Judith Schachter completes her presidency at the May meeting in Los Angeles. She is only our fourth woman president, following Marion Kenworthy (1958), Crete Bibring (1962), and Rebecca Solomon (1979).
In a presidency that sometimes reminds me of the treatment of leaders in Totem and Taboo, Judy has been impressively stalwart. The proverbial buck invariably stops when it crosses her desk; often she reaches out to grab and address an issue that seems to be floating about without a responsible owner. Working alongside her these past three years on the Executive Committee has taught me much about fortitude and resilience, flexibility and optimism. Judy has encouraged and listened to a diversity of views, has faced controversy with interest and curiosity, has included as many people as she could in discussions and decisions, and has delegated responsibility and responded with appreciation at its discharge. In her column in this issue, you will find a thorough, integrated, and philosophical account of her experience as our president. I wish only to express, I think for all of us, my appreciation for the generosity of her personal effort on behalf of this organization.
I have come to know Judy as very smart, but down to earth; politically savvy, though not always diplomatic; fiscally responsible, but able to spend where necessary;
creatively innovative, yet respectful and appreciative of tradition. She is serious, yet funny; writes with dignity and poise, but laces her prose with colorful expressions and metaphors; is patient, but hates to waste time.
During her four years as president-elect and president we have developed an increasingly examined and articulated governance, more civilized debate, more modern communication, an effective Budget and Finance Committee, membership in a psychoanalytic consortium for increased political clout, a hard-won but solid alliance between The American and the Coalition for Patients' Rights for legislative lobbying, a national psychoanalytic foundation, a home page on the World Wide Web of the Internet, a psychoanalytic fellowship, and an Affiliates Council.
Perhaps the most important gift that Judy leaves us with is a new administrative director, Ellen Fertig. To have found a replacement for Helen Fischer was, not surprisingly, a task fraught with difficulties. But now we have in place an individual who seems to fit our needs like a glove, and it has been Judy, more than anyone else, who has been the force behind finding the right person and helping her get started. As personally fond and admiring as I am of our incoming president, Marvin Margolis, I will truly miss Judy and cannot quite imagine the Executive Committee without her.