Presidential Message
SPP Presidential Column – December 2024
Hello SPP, it’s hard to believe that this is my final column as SPP President. It has truly been an honor to serve the division and our members over the past year. We have come together to advance many of our strategic priorities. As you might remember, my presidential initiative was to strengthen our advocacy pillar, as we work to achieve our mission of promoting the health and psychological well-being of all children, youth, and families. The advocacy task force will continue to meet into 2025 to develop recommendations for the board on how to best accomplish this goal. In addition, here are a few other notable accomplishments of the board this year.
Fiscal Responsibility: Treasurer, Gayle Chesley, PhD, led efforts to strengthen the financial health of SPP and aligned spending with our four strategic pillars. In addition, she developed a new financial request process to help the board flexibly respond to membership needs and support new proposals. Our investment portfolio has remained strong, and we updated our investment strategy to ensure the majority of funds support socially and environmentally responsible companies. In addition, we executed a contract with Sage Publishing for CPPP. As some of you know, our journals are the primary source of revenue for the organization. These important changes will ensure that SPP can continue to grow and effectively pursue our mission for years to come.
Board Restructure: Past-President Melissa Santos, PhD, completed the work of her task force to restructure the board and several committees to ensure better efficiency and alignment with our strategic pillars. Notable changes included, Secretary, Tammi Young-Saleme, PhD, taking a larger role in the communications committee, establishing an awards committee, and beginning to position the Member at Large roles to help support strategic initiatives. In addition, the Student Advisory Board, led by Student Representative, Perry Catlin, MS, proposed the addition of a Student Representative-Elect, which will allow more experience for students rotating into the position. We also completed the annual update to the SPP Bylaws, and you will receive an email soon to vote on their approval.
International Activities: We continue to work closely with EPPN to strengthen our international collaborations and impact in Europe. We recently held an open call for a task force to determine how to best support children and families affected by the war in Israel and Gaza, as well as our colleagues and trainees in this area. We encourage your participation and sharing of resources, as we coordinate efforts to build a repository on the EPPN website. We also continued to support international travel awards and reduced membership fees for those from MIC/LIC countries to enhance member engagement.
Science & Practice Town Hall: Thank you to the many members who joined our last town hall for the year. During the town hall, we hosted a forum to share updates on science and practice activities at APA and solicit input on how SPP can strengthen our science and practice pillar. Dr. Stephen Gillapsy, senior director of health care financing, shared advocacy wins related to billing codes for safety planning and telephone follow-up, as well as the push for reimbursement of work completed by interns and fellows. Efforts are also underway to allow billing for FDA cleared digital health interventions. I shared several updates from the APA science directorate, including a host of educational videos and communications available on their website. Members shared suggestions in several areas, including the need to support more community-engaged approaches to research, implementation science, education on AI, prevention and early intervention, grants for new frontiers in pediatric psychology, and supporting colleagues in states affected by legislation restricting their practice and research. We look forward to bringing these ideas to the board as we determine 2025 priorities.
As we welcome new board members and continue preparations for SPPAC 2025, rest assured that we are in excellent hands as Jessica Valenzuela, PhD steps in as SPP President. Jessica is a wise, thoughtful, and respected leader. I have no doubt that she will bring great ideas and great energy to the board. I can’t wait to see what next year will bring! In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday season. Thank you kindly for entrusting me to serve you this past year.
Warmly,
Cindy Gerhardt, SPP President