Vice President for Diversity and Public Interest – Summer 2015I am looking forward to seeing those who are able to attend the APA convention in Toronto this year! As VP for Diversity and Public Interest, it has already been a busy year. We had a very powerful More Pie meeting exploring our personal and professional reactions, activism, encouragement, and visioning surrounding violence towards Black men and communities of color during the National Multicultural Conference and Summit. Our next More Pie meeting will be at the APA Toronto convention at the Renaissance Hotel on August 7th (Friday) from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m., and I am hoping you will join us! I want to thank the VP Diversity and Public Interest committee members (Janie Pinterits, Dan Walinsky, Theo Burnes, lore dickey, Muninder Ahluwalia, Niyatee Sukumaran, Jasmin Llamas) for their wonderful work on this committee. The committee has crafted responses to various social justice concerns related to people of color, and is working to support a major contribution and webinar on what counseling psychologists can do related to violence towards Black men and communities of color. The committee is also working with APAGS, the Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, and other committees within APA on advocating for the next edition of the APA-style manual to include and support the use of gender-neutral language (e.g., “they” and “their” pronouns) in academic writing. The committee will also be working to support the implementation of the APA Guidelines of Psychological Practice with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Clients (which will be voted on during the APA Toronto convention in August). Please contact me at [email protected] if you would like to participate in this committee, or offer feedback about what is needed related to multiculturalism and social justice in Division 17. I look forward to connecting with many of you soon and please be in touch! All the best~ Anneliese A. Singh, Ph.D., LPC Tags: APA Convention, Diversity and Social Justice, National Multicultural Conference and Summit |