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About Us

APF Board of Trustees

Our Board of Trustees features passionate individuals with decades of expertise in the field. Their dedication to philanthropy and psychology guide APF’s growth and expansion.

APF Board of Trustees

Melba J.T. Vasquez, PhD

President

Katherine Nordal, PhD

Vice President

W. Bruce Walsh, PhD

Secretary

Linda Forrest, PhD

Treasurer

J. Gayle Beck, PhD

Dorothy Cantor, PsyD

Connie S. Chan, PhD

Douglas C. Haldeman, PhD

Anthony Jackson, PhD

Derek C. Phillips, PsyD, MSCP, ABMP

Aurelio Prifitera, PhD

Antonio E. Puente, PhD

Michelle Quist Ryder, PhD

CEO, Ex-officio

Arthur C. Evans, Jr. PhD

Ex-officio

Michelle Besse-Aslan

Ex-officio

Learn More About APF

Melba J.T. Vasquez, PhD

President

Melba Vasquez is past president of the American Psychological Association (APA), and is the first Latinx and woman of color of 120 presidencies of APA to serve in that role. Vasquez also served on the APA Board of Directors, is a former president of the Texas Psychological Association (TPA) and of APA Divisions 35 (Society of Psychology of Women) and 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology). She is co-founder of APA Division 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues), and of the National Multicultural Conference and Summit.

She has published over 100 journal articles and book chapters in the areas of professional ethics, multicultural psychology, psychology of women, and counseling and psychotherapy. She is coauthor of Ethics in Psychotherapy & Counseling: A Practical Guide (2021, 6th edition). How to Survive and Thrive as a Therapist: Information, Ideas and Resources for Psychologists in Practice (2nd edition in preparation); and of the APA Ethics Code Commentary and Case Illustrations (2010).

She is a fellow of 11 divisions of the APA, holds the Diplomate of the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) and has received numerous awards for her distinguished contributions, career services, leadership, mentoring, and advocacy.

Katherine Nordal, PhD

Vice President

Nordal received her PhD from the University of Mississippi. She was in independent practice in Mississippi for 28 years before joining APA as its executive director for Professional Practice from 2008 until her retirement in May of 2018. Nordal is a fellow of APA and the Mississippi Psychological Association (MPA). She has chaired the APA Committee on Rural Health and the Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice (CAPP) and served on APA's Council of Representatives and Board of Directors. Nordal is a past president of the Mississippi Psychological Association and past member of the Mississippi Board of Psychology. Nordal is a recipient of MPA’s Kinloch Gill Outstanding Professional Psychologist Award, Distinguished Practitioner Award and Distinguished Fellow Award. Nordal has also received APA's Heiser Award for advocacy, Division 31’s award as the outstanding psychologist in a state, provincial, or territorial psychological association, and was the first recipient of the Annual Lifetime Advocacy Award from APA. She was an APA/AAAS Congressional Science Fellow (1990–91) and served as a legislative assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives and with the House Select Committee on Hunger.

W. Bruce Walsh, PhD

Secretary

Walsh is professor emeritus in the department of psychology at The Ohio State University. He is the founder and charter editor of the Journal of Career Assessment. He has co-authored and co-edited 24 books, including Tests and Assessment, Tests and Measurements, Career Counseling, Career Counseling for Women, Career Counseling for African Americans, Handbook of Vocational Psychology, Handbook of Career Counseling, Counseling Psychology and Optimal Human Functioning, and Person-Environment Psychology. Walsh currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Vocational Behavior and the Career Development Quarterly. From 1990 to 2002, he served as the director of training for the counseling psychology program at Ohio State. In 2004, he received the Leona Tyler Award from the Society of Counseling Psychology in recognition of outstanding accomplishments. He holds fellow status in APA and the Association of Psychological Science and is licensed as a psychologist in Ohio. In 2011 the American Academy of Counseling Psychology selected him for the Jim Cossé Distinguished Service Award for Extraordinary Contributions to the Professional Practice of Counseling Psychology. He is also a past president of Division 17 and Division 34, and in 2019, he received an APA Presidential Citation. His most recent work is a co-edited book, Career Psychology: Models, Concepts, and Counseling for Meaningful Employment published by APA in 2023.

