Announcing Candidates for SoAP Offices (2021 Election)

Announcing Candidates for SoAP Offices (2021 Election)

Lauren Hoffman, PhD
lhoffman1@mgh.harvard.edu
Chair, SoAP Nominations & Elections

Christian Garcia & Alan Crutchfield
christiangarcia@ufl.edu, dac18h@my.fsu.edu
Student Reps, SoAP Nominations & Elections

Thanks to all of you who nominated one or more of the candidates!

We are pleased to announce that we have eight candidates for six offices. All candidates received more than the 2.5% of the nominations required to be placed on the slate. We would like to thank each and every one of the candidates for agreeing to volunteer their time and energy to promote the advances in research, professional training, and clinical practice within the broad range of addictive behaviors!

Aaron Weiner is running for President-Elect. Raymond Hanbury and Virginia Ann Waldorf are running for APA Council Representative. Linda Rinehart is running for Secretary. Jaye Derrick and Ben Lewis are running for Treasurer. Brandon Bergman is running for Member-at-Large (Science) and Mary Beth Miller is running for Member-at-Large (Early Career Psychologist). You can view candidate statements below.

Thanks to all of you who nominated one or more of the candidates!

Please remember to vote in April!

Candidate Statements

Division 50 President-Elect

Aaron Weiner, PhD, ABPP:

I am writing to ask for your vote to serve as President for the Society of Addiction Psychology (Division 50). My motivation to lead our Division is rooted in a deep passion for the field of addiction psychology and the role of Division 50 in its continued advancement. Addiction science has never been more relevant than it is now: rates of misuse, addiction, and overdose are spiking, all within the context of rapidly changing drug policy. Steep challenges lie ahead, such as promoting empiricism in addiction treatment, retaining and increasing research funding for addiction psychology, and reshaping public understanding to minimize the deleterious effects of stigma and misinformation. Division 50 nurtures and amplifies our field, enhancing our reach and impact. I would build on our strong foundation and position us to continue to innovate, publish, and heal as we enter into a post-COVID reality.

For those who do not know me, I have been involved in Division 50 for 7 years. I served as the Early Career Psychologist representative on the Division 50 Board from 2017-2019 and I am currently on the Education and Training Committee. I am board-certified in Counseling Psychology, and I am part of the working group launching the new ABPP Board of Addiction Psychology. I directed the addiction service line at a Chicago-area psychiatric hospital for 4 years prior to launching my own private practice, education, and consulting practice this year.

It would be my honor to serve you as President of Division 50.

APA Council Representative

Raymond F. Hanbury, PhD, ABPP:

I am greatly honored to be on the ballot for Council of Representatives for the Society of Addiction Psychology (SoAP). It is important for our Division to continue to play a major role in addressing issues our nation faces and the challenges in the field of addiction psychology. Having a voice in policy-making of APA is essential for our Division members as we all focus our energies and knowledge on the concerns of the mental health impact that COVID has imposed on everyone.

My responsibility as Council Representative is to enhance the mission and vision of our Division especially meeting the needs of our members and collaborate with other divisions and disciplines. Recognizing issues of early career, mid-career, and senior members are of concern.

SoAP has special personal meaning being a founder, served in various positions, including President of SPAB, President of SoAP, Division 50’s Council Representative, editor of SPAB Newsletter and TAN, Associate Editor of SPAB’s journal, Board of Consulting Editors for our Journal, helping develop the Proficiency Certificate, and most recently achieving the Addiction Psychology specialty.

I believe that my record of involvement in our Division and other APA activities – Fellow in six divisions, Disaster Response Network Committee on Colleague Assistance; - aspects assisting our efforts to increase visibility of our division and the importance of incorporating addiction psychologists into addressing the myriad of social concerns that exist in society.

As a clinician and in academics in medical schools, it is essential to merge research of evidence-based treatments and interventions into our practice and educate the public regarding health and addiction concerns.

I consider it a privilege to be your Division Representative for this group of dedicated clinicians, researchers, and educators so that we continue to have a place in APA and society.

Virginia Ann Waldorf, PhD:

I am asking you to support my candidacy to become our division’s representative to the APA Council of Representatives (COR). I have been a Division 50 member for the bulk of my career. If elected, I will bring to COR a unique skill set that will be beneficial to ensuring that both addiction treatment and the discipline of psychology are integral to a comprehensive healthcare system. I have been a clinician, educator, supervisor, program developer, researcher and administrator in both the private and public sector, including the VA and the University of New Mexico’s School of Medicine, where I have served in senior administrative roles. Integrating mental health and substance use treatment into non-specialty sites has been a focus of much of my research and clinical work.

I am committed to making our division active and visible in its policy making role through COR. With the epidemic that exists in substance abuse throughout our nation, our division has a great deal to offer APA in charting its course in impacting healthcare policy at the national level.

We must be recognized for the doctoral level profession that we are. We also must promote and adhere to the rigors of science to inform our advocacy, our policy, our teaching and our practice. I have fought for these things throughout my career. I would be honored to have the chance to ensure that this is our future in my role as a Council Representative. Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Secretary

Linda Rinehart, PhD:

I am running for re-election for Secretary of the Society of Addiction Psychology (SoAP). It has been an honor to serve in this role for the past two years. As an early career psychologist, I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota where I co-direct an interprofessional substance use disorder clinic. My experience working with patients who struggle with problematic substance use has strengthened my conviction that through closing the research-practice gap we can positively and meaningfully impact the lives of others. SoAP has become my professional home, and I am very motivated to encourage other early career psychologists to also become involved. I would greatly appreciate your support.

