As of June 2022, my term as President will come to an end. I will still be on the Board in a mentoring role, as past-President, to help provide a smooth transition for our new President, Lisa Kays.

I am very glad that I had a chance to serve the Society for the past two years. Despite the challenges of Covid, I had the good fortune to work with a stellar group of therapists on the Board. We accomplished a lot of important goals for our association’s viability and future development. 

As President, I am aware of the effort and dedication of those on the Board. We are a volunteer-run Board and most of our membership are not aware of the commitment that the small core of Board members exhibits to keep the Society alive and well. While attending monthly meetings and lending energy and expertise to resolve the many and varied needs of our Society, the Board works hard. I am grateful to all of those who joined with me in our efforts during the past two years. I also appreciate the talents and commitment of Donna Dietz, our paid Executive Administrator, who is diligent and excellent in her job. 

I want to mention a few of the areas of focus for our 2020-22 Board during the past two years. We worked well and collaboratively in order to:

• Connect our members via programs, the listserv, the newsletter, policies and events to find help and support to stay strong and safe, while working with an increased demand for services during the worst of the Covid pandemic. 

• Improve and enhance our Educational Branch process. We developed our CEU offerings via Zoom, including welcoming nationally-known presenters to offer programs for our membership. As a result, our educational offerings have become a strong source of income for the Society, in addition to our membership dues. We are able to provide a full host of high quality CEU courses online, at a very low fee for our members.

• Begin a process of becoming a more diverse, anti-racist, social justice organization. We coordinated with our Anti-racism Task Force and began to educate ourselves within leadership, with the goal of making the Society a more welcoming, open and brave space for all members.

• Continue outreach to new and existing members. With our university liaisons, new member get-togethers on Zoom, and other events, we increased our presence on social media sites. Our Communications Branch Director also worked to improve and update our website.  

• Focus on essential legislative and advocacy goals and work with our paid lobbyists to advance our priorities and interests in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC.

• Build morale, make the work of leadership rewarding, maintain a caring and respectful culture with the Board to help our Society be a place where all can feel welcome.

I thank all of you for your support and advice and good wishes during this time. I look forward to our 2022-24 Board continuing these efforts and moving forward in important ways.