Linda Forrest, PhD

Treasurer

Forrest is a professor emerita in the Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services, past associate dean of the College of Education, and past associate director of the Center on Diversity and Community at the University of Oregon. Her scholarship focuses on ethics, diversity, and professional training issues, specifically, educators' responsibility for addressing and working with trainees with problems developing professional competencies. Within APA, she has chaired the Ethics Committee and Committee on Women in Psychology, and has served on the Council of Representatives, the Good Governance Project, the Board of Educational Affairs, Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest, and the Membership Board. Other leadership positions include being past president of Div. 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology), past associate editor of The Counseling Psychologist. She has received numerous awards from APA and other professional organizations: Raymond Fowler Award for Outstanding Contributions to APA, APA Outstanding Ethics Educator Award, Leona Tyler Award for Lifetime Achievement in Counseling Psychology, APA Award for Career Contributions to the Application of Psychology to Education and Training, APA Presidential Citation, Distinguished Elder Award from the National Multicultural Conference and Summit, APA Distinguished Leader for Women in Psychology Award, the APA Education Advocacy Distinguished Service Award, the Labby Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to the Advancement of Psychology, Lifetime Contributions Award from the Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs, and four Outstanding Publication awards.

J. Gayle Beck, PhD

Beck is the Chair of Excellence Emerita in the Department of Psychology at the University of Memphis. She earned her bachelor's degree at Brown University and her doctoral degree at the State University of New York at Albany. Following completion of a clinical internship at UMDNJ-Rutgers Medical School, Beck joined first the faculty at the University of Houston, then the University at Buffalo, SUNY and most recently, the University of Memphis. Beck has published widely on the topics of sexual dysfunction, panic, generalized anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, co-morbidity among mental disorders, and the role of cognitive and emotional processes in psychological distress. Her current research focuses on mental health issues following trauma exposure, with particular emphasis on posttraumatic stress disorder. Beck is active locally and nationally with her field. She is a past president of APA's Div. 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology) and the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy. She is the past editor of Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice and Behavior Therapy and serves on numerous editorial boards. Beck is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, and the Academy of Cognitive Therapy.

Dorothy Cantor, PsyD

Cantor served as the 105th APA president (1996) and has been an active advocate for professional psychology since she earned her degree as a member of the first class of the Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology in 1976. She has served on the American Psychological Foundation Board of Trustees since 1998, in addition to serving as the Board of Trustees president for 15 years. She was the president of the New Jersey Psychological Association in 1986. She was a member of the APA Council of Representatives for New Jersey, and then a member of the APA Board of Directors before serving as APA president. Cantor initiated the Task Force on the Changing Gender Composition of Psychology while serving on the APA board, as well as the Task Force on Adolescent Girls. She served as chair of the Rutgers University Board of Trustees and then as a member of the Board of Governors. She has been inducted into the University’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni. She is the author of six books, including Finding Your Voice and What Do You Want To Do When You Grow Up?. She is now retired after over 40 years of independent practice.

Connie S. Chan, PhD

Chan is Professor Emerita of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. A licensed clinical psychologist, Chan is author of the book, If It Runs in the Family: At Risk for Depression (Bantam Books), and has published many book chapters and journal articles on the health and mental health of Asian Americans, and on sexuality and identity among people of color. Chan is an APA fellow and has served in several leadership roles in APA, including president of Div. 44 (Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues), associate editor for the APA journal Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, and chair of the Board for Psychology in the Public Interest. Chan was a recipient of the Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award for Mentoring in 2014.