Treasurer

Jaye L. Derrick, PhD:

I do not need to remind you that 2020 was a challenging year. Unfortunately, the events of 2020 impacted finances from individual to national levels, and thus, this fact is relevant to the election. The SoAP membership has been and will continue to be affected by the pandemic in terms of our own and our trainees’ finances and job prospects, as well as our institutions’ and funding agencies’ budgets. At a time when many of our colleagues are struggling to move forward in their personal and professional lives, SoAP’s expertise is also desperately needed at national and international levels. Rates of problematic alcohol and other substance use have sky-rocketed. The incoming Treasurer of SoAP will need to attend to budget shortfalls while still helping our members to move forward in our crucial work. I will use my relative privilege as a tenured Associate Professor to fight for my fellow SoAP members who may not be in a position to fight for themselves. I have been a member of SoAP since my postdoctoral fellowship at the Research Institute on Addictions in 2008-2011. I served as the Treasurer of my Psychology Graduate Student Association (2004-2007), on the conference committee for the Society for Clinical and Social Psychology (2010-2012), on the membership advisory board for the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (2019-2020), and as an elected Member-at-Large for the International Association for Relationship Research (2014-2016). Despite this breadth, I consider SoAP my professional home. I would be honored to fight for you.

Ben Lewis, PhD:

I (Ben Lewis, PhD) am an Assistant Professor and NIH-funded investigator developing my program of research at the University of Florida, where I serve as Assistant Director of the Neurocognitive Laboratory and Director of Research at the UF Health Florida Recovery Center. My professional and research interests have remained rooted in addiction since the beginning of my career, and I have been actively engaged in Division 50 since 2011, when I began my postdoctoral training and shifted my academic focus from basic to clinical addictions research.

Nearly all of my professional service efforts over the last 20 years have been directed to supporting addiction science. As part of these efforts, I have had the pleasure of contributing to Division 50’s annual conference (Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction) planning and am eager to expand my involvement with, and service to, our division. I am particularly proud of the division’s current financial support for student travel/research, specifically including those under-represented in our field, and am highly motivated to help facilitate fiscally responsible ways to both continue and enhance such support in the future. I take pride in the management of my finances as well as my service to the field of addiction psychology and am excited at the prospect of combining the two to further support Division 50 and its initiatives. Thank you for your consideration.

Member-At-Large (Science)

Brandon Bergman, PhD:

I’m Brandon Bergman and I’m running to be the division’s next Member-at-Large (MAL) for Science. A brief professional introduction will offer context for why I’m running. I’m Associate Director at the Massachusetts General Hospital’s Recovery Research Institute. My research, funded by a K23 from the NIAAA, spans community-based addiction recovery support services, social technologies, and the life stage of emerging adulthood. My work as a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice keeps me attuned to the relationship between science and practice.

I’ve served the division in multiple roles. I was interim Secretary from 2014-2015 and elected to serve from 2016-2018. I was also Chair of the Technology and Communications Committee from 2015-2018. Of note, I started the division’s Twitter handle @apadivision50, which has since become a touch point for those interested in addiction-related news with 2700 followers. I also led the sponsorship sub-committee for our annual Collaborative Perspectives on Addiction conference from 2017-2020.

If elected as MAL, my priority will be to enhance access to research resources for division members and other addiction scientists. My first order of business will be to survey members on how the division can better help them reach their scientific goals. For example, we might compile a list of publicly available addiction-related datasets, with instructions on how to seek access to these data.

As a psychologist, scientist, and grateful division member that is passionate about maximizing our membership’s scientific impact, I would be honored if elected to serve as the division’s next MAL for Science.

Member-At-Large (Early Career Psychologist)

Mary Beth Miller, PhD:

I am excited to run for the Member-at-Large (Early Career Psychologist) position within the Society of Addiction Psychology. I am a licensed clinical psychologist and Assistant Professor at the University of Missouri. My research aims to prevent or reduce the problems that young adults and Veterans experience as a result of alcohol and other drug use. I have been a member of APA since the beginning of my graduate training, and I have been actively involved in Division 50’s CPA conference since 2016. Having recently navigated the academic landscape of finding a postdoc, finding a “real” job, getting licensed, getting NIH funding, building a research lab, then rebuilding that lab in the context of a global pandemic – while also making time for friends, family, and a toddler – I believe I have the experience and empathy to advocate for the needs and perspectives of early career psychologists within the division. I have served in a variety of leadership roles throughout my career (e.g., President of the Oklahoma Student Psychological Association, Treasurer of my graduate student association), and I strongly value transparency and open communication. I will also advocate for and support students and trainees, who bring life and innovation to the work that we do. Finally, I believe that diverse perspectives lead to better, more innovative, and more productive science; and I am excited to contribute to Division 50’s ongoing equity and inclusion efforts. It would be my honor and pleasure to serve in this role, and I appreciate your consideration.