Joe is a friend and respected colleague. His persuasion is the main reason I decided to stand for election for the APS Board of Directors in 2009.
Dear Colleague,
Last year, my colleague Bob Rich stood for the election to the Board of Directors, because he saw the seriousness of a number of issues affecting the cohesion of the APS and wanted to assist in resolving them. He received verbal support from a great many members, but in the event only a small proportion of these ended up voting. Bob did not get in.
However, following the elections, he put his time, enthusiasm and emotional energy where his mouth was. He joined the APS Members' Retention and Recruitment Advisory Committee. At its first meeting, he told the others, including Helen Lindner, Mick Symons and Erica Freidenberg, that he had a large number of emails sent to him by people who intended to resign from the APS.
Bob's involvement in the APS Members' Retention and Recruitment Advisory Committee has made a difference. It led to a number of positive developments, including the setting up of a Members' Concerns Working Party chaired by CEO Lyn Littlefield. Bob is a member of this group. You may have read Lyn's statement in the June issue of InPsych (pp 6-7). Many members have expressed their disappointment and frustration at the perceived operation of the Society. The administration of the Society is taking members' expressed concerns seriously, and is working to redress the sources of dissatisfaction.
I know Bob well. I know that if he does something, it is at 110% effort. That's why I have tried to persuade him to stand for the election again this year. He was reluctant to do so, because he told me that he was heavily engaged in other activities, such as facilitating trauma counselling for the hundreds of thousands of war-affected people in northern Sri Lanka. I told him that the APS Board needs his positive energy and passion. My persuasion has paid off! Bob is once more putting a tremendous effort into gaining a position on the Board. And if he gets in, I am certain he will make a difference. Bob will do everything possible to be effective in leading a culture change toward mutual respect, fairness and equality, transparency in decision making, and two-way communication between the APS and its members.
If you are one of the disaffected psychologists, I urge you to vote for Bob in the elections. Please pass on this message to as many others as you can. Replies can be sent to me at pozman@labyrinth.net.au or Bob at bob@bobswriting.com
Sincerely,
Joseph Poznanski, Ph.D., MAPS