Douglas C. Haldeman, PhD

Haldeman is a licensed psychologist and chair of the doctoral program in clinical psychology (PsyD) at John F. Kennedy University in Pleasant Hill, CA. He has a background of 30 years in private practice, during which time he served as an adjunct professor at the University of Washington and a regional evaluator for the Federal Aviation Administration. Haldeman has served a variety of capacities in the American Psychological Association for the past 25 years, including a term on the APA Board of Directors, numerous APA Boards and Committees, and on APA’s Council Leadership Team. An APA Fellow of 12 divisions, his lengthy record of scholarly publication encompasses the competent and ethical treatment of LGBT and other marginalized groups, and the relationship between politics, culture and mental health, as well as linguistic diversities. He has lectured on these and other topics all over the world, as well as several guest appearances on the "Today" show and "Good Morning America." Haldeman is a past president of the California Psychological Association, and worked extensively with other mental health organizations and the California legislature on passage of the nation’s first law banning the use of conversion therapy with minors. He was a member of the APA Insurance Trust’s Board of Trustees from 2009 to 2019, and currently serves as vice-chair of the board of Rainbow Street, an international LGBT relief organization. He speaks four languages, and annually engages in humanitarian relief work with refugees in Sweden.

Anthony Jackson, PhD

Jackson is the former Vice President for Education at the Asia Society, where he oversaw the Center for Global Education at Asia Society, a global platform for collaboratively advancing education for global competence for all. Trained in both developmental psychology and education, Jackson is one of the nation’s leading experts on secondary school education reform and adolescent development. Jackson directed the Carnegie Corporation’s Task Force on the Education of Young Adolescents which produced the groundbreaking report Turning Points: Educating Adolescents in the 21st Century, and co-authored the seminal follow-up blueprint Turning Points 2000, considered one of the most influential books on middle school reform. His most recent work is Educating for Global Competence: Preparing Our Students to Engage the World. Jackson holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Master of Arts and PhD in Education and Psychology from the University of Michigan.

Derek C. Phillips, PsyD, MSCP, ABMP

Dr. Derek Phillips is a board-certified medical psychologist, and a clinical neuropsychologist and prescribing psychologist in the Department of Neurology at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Illinois. He completed a predoctoral internship in clinical psychology and postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology at Psychological and Neurobehavioral Services, P.A. In July 2020, he became Executive Director of the APA-designated MS in clinical psychopharmacology (MSCP) program at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where teaches in the APA-accredited clinical psychology PhD program.

He earned his PsyD in clinical psychology with a concentration in clinical neuropsychology and MA in counseling psychology from the APA-accredited Adler University-Chicago campus in 2015 and 2012, respectively. He obtained a BS in psychology and social work from Olivet Nazarene University in 2009. Dr. Phillips completed his postdoctoral MSCP at Fairleigh Dickinson University's APA-designated MSCP program in 2019, followed by an 18-month prescribing psychology residency in 2021.

Dr. Phillips is a former member of the APA Council of Representatives, chair of the APA Board of Convention Affairs, president of Division 55 (Society for Prescribing Psychology), and president of the Illinois Psychological Association. He is currently Secretary of Division 42 (Psychologists in Independent Practice), Treasurer of Division 44 (Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation & Gender Diversity), member of the APA RxP Designation Committee, member of the APA CPT Advisory Committee, and member-at-large of the Board of Directors of the Illinois Association of Prescribing Psychologists. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association (Divisions 31 & 55) and Illinois Psychological Association.

Aurelio Prifitera, PhD

Aurelio Prifitera is the president and founder of Galileo Assessments and Research, LLC which develops cutting edge psychological and cognitive assessments for use in mental health and educational settings. His career as a clinician, researcher, test developer, and later as an executive manager has been centered on psychological assessment, test development, product and change management, digital transformation, international business and acquisitions. He led the development of a key new innovative tablet-based assessment technology, which provides instant accessibility to a wide assortment of tests and assessments which has been adopted by numerous major health care providers and school districts. Aurelio taught testing and assessment classes while supervising students on research and masters’ theses at Trinity University in San Antonio. Prior to moving to Texas, he was the staff clinical psychologist and assistant professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Medical School in Chicago. He holds a fellow status in APA and is a member of the International Neuropsychological Society, National Academy of Neuropsychology, National Association of School Psychologists, American Board of Assessment Psychology, and the Texas Psychological Association. He has authored and co-authored numerous articles on the topic of assessment testing and has also co-authored several books on the Wechsler Intelligence Test for Children regarding clinical and assessment interpretation and scientist-practitioner perspectives.

