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Kala J. Melchiori
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From Our Editor
Kala J. Melchiori, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, James Madison University
I am honored to conclude my time as editor of the Forward by reflecting on the very event that introduced me to SPSSI nearly 20 years ago: our conference. For many of us, SPSSI is an academic home. We gather not only to exchange research and policy insights, but also to build community with psychologists who share our values, challenges, and commitments. It brings me professional joy to welcome first-time conference attendees and pass on the same sense of warmth and belonging that I experienced as an undergraduate student. Our conference is both a gift to and a reflection of our community, and I am grateful to everyone who has helped make it such a meaningful and enduring part of SPSSI.
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Kimberly Barsamian Kahn
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SPSSI: RISE-ing to the Critical Moment
Kimberly Barsamian Kahn, Ph.D., SPSSI President, Professor, Department of Psychology, PI of the Gender, Race, and Sexual Prejudice (GRASP) Lab, Portland State University
While this past year as SPSSI President has brought unprecedented challenges to science and social justice, I am harkened by SPSSI’s collective strength in “RISE-ing” to the moment and, indeed, thriving. In my Presidential address at SPSSI’s conference in June, I argued for data as a form of social justice resistance, and presented my “RISE” research approach as a navigational guide. Such research is: Rigorous (cross-level, multi-method); Interventionist (action research, being agents of change); Social (community engaged, collaborative, closely in tune with phenomena), and Empirical (measuring, giving voice to the ignored and dismissed). And as evidenced by the outstanding research throughout the conference, SPSSI is undeniably “RISE-ing.” I was thrilled to see timely social issues research addressing criminal justice reform, immigration, economic inequality, health disparities, reproductive justice, climate crisis, and DEI reflect this RISE framework in packed poster sessions and talks. Despite current threats to science, SPSSI researchers used their research to give voice to vulnerable populations and speak through data, which cannot be easily silenced.
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Harold Takooshian
Dinesh Sharma
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Policymakers Still Misunderstand Social Science
Sam Abbott, Director of Policy and Communications, SPSSI
Since 1984, the SPSSI New York regional group has hosted 10 or more activities each year for our 400+ regional members and their guests to gather. Thanks to Justin Belsley at SPSSI, many of these diverse activities now appear online at www.spssi.org/ny . Following COVID-19 in March of 2020, fewer people have been attending local activities. In spring of 2026, SPSSI had another series of diverse activities.
On March 27 at Fordham University, Dr. Dinesh Sharma hosted a hybrid forum on “Daughters of the dynasties, comparing women’s leadership in USA, China, India. This featured four panelists: Dinesh Sharma, Ying Hong, Britt Romagna, Zara Lowenthal.
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