The importance of voting
Voting will soon be opening in our elections for 2024, and I want to encourage you to make sure you have your say on two important roles on our Board of Trustees.
28 March 2024
By Sarb Bajwa
Members will have the opportunity to vote on who becomes our next President-Elect, supporting Dr Roman Raczka for two years when he becomes President at our AGM in July, before their own two years as President.
Our President is a champion and ambassador for both the society and wider discipline of psychology, and it's vital that our members have their say on who takes on one of the most visible roles in UK psychology.
The elected candidate will also spend four years on our Board of Trustees, where they will make sure that members' views and voice are represented in our strategic discussions.
They will be joined on the Board of Trustees for three years by an Elected Trustee, which members have the opportunity to vote on at the same time as the President-Elect.
Our Elected Trustees also help to bring the voice of our members to strategic discussions, and make sure that our future direction reflects the wishes of the community of psychologists that we represent.
If you are interested in either of these roles, you have a final opportunity to put yourself forward before applications close at noon on 4 April.
Voting will open shortly afterwards through our online platform – look out for an email from our partners Mi-Voice – and I would really encourage our members to keep an eye on our website to see what the candidates have to say, and make sure you take the opportunity to vote and take part in the society's democratic process.
Alongside these two roles, we will also be using the election process to assess how many members would be interested in joining a new Environmental Psychology Section.
The Board of Trustees recently lifted a suspension on new member networks, which was brought in a few years ago when four new sections were added to the society's structure.
This allows for us to see whether a new section would be viable – I know that environmental psychology and work around the climate crisis is something many members are involved in, and an area where psychology and the society can do more.
If one per cent of our total membership indicates that they would become members of a new section, then we will be able to move forward to a vote at our Annual General Meeting on making the Environmental Psychology Section a reality.