Although terms of APsaA task forces are usually limited to the term of the appointing officer, we consider the groundwork of the Task Force on Expanded Membership Criteria (TFEMC) so important that we are reappointing it and broadening its mandate and membership.
By way of background, in June 2004, the Executive Council with the support of the Board on Professional Standards adopted a proposed bylaw amendment that would move Association membership functions from BOPS to the Council. There are a number of complex steps that must be taken before the vision in that bylaw amendment can be realized. It must be ratified by two-thirds of the voting membership, and, if ratified, a new committee of Council must be nominated, elected, and made operational to manage our membership functions.
These steps will take time and, meanwhile, we must keep working toward the goal of determining sound means of expanding membership requirements. Whether or not the proposed bylaw amendment is ratified by the membership, work on carefully considered, expanded, and enhanced membership requirements must continue.
In that spirit, we have jointly asked Harriet Wolfe to provide continuity in leadership and experience by accepting joint reappointment as task force chair. Joining her as co-chairs are Gail Reed, who is chair of the Membership Committee of the Board on Professional Standards; Paul Mosher, councilor-at-large, Executive Council; and Laura Jensen, soon to be president-elect, Affiliate Council.
It is expected that the TFEMC, a diverse and representative group, will lead the way toward consensus on membership requirements which embody the welcoming spirit and psychoanalytic values of the American Psychoanalytic Association. The task force is charged with advising the Executive Committee, Executive Council, and Board on Professional Standards. If the proposed bylaw is passed, the TFEMC will also advise the Council's newly constituted Membership Requirements and Review Committee, working with it to further define expanded and enhanced membership requirements and to help draft bylaws reflecting those requirements. The TFEMC is also available to the Task Force on Reorganization, at its option.
In addition to the chair and co-chairs, the membership of the expanded TFEMC are Paul Dewald, Susan Furman, Ethan Grumbach, Michael Harty, Ruth Karush, Jacqueline McGregor, J. David Miller, Joanne Naegele, Kerry Kelly Novick; Davis Sachs, and Myrna Weiss.