Antonio E. Puente, PhD

Antonio E. Puente, PhD, was born in La Habana, Cuba, and emigrated to the US in 1960. Puente received a PhD from the University of Georgia. He has taught at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) since 1981 and, before that, at St. George’s University School of Medicine. His primary teaching activities include Introduction to Psychology, Clinical Neuropsychology, and History of Psychology. Puente is the founding director of UNCW’s Centro Hispano, and his research focuses on the interface between culture and neuropsychology. Puente founded and edited the journals Neuropsychology Review and Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice and a neuropsychology book series. He has published 10 books, 95 chapters, and 125 scientific articles in several languages.

Puente is a Professor of Psychology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, maintains a private practice in clinical neuropsychology, and is the founder (2002) and director of mental health services at the Cape Fear Clinic, a bilingual multi-disciplinary health center serving the indigent.

Puente represented the American Psychological Association and later served on the American Medical Association Current Procedural Terminology Panel. He is on the Board of Trustees for the American Psychological Foundation and Albizu University. He has served as President of the NC Psychological Association, NC Psychological Foundation, Hispanic Neuropsychological Association, National Academy of Neuropsychology, Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (Division 40 of APA), and Society for Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology (Division 6 of APA), as well as the 125th President of the American Psychological Association

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Michelle Quist Ryder, PhD

CEO, Ex-officio

Michelle Quist Ryder, PhD, is a seasoned executive and research professional with over 18+ years of experience across the social psychology, clinical/counseling, and educational sectors. Serving as the CEO of APF since February of 2023, Dr. Quist Ryder brings an extensive background in cross-functional project management, multifaceted field research, program development, and various human-centric functions in both nonprofit and academic settings. Applying this as a liaison between psychology and social good initiatives, Dr. Quist Ryder focuses on leveraging psychology to solve critical issues and doing so in such a way that enables both present-day society and future generations to mutually benefit.

Prior to APF and with research specializations in motivation, Dr. Quist Ryder built a large inventory of experiences spanning the clinical/counseling, technology, bookkeeping, education, and publishing spaces. During this time, some notable roles included working as the Director of Marketing & Communications for a tourism nonprofit, as an Assistant Teaching Professor (focusing on cognitive and behavioral interventions) at Penn State. Prior to her appointment as CEO, Dr. Quist Ryder joined APF as the Program Director. In this role, she was responsible for the department’s budget, conducting DEI analysis, forming strong donor connections, and overseeing a portfolio of 75+ scholarships, grants, and awards.

Dr. Quist Ryder firmly believes that strong servant leadership leads to strong success; she respects the integrity of people and actionable research, and every effort that she makes in this space rests on her passion for continuous community growth and life quality progression.

Arthur C. Evans, Jr. PhD

Ex-officio

Evans is chief executive officer and executive vice president of APA. For the last 12 years, Evans has been commissioner of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Service, a $1.2 billion health care agency that is the behavioral health and intellectual disabilities safety net for 1.5 million Philadelphians. He realigned the agency’s treatment philosophy, service delivery models and fiscal policies to improve health outcomes and increase the efficiency of the service system. Evans has been recognized nationally and internationally as an innovative and effective policymaker. Among his numerous awards, he was named by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy as an Advocate for Action in 2015. In 2013, he received the American Medical Association’s top government service award in health care, the Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service, for his leadership in transforming the Philadelphia behavioral health system, particularly around the adoption of a public health framework.

Michelle Besse-Aslan

Ex-officio

Michelle Besse-Aslan is the chief financial officer (CFO) for the American Psychological Association. As CFO, she oversees all accounting and financial reporting, budgeting, business systems, and contract and grant administration.

Before joining APA in 2010, Besse-Aslan spent 13 years in numerous roles at the National Academies, which include the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council. The academies are private, nonprofit organizations with a combined annual budget of $265 million and 1,300 employees.

At APA, a nonprofit organization employing more than 600 people, Besse-Aslan oversees an annual budget of approximately $115 million. She also serves as the senior staff to the Finance Committee, as well as the Investment and Audit subcommittees.

Besse-Aslan previous experience includes roles at the University of Chicago, the Johns Hopkins University, and KPMG.

Besse-Aslan received a bachelor’s in accounting from the University of Illinois-Chicago.