Committees

Join an IPA Committee!

Service on committees is a great way for members to be creative, develop relationships, build skills, gain leadership experience, and ensure the health of IPA. The level of time commitment varies by committee. We seek diversity on all our committees. 

Click here to view the IPA Committee Strategic Plan Worksheets that begin on page 33.

If you are interested in joining a committee or wish to contact any of the committee chairs, please email [email protected].

Advocacy Team
Federal Advocacy - JoAnna Romero Cartaya, Ph.D.
State Advocacy - VACANT

The core Advocacy Team members include Federal Advocacy Coordinator, State Advocacy Coordinator, Director of Professional Affairs, Training Director, and Lobbyist. Advocacy for our profession is a critical function of IPA. Responsibilities of the advocacy team include meeting with legislators in February for breakfast, which is coordinated by Dr. Paul Ascheman, and working closely with two professional lobbyists to initiate, track, and respond to legislation. The State and Federal Advocacy Coordinators participate in a monthly advocacy meeting via Zoom, and members are welcome to join and participate in specific advocacy efforts as frequently as desired.

Time commitment: 1-5 hours per month (depending on desired level of investment)
Desired capacity: 2 advocacy coordinators and 3+ active members

The Diversity and Social Justice committee promotes awareness of and advocates for diversity and social justice action. This includes identifying and developing diversity initiatives that support the growth of the organization and serve the needs of the public. The DSJ committee is dedicated to creating a more welcoming environment for psychologists and other mental healthcare professionals that identify as ethnic minorities and/or are from marginalized populations. More broadly, there is a focus on promoting human values of equality and justice, and decreasing the gap in mental health disparities in the state of Iowa by increasing psychologists’ cultural competence via educational opportunities. For more information about the DSJ committee click here. To read a detailed job description for chairs and members of the DSJ committee click here.

Time commitment: 1-3 hours per month
Desired capacity: 2 co-chairs and 8 active members

Early Career Psychologists
Maggie Doyle. Psy.D.

This committee works to enhance the development of ECPs by emphasizing support for relationship building, professional development, and fostering leadership in IPA.  Members participate in quarterly meetings and volunteer to assist with other events/functions as needed. To read a detailed job description for chairs and members of the ECP committee click here.

Time commitment: 1-2 hours per month
Desired capacity: 1 chair (or 2 co-chairs) and 7-9 active members

Ethics
Chair: Ron Hougen, Ph.D.

We are pleased to announce that the Iowa Psychological Association Ethics Committee is now accepting requests for consultation. Ethics consultation is intended to assist IPA member psychologists as they seek to resolve ethical dilemmas. The members of this committee are:

•    Ronald Hougen, Ph.D. (Chair), [email protected]
•    Barry Schreier, Ph.D.
•    Stacey Pawlak, Ph.D.
•    Allison Bywater (graduate student member)

Procedure to request an ethics consult:

•    Review the confidentiality and consultation limits posted on the IPA website.
•    Send an email to the committee chair with "Ethics Consultation Request" in the subject line (or fill out the online form on the IPA website) outlining your question and relevant details.
•    Include a phone number and times when you would be available to receive a call as all communication will be conducted via phone.
•    A member of the Ethics Committee will make every effort respond to the consult request within five (5) working days.  If the matter is urgent, you should contact your malpractice insurance carrier and/or an attorney.
•    The committee member will then consult with the full committee (maintaining your confidentiality) and you will be notified of committee recommendations in a phone conversation. You will not receive a written account of your consultation.
•    The Ethics Committee will maintain de-identified information about the ethical principles in question for summary purposes, but written details of the consultation and recommendations will not be maintained once the consultation is complete.

We plan to occasionally share educational information with the IPA membership. We are also interested in adding a couple more members to the IPA Ethics Committee.  If interested, please contact Ron Hougen ([email protected]). Students who would like to join the Ethics Committee must have completed at least one graduate level ethics course and be a member of IPA.

Limits of Confidentiality and Limits of the Consultation

As a service to IPA members, the IPA Ethics Committee is available to respond to inquiries from members on ethical issues related to the practice of psychology.  Consultation with the Ethics Committee is intended to assist the psychologist in moving towards resolution of ethical dilemmas. Consultation is not designed to serve as a substitute for the psychologist’s own professional judgment.  Neither IPA nor any member of the Ethics Committee assumes any liability regarding this consultation, and responses by the Ethics Committee or its members do not constitute legal advice.  If you have any legal questions, it is solely your responsibility to seek appropriate legal advice.   
 
The responding Ethics Committee member will assign a case number to your contact.  This process maintains confidentiality when other Ethics Committee members discuss your case. Consultation is conducted strictly by phone, and you will not be provided with a written account of your consultation. The Ethics Committee will maintain de-identified information about the ethical principles in question for summary purposes, but details of the consultation and recommendations will not be maintained once the consultation is complete.

