Candidates for member-at-large, membership
Meet the candidates for Div. 54 member-at-large, membership.
Kevin Hommel
Kevin Hommel is an Associate Professor in the Center for Adherence and Self-Management in the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC). He received his PhD from Oklahoma State University and completed his pediatric psychology residency and postdoctoral fellowship training at CCHMC.
Hommel’s research focuses on measurement and treatment of nonadherence to medical regimens in pediatric chronic conditions, particularly inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). His current randomized controlled trial is testing telehealth behavioral treatment for medication nonadherence in pediatric IBD. In addition, Hommel is engaged in self-management and adherence technology development and improving care through collaborative chronic care networks. He is also actively involved in the residency and postdoctoral training programs at CCHMC.
Hommel has been an active member of SPP for many years. He twice served on the SPP board as APA Program Committee Chair for Div. 54 in 2006 and 2007, and received the Routh Early Career Award in 2008. He also served as a mentor in the SPP Mentoring Program and for the Journal of Pediatric Psychology (JPP), reviewed proposals for APA and SPP conferences and grants, and currently serves on the editorial board for JPP.
Candidate Statement
I am honored to be nominated for the Member at Large, Membership position. I have been a member of SPP since I began my graduate training and it is the only professional place I truly call home. Throughout the years, SPP has played a significant role in my training and my career as a pediatric psychologist, and I would welcome the opportunity to represent the Division in this capacity.
I have been impressed with our organization’s ability to recruit diverse membership and would build upon this by seeking membership from our colleagues in medicine and other health care professions with whom we collaborate. My research program involves networking with numerous individuals in the health care setting, as well as those in industry and organizations not traditionally associated with health care. This has allowed me to build strong organizational skills and leadership capabilities that will enable me to perform the duties of this position at the highest level. As Member at Large, I would work very hard to increase our exposure to other professional organizations and build alliances that benefit our professional development as a whole.
I sincerely appreciate your support and would be very honored to serve you in this role.
Deirdre Logan , PhD
Deirdre Logan, PhD, is a pediatric psychologist in the Division of Pain Medicine, Department of Anesthesia at Children’s Hospital Boston and Associate Professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. As Director of Psychology Services for the Division of Pain Medicine she oversees and participates in clinical, research, and teaching activities related to psychological assessment and treatment of pediatric pain. Her research focuses on psychological aspects of pediatric chronic pain, emphasizing the roles of school and family systems in the child’s pain experience. She also leads psychology services and treatment outcomes research for the hospital’s intensive interdisciplinary day-hospital program for children with complex chronic pain conditions.
Logan received her PhD in clinical psychology in 1999 at the University of Michigan where she also completed APA-accredited internship at the University Center for the Child and Family. She was a postdoctoral fellow in pediatric psychology at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and subsequently served as a staff psychologist in the Pain Management Program there before moving to Boston Children’s Hospital in 2003. Logan serves as the President of the Shared Interest Group on Pain in Infants, Children and Adolescents of the American Pain Society and is the Editor of the Pediatric Pain Letter, a publication of the International Association for the Study of Pain.
Candidate Statement
I am honored to be nominated by my colleagues for the position of SPP Member at Large for Membership. SPP has played a seminal role in my own development as a pediatric psychologist, serving as a “home” in pediatric psychology and fostering some of my most cherished professional and personal relationships. I am eager to give back to SPP and to make it as meaningful a professional affiliation for others as it has been for me, particularly for trainees and early career psychologists.
Reflecting on what makes SPP such a valuable organization to pediatric psychologists, clearly two major assets are the quality and the size of its membership base. If I am privileged to be elected as Member at Large for Membership, I will work to expand the membership base of SPP and to enhance the services provided to its members. I will also continue to advance networking opportunities within SPP. This includes strengthening the special interest groups connecting psychologists who share clinical and research interests as well as continuing to develop mentorship opportunities to bring members together across career stages. I have always valued SPP for the emphasis that it places on students and trainees and will work particularly hard to ensure that emerging pediatric psychologists find value in their SPP membership and voice within this organization. Given my long-standing commitment to SPP and the field of pediatric psychology, I welcome this opportunity to contribute my enthusiasm and experience to the SPP board. I appreciate your support and would be honored to serve as your member-at-large.
