The American Psychological Association Board of Directors has announced the appointment of Dr. Cynthia D. Belar as the interim chief executive officer, effective January 1. She will succeed Dr. Norman B. Anderson, who is retiring at year-end.
Belar has a wealth of knowledge about APA, garnered from her experience as a member of APA governance, a division leader and, most recently, having served as APA’s executive director for education from 2000 until her retirement in 2014.
Before joining APA, Belar was engaged in teaching, research and practice for 25 years, most of which were spent at the University of Florida Health Science Center. Her research at that time was on psychophysiology and pain, followed by clinical studies in reproductive endocrinology. Belar founded one of the first formal tracks in medical psychology at the University of Florida Clinical Psychology Program. She is also one of the founders of APA's Div. 38 (Health).
From 1984-1990, Belar served as chief psychologist and clinical director of behavioural medicine for the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Los Angeles. There, she developed a number of integrated health care programs for both primary and specialty care. She has chaired three national conferences on education and training in psychology, covering topics such as internship, postdoctoral training and the scientist-practitioner model. She also has chaired the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers, the Council of Chairs of Training Councils and the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology. Belar will come out of retirement to take the helm of APA. The interim CEO position is expected to last for 6 to 12 months, depending on the length of the search process for the next CEO.
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