Hello SPSSI,

I am excited to be writing this in my new role as the chair of the Communication Committee. I would like to start by thanking Asia Eaton for her years of service as the prior committee chair and all of her assistance with this transition. Asia was a wonderful committee chair. I would also like to thank our other outgoing committee member, Kristan Russell, for her time and dedication to the committee and for her time as the SPSSI Blog Editor. The committee’s efforts would not be possible without hours of service from SPSSI members, such as Asia and Kristen.

I would also like to acknowledge the Communication Committee members who have continued their tenure on the committee (a BIG thank you to Dionne Stephens!) or newly joined our team (thank you, Courtney Bonam!). Working together to consider future programing and communication efforts has been energizing, and I am looking forward to our collaborations over the next couple of years. I would also like to put a call out to SPSSI members who might be interested in joining the committee. We are looking for an additional SPSSI member or two to join. Here is a link for more information about what the committee does: Communications Committee. If you would like be considered for the committee or have questions, please reach out.

Communication Committee Highlight - Sound Science, Sound Policy Blog

This year our committee is dedicating extra efforts to science communication to a broad public audience. As SPSSI members, we share a common interest in research on the psychological aspects of important social and policy issues, and much of the public would benefit from our science! A great forum for this type of communication is the SPSSI Psychology Today blog. Please check out the various blog posts available.

If you are interested in contributing to the blog, please email me at ashley.votruba@unl.edu. Early career professionals and senior graduate student submission are welcome. We especially welcome BIPOC and other underrepresented scholars to participate. Whether or not you have experience with science communication writing, I am happy to work with you to create an excellent blog post!

The work our committee does would not be possible without input for SPSSI members. Please reach out if you have ideas for how we can continue to serve the SPSSI community. Thank you for your continued support of our work; we look forward to providing more content! 

Ashley Votruba (Chair) – Ashley.votruba@unl.edu