President’s Message

In October 2025, in response to some events occurring on my campus and in other parts of the country, I made a decision. Each morning for the next month, I quoted someone’s words of wisdom on my personal Facebook feed. Some of the authors were famous, others obscure or even anonymous. There was no accompanying image, no animated GIF, no added explanation. Just the post of the day, hanging on its own. I chose them purposely, as their respective meanings touched something in me that day or that week. I wasn’t particularly concerned whether anyone else got it, but I posted them anyway.

Here’s the thing – people would leave encouraging emojis. The usual thumbs up, or hearts, a few laughs. No comments back, though, not for a couple of weeks. Still not my issue, or my purpose. After about three weeks, I noticed a few mild comments. Then I would randomly run into distant acquaintances and friends alike. They would often end the conversation by noting the quotes, and how one or another had really been the thing they needed to hear that day. Others reached out to say how much they looked forward to seeing each day’s quote. Again, many of these are folks I rarely speak to in the course of a month, or even a year.

I planned to stop doing this after a month, maybe two. Then I decided to go to the end of December. Well, the world keeps throwing curveballs, so I keep posting quotes. I don’t know when I will stop, but it will happen eventually. In the meantime, I get to share a little bit of my inner workings with my greater FB friends. As Martha Stewart says, it’s a good thing.

By now, if you read this far, you have to be wondering where this is going. People who know me will attest that I am a bit left of center when it comes to my thought process. The Les Brown quote above sets the tone for my being here. I spent 20 or more years of my career “thinking about” becoming board certified. I picked up the paper applications at the APA convention each year, and looked at the envelope for months, only to do it again the following year (yes, I am responsible for the death of a small tree). It sunk in when a board-certified counseling psychologist challenged one of my leadership committees by noting that, as leaders, we owed it to the field to become board certified and encourage others to do so. I hung my head, thought about it, and got ready to submit my application. I didn’t NEED it – I had held just about every leadership role I wanted, and at my stage of my career had nothing more to prove. I became board-certified because I saw the intangible value to my own identity. I didn’t realize how much it meant to me until I received the email congratulating me on passing. Some of you probably remember the feeling.

Now, as President of the Board of Trustees, I have one goal – to help promote the intrinsic and extrinsic value of board certification to those who follow us. Our numbers are small, but mighty, and there is so much power to be found within this group. There are too many psychologists and members of the public who have yet to understand the “why” of certification, or are afraid of the “how” of the process. Is it easy to become board-certifed? No, nor should it be. Is it do-able? Absolutely. Is it worth it? To me, definitely. And I hope that value is evident to everyone else. I look forward to working with my BoT colleagues, Central Office, and each of you to promote our work this year.