Joanna Patten
Candidate Statement
I am grateful for the potential opportunity to serve as member-at-large, membership of SPP. I first joined SPP as a graduate student and I have benefitted from several of the membership programs, including the mentor program, and participated in the excellent national conferences, special interest groups and collaboration with colleagues through the DIV54 email list. My research experience and clinical training has been primarily in the area of hematology and oncology. I worked with children and adults living with HIV in Chicago at Michael Reese Hospital and Children’s Memorial Hospital (now Lurie Children’s Hospital) and then with children and adolescents on the Hematology/Oncology service at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota and Seattle Children’s Hospital. I also gained experience working with a range of pediatric psychology subpopulations on the Consultation/Liaison Service at the University of Chicago, Comer Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, as well as on the Neuropsychological Consultation Service at Seattle Children’s Hospital. I am currently working primarily with the Brain Tumor Team at Seattle Children’s Hospital where I am fortunate to work with children and their families in inpatient and outpatient settings. I work closely with the Neuropsychological Consultation Service to develop long-term follow-up and transition planning for adolescents and young adults previously treated for brain tumors.
At SPPAC in Milwaukee in 2012 I met Dr. Carin Cunningham who, like me, was a recent transplant from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest. Dr. Cunningham and I have since started the first Pediatric Psychology Interest Group at Seattle Children’s Hospital by formally connecting those of us who have pediatric psychology training and established subspecialties. It has been an exciting few years and our small group has quickly grown to be a well-attended and supported professional movement. If elected, I hope to continue to facilitate the integration of burgeoning pediatric psychology interest groups with established programs and with the national SPP organization. We have a lot to learn from each other and I am excited for what lies ahead.
Elizabeth Pulgaron
Elizabeth Pulgaron is an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. She graduated from Drexel University and completed her internship at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children. She obtained a diversity supplement to a multisite NIH funded study of Latino youth, which she is currently working on. Her research is focused on the role of grandparents in health outcomes of Hispanic children. During her faculty appointment at the Mailman Center, she has supervised interns and practicum students’ clinical cases. She mentors students in psychology and public health. Pulgaron has experience with telehealth interventions and neuropsychological assessments for adolescent candidates for bariatric surgery. She has spent a significant amount of her professional career working in the community. Schools, community centers, primary care offices, and summer camps have all been settings in which she has provided services and conducted research. Pulgaron presently serves as a consultant to the City of Hialeah on a five-year childhood obesity initiative sponsored by the Blue Foundation.
Candidate Statement
I am honored to be nominated for the SPP Member at Large for Membership position. I have been a member of SPP since graduate school and served on the student advisory board during that time. I am excited about the prospect of serving on the board of directors. The Membership position is especially important during this time of growth and change for our organization. One of the eight current strategic objectives of our organization is to expand internationally. If elected, I would focus on this area by recruiting international members and promoting SPPs presence at international meetings and in international journals.
Over the last couple of years the initiation and expansion of the SIGs has been a testament to the involvement and interests of our current membership. My personal involvement with the Diversity SIG as Research and Presentation chair has been especially rewarding. If chosen, I would work with the current SIGs and potential future SIGs to assess their needs and determine how our organization can best support our membership. One idea is to bolster student involvement in the SIGs, either through the student representatives or conference programming. Another idea is to dedicate resources for these groups to promote SPP membership in their domain specific meetings and conferences.
Amy F. Sato
Amy F. Sato is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Kent State University. She received her PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and completed her pediatric psychology internship and postdoctoral fellowship training at Brown Medical School.