It is important that you are aware of Standard 1.05 of the 2002 APA Ethics Code which states, "If an apparent ethical violation has substantially harmed or is likely to substantially harm a person or organization and is not appropriate for informal resolution… psychologists take further action appropriate to the situation. Such action might include referral to state licensing boards or to the appropriate institutional authorities” such as the State of Iowa Child Protective Services.

A member of the Ethics Committee will make every effort to respond to the consultation request within five (5) working days.  Your initial discussion will be with the Committee member who returns your call.  The Committee member will consult with the entire Ethics Committee (maintaining your confidentiality), and you will be notified of committee recommendations in a phone conversation.

Finance
Sarah Fetter, Ph.D.

The Finance committee provides oversight and assessment of the financial health of IPA to the Executive Council. The finance committee, in consultation with the treasurer, also makes recommendations to the Executive Council for changes in budget, accounting procedures, and expenditures.  This committee meets via Zoom on a monthly basis.

Time commitment: 1-2 hours per month
Desired capacity: 1 chair and 7-9 active members

Membership
Nicole Keedy, Ph.D., Alissa Doobay, Ph.D.

This committee focuses on recruiting, approving, and retaining members of IPA, as well as fostering relationships and building community.  Our motto is “Inviting You In, Keeping Us Connected.”  Committee members may participate in additional projects, such as writing an article for the blog.  They are encouraged to attend conferences to maintain an active presence for relationship-building activities. This committee meets via Zoom on a monthly basis. To read a detailed job description for chairs and members of the Membership committee click here.

Time commitment: 1-3 hours per month
Desired capacity: 2 co-chairs and 4-6 active members

Program Planning Committee
Nicole Holmberg, Ph.D., Dave Beeman, Ph.D., Isaac Hooley, Ph.D.

Psychopharmacology
Elizabeth Lonning, Psy.D., MCSP

This committee is interested in exploring ways to educate Iowa psychologists about pharmacological issues to make them better clinicians when working with patients, including those issues most relevant to prescribing psychologists (RxP). This emphasis includes continuing to advance efforts for Iowa psychologists to obtain their master of science in clinical psychopharmacology (MSCP) through an APA designated program, gathering resources for the clinical assessment and practicum portion of training in Iowa, and continuing to monitor our law for potential fine tuning of language.  The committee also works to offer continuing education opportunities for prescribing psychologists in Iowa as well as licensed psychologists who want to learn more about psychopharmacology.  In addition, committee members serve as ambassadors for the RxP movement in Iowa as well as assist other states who want to pursue introducing legislation in their state.

Time commitment: 1-2 hours per month
Desired capacity: 1 chair and 3 active members

Public Education
Warren Phillips, Ph.D, Valerie Keffala, Ph.D.

This committee strives to raise public awareness of the benefits and value of psychological intervention, reduce stigma surrounding mental health,  remove information gaps that inhibit access to appropriate care and treatment, and provide empirically based public information needed to access mental health services. The committee members collaborate with IPA in promotion of psychology to the public through media, advertising, and community outreach programs. Current and past activities of committee members include participating in a public education blog, providing interviews to the media, participating in public education podcasts, leading presentations at community events, and creating public education materials for distribution to the public.

Time commitment: 1-5 hours per month
Desired capacity: 2 co-chairs and 4-6 active members

Strategic Plan Committee
Nicole Keedy, Ph.D.

Website, E-Communications and Blog (WEB) Committee
Katie Kopp, Ph.D., Suzanne Hull

The purpose of the IPA website is to enhance communication by providing access to timely, accurate and useful information about IPA activities. The website provides electronic access to news, events, and meeting schedules. Additionally, members can use the website to access forms and documents, including agendas, minutes, budgets and reports. Other information may also be included, provided it is for the benefit of IPA members. The blog includes member-written content regarding information related to psychology in Iowa. Members can submit content any time. The website committee is open to any member who wishes to assist in tasks associated with soliciting and compiling blog content.

Disaster Response Committee
Chair: Ashley Freeman, Ph.D.

The Disaster Response Committee supports IPA members and the public in responding to disasters through (1) establishing key partnerships with IPA committees along with local and national disaster-related organizations, (2) educating IPA members and the public on disaster mental health, and (3) supporting efforts to recruit more disaster mental health volunteers in the state of Iowa. For a more detailed description of the DRC Committee, click here.

Meeting frequency: Currently, we meet as needed which is typically every 1-2 months
Time commitment: 1-2 hours per month
Desired capacity: 2 Co-Chairs and 4-10 active members

Click here to access Disaster Response Resources.

Click here to access Disaster Mental Health Training Opportunities

Click here to access Disaster Mental Health Volunteer Opportunities

President:  Mary Schenkenfelder, PhD

Liaisons

The following are the IPA liaisons to various boards and organizations across the state and nation: