Get Involved with WSPA - Active Committees
Thank you for being a member of WSPA! It is WSPA’s mission to support psychologists and psychologists-in-training throughout our state, to promote the practice of psychology, and to ensure continued education and advancement of knowledge within the field of psychology.
We’d like you to be a part of that work! As a member, you’re invited to participate in one of our committees to collaborate with the board and other WSPA members on ongoing projects and goals. A list of current committees that are actively recruiting new members, as well as some information about participation, is included below.
Active Committees - Click the link to view more information about that committee
- Fall Convention Planning Committee
- Continuing Education (CE) Review Committee
- Membership Committee
- Communications Committee
- Website Taskforce
- WP (Quarterly newsletter)
- WSPA JEDI plan
Fall Convention Planning Committee
We are excited to be joining together in person for our upcoming October 2023 convention! In preparation, we are looking for volunteers who are interested in getting involved in the creation of a high-quality state-wide psychological convention.
Specific tasks of Convention Volunteer Members will be:
Convention Planning: Communicating with convention speakers, coordinating with catering and convention venue staff, review of workshop proposals.
On Convention day: Managing sign in/out procedures, introducing esteemed speakers, assisting participants in finding convention rooms or other amenities.
There are no restrictions on time commitment! If any of these tasks match your social or organizational skill sets, please reach out to Convention Planning Committee coordinator, Lynda Hernández, Ph.D. at drlyndahernandez@gmail.com.
Continuing Education (CE) Review Committee
The CE committee needs volunteers to help review applications for continuing education workshops to support EDI emphasis and compliance with APA guidelines.
The WSPA CE Review committee is currently recruiting new members. Continuing Education is a fundamental part of ethical psychology practice, supporting psychologists in:
Staying up-to-date on the emerging science, evidence based practice, ethics, and practice guidelines, etc.
Maintaining and building professional competence
Knowledge and skills for increasing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in professional practice
CE committee members are responsible for closely reviewing applications for CE programs to ensure that the workshops meet quality standards and APA requirements. New CE committee members can build their CVs by helping the committee improve the CE committee review processes, ensuring that CEs have a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion emphasis, identifying relevant CE topics and/or qualified presenters, and more.
If you are interested in learning more about how to get involved with WSPA's CE Committee, please reach out to the CE Committee Chair, Jenna DelVentura, Ph.D., ABPP (dr.delventura@gmail.com)
The Membership Committee is a new committee with a focus on increasing membership and renewal rates. If you are interested in learning more about how to get involved with the Membership Committee, please reach out to the Membership Committee Co-Chairs, Starlyn Hawes, Ph.D. (drhawes@mindfullybalancingwellness.com) and Nasreen Shah, Ph.D. (drshah@shahpsych.org)
The Communications committee is responsible for developing, updating and monitoring the Association’s communications policies, social networking accounts, and electronic discussion groups, as well as recommending new ways for the Association to communicate with its members and other interested parties through alternative media. The committee is also responsible for regularly updating and marketing information about the Association’s activities, Board Meetings, outreach, news updates on the Association and its officers, and other updates on current regional, national and world events impacting psychology, as well as monitoring and moderating the WSPA Listserv, all in coordination with WSPA Staff, Board and Committee chairs.
If you are interested in any of those activities, the Communications Committee is new and looking for founding members! Please contact chair Lori Woehler, Psy.D. (drloriwoehler@gmail.com)
Graduate Student Committee (WSPAGS)
The Graduate Student Committee is looking for more graduate students to get involved! Asks include hosting infrequent virtual meetings on a rotating basis as well as working on finding poster submissions for the Fall Convention symposium. If you are interested, please contact Mandi Maycumber, LMHC, SUDP (mandi.maycumber20@northwestu.edu)
WSPA is working to restructure our website in order to increase usefulness and clarity.
The Website Task Force will ask volunteers to assist with the following tasks:
Attending monthly planning meetings (schedule to be determined based on volunteer interest, availability, and bandwidth).
Thorough review of effective and ineffective aspects of WSPA’s website and provision of concrete suggestions for improvement.
Evaluation of the accessibility, readability, and usage of the website from a diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) lens.
If you have particular interest in contributing to the redevelopment and reorganization of WSPA’s website, please contact our Website Task Force coordinator, Lynda Hernández, Ph.D. at drlyndahernandez@gmail.com.
Communication with the membership with some emphasis for hot button topics within the membership and in the nation with regards to mental health issues.
Looking for folks to contribute articles! Examples are: quarterly updates of what has been done on the BOT. updates on licensing issues, changes in the law, upcoming issues with APA and the federal government. Movements on topics of concern to MH from other state associations (canary in the coal mine types of topics (gun control, abortion rights, transgender care, immigration, women’s rights, voting rights, rising facism/racism limits in free speech, all with an eye toward mental health in the community)
If you’d like to contribute, please contact Phyllis Sanchez, Ph.D. (drsanchez@fpskirkland.com).
WSPA is working on a strategic plan for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Volunteer asks include: manage member survey; work on website updates; form committee to work with other SPTAs; review current ethics and WACs to update toward JEDI