Dr. Susan Clayton

Keynote Address - Psychology and climate change: Understanding and responding

Susan Clayton is Whitmore-Williams Professor of Psychology and chair of Environmental Studies at the College of Wooster. Her PhD, in social psychology, is from Yale University. She has authored or edited five books, including the Oxford Handbook of Environmental and Conservation Psychology (2012), Conservation Psychology (with Gene Myers; 2nd edition in press), and Identity and the Natural Environment (2003, with Susan Opotow). She co-authored the American Psychological Association (APA) reports on “Psychology and Global Climate Change” and “Psychological Impacts of Climate Change.” Clayton is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, of which she is also president-elect. Dr. Clayton is a conservation psychologist and conducts research at zoos and in other nature settings to observe how people connect with animals and nature and, as a consequence, how this might lead them to conserve our natural resources.

Dr. Tanecia Blue

Inaugural Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Keynote Address - 
Psychology's role in the race construct

Dr. Blue is a board-certified health psychologist and serves as the Chief of the Behavioral Medicine Service at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Dr. Blue isthe current Diversity and Inclusion Officer for Society for Health Psychology and her primary initiative is educating health psychologists about the role of psychology in improving health equity. Dr. Blue has worked in the public sector throughout her career both in the Department of Veterans Affairs and in the Department of Defense. She currently manages a cultural transformation program focused on improving care in the treatment of veterans at the VA Pacific Islands Healthcare System. In her day to day work, she has promoted the importance of improving diversity in the workplace, making decisions that impact stakeholders equitably, and creating a more inclusive work environment. Dr. Blue is a trained clinical health psychologist and spends her clinical time teaching patients self-regulation techniques and self-management strategies. Her research focuses on psychological interventions for various medical conditions. She has an additional interest in understanding the role of patient-centered care and values-based interventions in improving communication and outcomes in racially discordant interactions.

Dr. Jaque Gray

Keynote Address - Community Interventions to Address Indigenous Elder Needs During COVID

Dr. Jacqueline Gray is a research associate professor for the Department of Population Health and the associate director of Center for Rural Health for Indigenous programs at the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine & Health Sciences. She is principal investigator and director of the National Indigenous Elder Justice Initiative. She is also principal investigator of the National Center on Elder Abuse subcontract on Indigenous Elder Abuse Projects and the American Association of Retired Persons-sponsored Indigenous Elder Abuse Services Survey. Dr. Gray is a mentor for the American Indian Adult Tobacco Survey Dakota Initiative funded by the Dakota Cancer Collaborative on Translational Activity clinical/translational research from the National Cancer Institute. She started the American Indian Health Research Conference in 2002 and spearheaded its continuation for 17 years. She also directs the Native Health Research Team and mentored more than 100 Native students on research in Indian Country.

Dr.Gray is from Oklahoma and of Choctaw and Cherokee descent. She has worked with tribes throughout Indian Country for 40 years in the areas of health, education, counseling, and program development. She also has experience in policy work and advocacy through testimony in Congress on suicide among American Indian youth, funding for Indian Health Service, addressing elder abuse in Indian Country, serving on the Health and Human Services Secretary's Advisory Committee for Interdisciplinary Community-Based Linkages, and other health disparity related issues. Dr. Gray has research experience in the areas of health and mental health, including suicide prevention, elder abuse, rural veteran health services, spirituality and health, psychometrics, and wellness and nutrition in adolescents. Her research with American Indians includes elder abuse, health, depression, anxiety, veteran's health services, spirituality, suicide, career counseling, and nutrition.

Dr. Bonnie Green

Keynote Address

Professor of Psychology, East Stroudsburg University

Dr. Bonnie Green is an experimental psychologist who specializing in research in the Science of Success, particularly as it relates to academic achievement and reducing recidivism. Through the application of cognitive development, psychometrics, and mathematical modeling, Bonnie is seeking ways to improve educational access, achievement, and success for ALL students, Kindergarten through college, while also seeking ways to assure a healthy transition for people re-entering society following incarceration. Dr. Green currently serves as a Program Director for the National Science Foundation under the Division of Undergraduate Education.

Dr. Susan Raiford

Woodcock Institute Keynote Address - Pandemic Impact on Performance-Based Psychological Assessment of Children: What We’ve Learned and How We Can Respond

Senior Research Director, Wechsler Team, Pearson Clinical Assessment

Dr. Susan Raiford is a senior research director at The Psychological Corporation/Pearson. She has been a primary developer of the Wechsler Intelligence scales, the most widely used suite of intelligence tests in the world (WPPSI-IV, WISC-V, WAIS-IV, WISC-IV Integrated, and WISC-V Integrated) since 2004. Dr. Raiford is involved in all aspects of test creation and revision conceptualization. She designs the research plan for test creation and revision, writes the manuals, conceptualizes new subtests, develops and revise items, and oversees data collection as well as creation of all final test components.

Dr. Raiford currently maintains a part time psychological assessment practice. Prior to becoming a psychological test developer, she primarily engaged in clinical work for ten years, providing assessment, psychotherapy, and consultation to patients of all ages in inpatient, outpatient, and residential settings in both the private and public sectors.

Dr. Anna Ropp

SWToP Keynote Address - Teaching in a Changing World: Tips for Working with the Increasing Number of LGBTQIA+ Students in Our Classrooms

Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver

Anna Ropp received her Ph.D. in social psychology with a specialization in intergroup relations from the University of California Santa Cruz. She is currently a full professor in the department of psychological sciences at Metropolitan State University of Denver. At MSU Denver, she teaches courses such as psychology of prejudice, psychology of gender, and psychology of sexual orientation, as well as statistics and research methods courses. Passionate about teaching and inclusivity, Dr. Ropp regularly gives talks to professors and teachers about how to increase their cultural competence, specifically when interacting with LGBTQIA+ students.

In her research, Dr. Ropp explores topics related to prejudice and discrimination, including gender discrimination and LGBTQIA+ bias. In the last several years, she has extended this research to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). Her current SoTL projects include examining how professors’ actions (such as their level of formality) and gender identity impact students’ perceptions of them. Dr. Ropp also hosts the podcast, SoTL PsychSessions, where she talks with researchers about their SoTL research and how professors and teachers can apply that research in their classrooms.

Talk Synopsis

Teaching psychology in an increasingly multicultural world can be challenging, and it can be difficult for instructors to understand and navigate the culture of all of their students. However, some students are disengaged from their courses because they do not see themselves or their experiences reflected in the course content. To help bridge this gap with our LGBTQIA+ students, Dr. Anna Ropp will provide some tips for teaching LBGTQIA+ students in psychology courses. These tips are intended to help instructors 1) increase rapport with their LGBTQIA+ students and 2) include current research about the LGBTQIA+ community in their course content. The tips will include general guidelines as well as small, concrete steps instructors can implement almost immediately.