Committee, and one of the things I loved most about that role was the opportunity to build connections—among ideas, people, and organizations—as we created the sessions each year.

I have always been interested in the connection between SIOP and APA, and I’ve supported that connection by advocating for I-O psychology. I testified on APA’s behalf to the U.S. Senate, arguing against proposed budget cuts that would have negatively impacted the critical work conducted by applied psychologists in federal labs. I also supported APA’s “Stand for Science” initiative by hosting visits to HumRRO’s office from our local congressman and staff from our state’s two senators’ offices to highlight the many contributions made by I-O psychologists across the federal government. These activities represent efforts I’ve taken to ensure that APA’s powerful voice includes OUR voice as I-O psychologists and that APA advocacy reflects the needs and interests of all psychologists.

APA has recently taken some encouraging steps toward becoming a more I-O friendly organization, including establishing the Office of Applied Psychology, yet more work remains to be done. As a practitioner who has helped initiate and manage change within my own and my clients’ organizations, I very much welcome the opportunity to join the team serving SIOP on the APA Council.

Roni Reiter-Palmon

I received my PhD in industrial/organizational (i/o) psychology from George Mason University. I am currently a professor of I-O psychology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I am a fellow of SIOP and have been involved in SIOP service through reviewing for the SIOP conference for many years, serving on the scientific affairs committee, and most recently chairing the Bridge Builders committee, as part of the Education and Training committee. The role of Bridge Builders is to get information about I-O psychology to high school and college students in introductory psychology courses, so that they are more aware of our field. I have served on the Council of Representatives (CoR) in the past, representing Division 10, and completing my term this year. During my tenure on the CoR, in addition to representing the interests of Division 10, I worked with the SIOP representatives, most notably in ensuring the acceptance of the new principles for employee selection that were published. The CoR is currently facing major issues regarding the role of applied psychology (outside of clinical/counseling) and its representation in APA and various committees. These include, but are not limited to, the role of the newly formed advocacy arm of APA and the role of applied psychology within APA. Strong representation of SIOP is critical at the Council to ensure that our voices are heard. Because I am already familiar with the CoR, I will be able to tackle these issues directly, immediately, and represent SIOP’s interests effectively.