National Volunteer Week: Celebrating APF’s Committee Members

Le Ondra Clark Harvey, PhD (she/her)
APF Direct Action Cabinet

“Serving on the American Psychological Foundation’s Direct Action Cabinet is more than a professional commitment, it is a personal one. It’s about leveraging our collective leadership to expand access to healing, invest in innovation, and ensure that culturally responsive mental health care reaches every community that needs it. Participating on the Cabinet allows us to move from intention to impact, aligning philanthropy with purpose, and turning our shared values into measurable change. I’m honored to stand alongside fellow advocates who understand that when we invest in psychology, we invest in the well-being of our nation.”

Stephanie Carrera, PhD (she/ella)
APF Early Career Psychologist (ECP) Committee

“Professional service is fundamental to my identity and values as a Latina psychologist. I offer my expertise and experience in practice settings to help APF fund initiatives that prioritize wellbeing and promote change in the field. I am humbled by the opportunity to support ECPs seeking to fund their current research and projects in practice settings, particularly those that directly benefit communities of color. I have a keen interest to help prospective grantees access the funding resources they need in the midst of significant changes to said access occurring at this time.”

Tatiana E. Bustos, PhD (she/her)
APF Direct Action Advisory Committee

“I serve on the Direct Action Advisory Committee to help bridge research, practice, and investment in ways that drive real impact. I’m committed to elevating community initiatives that expand pathways to economic mobility through improved mental health, access to care, and stronger community systems.

Cynthia E. Brown, PhD (she/her)
APF Early Career Psychologist (ECP) Committee

“Receiving the John and Polly Sparks Early Career Grant for Psychologists Investigating Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) was instrumental in launching my career as an intervention scientist. I joined the ECP Committee because I was eager to give back to APF and to represent the voices of early career psychologists. In my role on the ECP Committee, I’ve been able to help with science literacy and communication, and to let other ECPs and graduate students know about APF’s funding opportunities.”

Terry Gock, PhD (he/him)
APF Franklyn Springfield Awareness Fund Committee

“I want to support the creation of innovative and effective approaches that reduce stigma and discrimination against people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identity/expression.  In my career, I have learned population-specific program development and implementation approaches, which I hope can help further those efforts. I hope that this work will allow future generations of LGBTQIA+ people to thrive without the stigma and discrimination against them for who they are.“

R. Emily Gonzalez, PhD, ABPP (she/her)
APF Direct Action Advisory Committee

“I volunteer my time with the American Psychological Foundation because, throughout my career, I have seen that access to research, leadership, and educational opportunities is not equitably distributed across communities. I want to have a voice in who is afforded these opportunities and ensure that all cultures, languages, and communities are represented. Including diverse perspectives not only opens the door to more equitable pathways in research but also strengthens the implementation and validity of scientific findings. By ensuring that a wide range of voices is at the table, we can shape the future of science in a way that truly reflects and serves all communities.”
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Calvin M. Sims, PhD (he/him)
APF Direct Action Advisory Committee

“I volunteer because Psychology has an obligation — not just to understand human experience, but to serve it. The research we fund isn’t abstract. It reaches sex trafficked children, incarcerated Black and Brown people, LGBTQIA+ youth who are fighting to survive. Ensuring that Psychology shows up for them isn’t optional for me. That to me is the work.”