I am honored to be nominated for VP for Education and Training. As an Associate Professor and Co-Director of Training in the University of Maryland Counseling Psychology PhD Program, my work is grounded in my passion and commitment to social justice and equity. My scholarship is focused on intersectional discrimination, gendered racism, Black women’s health, radical healing, and resistance. I also engage in scholar-activism by actively working to dismantle interlocking systems of oppression both inside and outside of academia.  

I have served in various leadership roles within Division 17, such as Member of the STG on Social Justice & Advocacy Competencies, which focused on developing an advocacy framework and liberation principles to strengthen social justice training in the field. I have also served in other divisions of APA (President of Division 35-Section I: Psychology of Black Women & Co-Chair of Division 35 Presidential Taskforce on Education; Member of Division 45 Presidential Taskforce on Promoting Healing through Social Justice). 

If elected, I will utilize my social justice and intersectional feminist leadership skills to work collaboratively with individuals across intersecting identities and career stages (e.g., grad students, ECPs) to push the field forward in strengthening our advocacy training focused on skills and action, transform the counseling psychology curriculum to center social justice and liberation, support master’s level accreditation issues, and uproot anti-Black racism and interlocking systems of oppression in our training programs. I am excited for the opportunity to serve in this role to envision a socially just future for our field. 

 Laurie “Lali” McCubbin, Ph.D.

It is an honor to be nominated for SCP Vice President for Education and Training. Counseling psychology is at a critical and exciting time for education and training as we engage in decolonizing and liberating our curriculum and training, while simultaneously dismantling systemic racism and white supremacy in higher education and our society. Education and training need to be part of the transformation that is occurring within the Society of Counseling Psychology (SCP). With the strong foundation and momentum created by our past presidents and their teams, and our membership, we are ready to implement changes in alignment with our values and vision towards liberation in how we train and educate future psychologists. I have had several leadership roles within the Society of Counseling Psychology including, but not limited to Chair of Section on Ethnic and Racial Diversity (SERD), Chair of Sections, Director of the Member Interface Board, and most recently as President/Past President of Council of Counseling Psychology Training Programs (CCPTP). In addition, I have worked closely with Council of Chairs of Training Councils (CCTC) on the task force focusing on decolonizing and liberating the curriculum across clinical, counseling, and school psychology programs and examining the undergraduate and graduate education, internship experiences, and postdoctoral training. In these capacities including experiences working on presidential initiatives, current involvement with CCTC Social Responsiveness initiative, and dedicated service as Training Director working with the Standards of Accreditation (SoA), I would be thrilled and humbled to serve SCP as VP of Education and Training.