Sato mentors clinical child psychology doctoral students and undergraduate students as part of her research program in adolescent obesity and health promotion. Her research is examining the roles of stress and family influences on pediatric weight management, with a focus on health disparities in the context of low-income youth. She also provides clinical training to doctoral students.
Within SPP, Sato has served in a variety of capacities. She has been an active member of the Diversity Committee since it’s formation, and currently serves as the Diversity Committee Conference Liaison. She previously served on the SPP Executive Board as the Student Representative during her graduate training. She currently serves on the Journal of Pediatric Psychology editorial board and has also reviewed proposals and student award applications for APA and SPP.
Candidate Statement
I am honored to be nominated for the Member-at-Large for Membership position. Membership within SPP has been integral to my development as a pediatric psychologist and, as such, I would be absolutely delighted to serve the division by promoting and supporting membership. I have been an active SPP member since the beginning of my graduate training and have deeply appreciated the many opportunities that membership in the society has provided.
My overarching goal as Member-at-Large for Membership would be to encourage and facilitate active membership in the Division. My previous experiences coordinating the SPP Student Advisory Board have prepared me well to serve in a leadership role whereby I can facilitate the membership efforts of the Division. I envision my role as Member-at-Large for Membership to include continuing and building upon a range of activities and initiatives aimed at promoting recruitment of new members (e.g., collaborating with SIGS and the Student Advisory Board, reaching out to other APA divisions and allied health professional organizations, optimizing recruitment materials), further supporting the retention of existing members (e.g., targeting the transition from student to full membership), and seeking strategies to further increase SPP membership benefits (e.g., exploring what other APA divisions are doing to maximize member benefits).
I sincerely appreciate your support and would be delighted to have the opportunity to serve the division in this role.
Wendy Ward , PhD
Wendy Ward, PhD, is professor with tenure in the Department of Pediatrics (DOP) at the UAMS College of Medicine. Ward received her PhD from UNC-Greensboro. She completed her predoctoral internship at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center and her postdoctoral fellowship at UAMS, both in pediatric psychology. She is currently assistant director of faculty affairs (DOP) and is in charge of their leadership development program and faculty wellness initiatives. She is also Associate Director of the Section of Pediatric Psychology and Co-Director of Pediatric Psychology Training with a pediatric psychology fellowship that trains four fellows annually. Clinically, she coordinates the inpatient consultation/liaison service for one of the largest children’s hospitals in the nation, and an outpatient psychology consult service operating in 25 different pediatric specialty clinics. She sees patients in the weight management and sleep clinics and has published extensively on medical adherence in those areas, supported by grant funding. She has chaired the Div. 54-approved Pediatric Obesity SIG from 2008-2013 and created the email list on pediatric obesity with a membership of over 90 pediatric psychologists. She currently serves as a mentor in the jointly sponsored Div. 54/APPIC Mentoring Project for students and early career professionals, serves as a mentor reviewer in the mentored reviewing program for JPP , and is an APPIC Program Director Mentor for newly formed programs.
Candidate Statement
Being an active member of SPP for over 17 years, I am privileged to have been nominated for Member-at-Large. I am excited at the prospect of taking my passion for our field, and working with others to enhance its role in national advocacy and policy-making, training initiatives for young members, supporting research endeavors, and promoting the use of evidence-based standards of practice guidelines across the nation. I feel well-prepared for this position given my years as a Div. 54 SIG chair, given the duties of overseeing Div. 54 membership initiatives and training SIG chairs annually. In addition, I have experience serving on multiple other national committees/subcommittees and sincerely enjoy committee work; for instance, serving the Children’s Hospital Association on several committees addressing evidence-based practice for pediatric obesity and serving on the APA/AAP joint committee addressing pediatric obesity. Given my passion and commitment to the field of pediatric psychology, I am confident that if elected I would fulfill the role of Member-at-Large with energetic enthusiasm and cooperative collaboration with other board members to bring SPP’s initiatives to life.