2022 SCP Election Statement for Treasurer:

Douglas Knutson, Ph.D.

I (he/him) am a post-Evangelical, gay man with mid-southern roots who fell in love with Beat poetry while studying theology at Boston University. As a queer person, I live in the contradictory space between dominant and minoritized worlds. When I was a chaplain intern, I also worked in a gay bar. As I write this, I am employed as an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University, working on my parents’ land in a remote area of Oklahoma, and acting in a community theatre production in a drag bar. I share this because, for me, being a counseling psychologist is queer work that draws on connections with multiple communities. I do have a list of accomplishments as an early career counseling psychologist. For example, I have published over 30 peer-reviewed articles, obtained licensure, and presented over 70 papers and posters at professional conferences and meetings. I also serve as Editor of SCP Connect and as an editorial board member for The Counseling Psychologist and Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. I research and advocate for LGBTQ+ health as director of the Diversity and Rural Advocacy Group, collaborate with local organizations, and mentor LGBTQ+ students. All of those accomplishments are great, but they do not define me. They grow out of who I am. As treasurer, I would bring my drive for collaboration and my ability to thrive in the discomfort of maintaining community across cultural differences to the work of building a sustainable counseling psychology community for the future. 

Mark Taracuk, Ph.D.

It is a great honor to be considered for Treasurer of Division 17. I have served as the SCP listserv manager for SCP for the past three years and deeply appreciate the powerful communication and conversations that Counseling Psychologists are involved in. I also serve as treasurer for SCP’s Section for Advocacy of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, which has prepared me for this role with SCP. 

I am currently a licensed psychologist and training director at Georgia Southern University’s Counseling Center. In my position, I work to focus on collaboration and transparency. My goal as SCP treasurer would be continual collaboration and transparency to maximize resources for our outstanding members and maximize our efforts to uproot anti-Black racism in SCP and beyond. When we maximize our resources and efforts, we can give Counseling Psychologists and allies the best that SCP has to offer including our powerful vision for social justice.  

 I welcome the opportunity to contribute to our social justice vision through service as SCP treasurer. As an early career psychologist and clinician, I would be thrilled to bring those two perspectives to our Executive Board. I am thankful for this organization that has become my professional home; it has given so much to me and I hope I can always find ways to give back.