This column is bittersweet for me as my last issue as editor of The Forward, concluding my three-year term before I hand the reins to the next editor. It has been a pleasure to have a front seat to the phenomenal work being done by SPSSI’s leadership, committees, members, conference presenters, and award winners. As a faculty member at a teaching-focused university, I take special pride in the increasing efforts of this newsletter to highlight teaching and mentoring award winners and to hear about their strategies for infusing social justice into our curriculum. I know that I will be a reader going forward and I look forward to continued involvement in the organization in different capacities.

In this issue, we reflect back on the summer months and the excellent work presented at our annual conference, policy initiatives, and the continuing efforts of our committees. Specifically, we hear from our outgoing and incoming SPSSI presidents. Policy highlights include articles from outgoing policy director Sarah Mancoll, who reviews policy opportunities for psychologists, and a reflection from Lindsey Yessick, 2023-2023 James Marshall Policy Fellow.

Additionally, we highlight research from several presenters from our summer conference, investigating issues that span SPSSI’s emphases in public health, prejudice, politics, policy, and law.

In addition to reflections and research from leadership and the summer conference, the present issue includes articles from the Editor of the Contemporary Social Issues Book Series, the Grants-In-Aid Selection Committee, SPSSI UN, and SPSSI’s APA Council Representatives.