Committee on Early Career Psychologists (CECP): 2009 Annual Report

The Committee on Early Career Psychologists (CECP) represents the unique interests and concerns of early career psychologists (ECPs). The mission of CECP is to enhancing the sense of community and a shared identity among ECPs through advocacy, engagement, and the provision of resources.

The Committee consists of six Members of the Association within seven years of the receipt of the doctorate degree representing Education, Practice, Public Interest, Science, Division, and State, Provincial, and Territorial Psychological Associations (SPTAs). Committee members are appointed by the Board of Directors for staggered terms of three years.

• Josephine Minardo, PsyD (Chair, State, Provincial & Territorial Representative)

• Oksana Yakushko, Ph.D. (Divisions Representative)

• Michael C. Edwards, PhD (Science Representative)

• Michelle Braun, PhD (Practice Representative)

• Allison Ponce, PhD (Public Interest Representative)

• Roxanne Donovan (Education and Training Representative)

The Staff Liaison for the committee from January 1 to December 31 was Kraig Ronald Scott.

2010 was a very busy and productive year for CECP. With the assistance of our staff Liaison and the support of Dee Valencia, and Rhea Faberman, we were able to accomplish a number of tasks. Below is a summary of the key activities conducted by the committee.

1. CECP has worked with APA to expand the APA presence in social media, specifically reaching out to ECPs and students who are in transition to becoming ECPs. CECP is engaged with the new APA Facebook tab for ECPs, and is negotiating a creation of a separate Facebook platform, targeting APA ECP members. 

2. CECP has created an award for APA individuals and organizations who provided outstanding mentoring, support, or work on behalf of APA ECP members. The awards will be announced during the ECP Social event at the 2011 Convention. 

3. CECP has significantly expanded its collaboration and integration with other key groups, such as the Association of State, Provincial Psychological Boards (ASPPB).  

4. CECP Representative served on the 2010 APA Presidential Caregivers Task Force. 

5. CECP Public Interest representative continued to foster relationships with APA bodies, namely BAPPI, in order to begin coordinating more effectively with BAPPI. In addition, a CECP representative was present at Educational Leadership Conference. 

6. CECP has expanded the relationship with the National Registry of Health Care Providers by having their liaison be appointed to the CECP. 

7. CECP Science Representative coordinated with the Science Directorate to insure that the science communities’ interests are accurately conveyed to CECP and ECP interests are accurately conveyed to the Science Directorate. In addition, CECP was represented at the Science Leadership Conference.

8. CECP was also successful in advocating for an ECP Representative to the Committee of State Leaders (CSL), which will be the CECP SPTA Representative.

9. Increasingly more Divisions, Boards, and Committees are seeking ECP representatives. CECP has advocated for nomination of ECPs to APA Boards and Committees, and has successfully supported several ECPs in these leadership roles. 

10. CECP actively participated in creation of an ECP focused survey of Divisions current practices regarding their ECP members. The results of this survey were shared with Division leadership and are being used to create innovative ways to increase ECP participation in Divisions (e.g., mentoring programs, reduced fees, career support, Divisions hospitality suite at the upcoming convention). 

11. CECP and its members have been featured across many APA media formats such as the Monitor, the Division Dialogues, and social media outlets.

12. CECP has received funding from the BSA to distribute to ECP scientists and practitioners. An award was created to highlight outstanding ECP scientists and practitioners and support their attendance at the 2011 APA Convention.

13. CECP actively supported family friendly features at Convention, which received positive reviews from ECP convention attendants. CECP received $15,000 from the Board of Convention Affairs to plan for family friendly features at the upcoming 2011 Convention. Such features as family room, family social, clowns, and a list of family activities will be included in the convention as the result of CECP negotiations and work.

14. CECP is also working very closely with the Membership Board to maintain the interests and needs of ECPs as vital members of APA.
    
    a. CECP SPTA Representative participated in an APA Convention Panel on “Strategies for Recruitment, Retention, and Engagement of the Next Generation of Psychologists.”
    
    b. CECP developed and branded a “Top 10” list on what SPTAs and Divisions can do for ECPs.  This list is being significantly well received and now more widely distributed across SPTAs and Divisions. 
    
    c. CECP is also actively discussing the recent proposal from the Membership Board to Council of Representatives to change the dues structure of the APA. CECP is supporting the proposed changes, which seem to simplify the dues structure while continuing to maintain ECP reductions in dues.

15. CECP has made significant changes to the ECP Network (ECPN), the listserve targeting ECP leaders across Divisions and SPTAs. Prior ECP bi-laws created restricted representation of more than one leader from these organizations. The new changes will seek to incorporate the growing ECP leadership across the APA and SPTAs. The ECPN will be re-named ECP Leadership Network. In addition, this Network may also utilize the new JIVE platform, proposed by APA for governance leadership.

16. CECP also sponsored and participated in several APA Convention programs for ECPs, utilizing their brand, “Launching Your Career on Solid Footing”.  Examples of Convention programs and activities include:
    
    • ECP Network (ECPN) Business Meeting
    • ECP Booth with resources and materials
    • ECP Social Hour
    • Thriving on the Tenure Track: Tips for Early Career Psychologists
    • Understanding the Structure of APA and Finding Ways to Get Involved
    • Financial Nuts and Bolts of Starting an Independent Practice
    • Early Career Psychologists Around the Globe: International Research and Collaboration
    • I Didn’t Know I Could Do That! Using Technology to Advance your Practice

17. The Committee on Early Career Psychologists (CECP) has continued to distribute and report on our findings from the Early Career Survey in order to keep ECP issues at the forefront of APA’s agenda.  This survey was first launched in 2007 and completed in 2008.  The survey results were collected and analyzed by the APA Center for Workforce Studies (CWS).  This was the first APA survey focused on early career psychologists and its purpose was to identify career barriers for early career psychologists.
    
    The survey revealed several key factors that negatively impact early career psychologists, such as high debt levels and the inability to obtain post-doctorate hours.  Results have also been provided, including a copy of the survey; a summary of the analysis; all data tables; and recommendations for addressing some of the findings. 

18. CECP decided to promote the financial planning guide for ECPs (completed and first distributed in 2008) as a member benefit in order to maintain APA’s focus on providing "value-added" services.  The booklet is available in hard copy by written request and online behind a member only "firewall" at "Financial Planning for Early Career Psychologists.”  It was created specifically with the needs, interests and struggles of Early Career Psychologists (ECPs), but is useful in most other stages of career, including students and those later in their career.

19. CECP has also continued to create and disseminate resource materials through the ECP “Early Career” listserv, non-APA ECP listservs, Monitor articles, the ECP Network, and the ECP webpage, to inform ECPs about issues related to education, funding, advocating for licensure, financial planning, and parenting.  Many of these resources are also available on the ECP webpage.