Teresa Blankmeyer Burke to chair APA Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion

Teresa Blankmeyer Burke

At its December 2020 meeting, the APA board of officers approved a proposal by Elizabeth Anderson, chair of the 2014 Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion, to reconstitute the task force with new members, a new chair, and a refreshed charge. Professor Teresa Blankmeyer Burke (Gallaudet University) has been appointed the new chair for the task force.

Professor Burke is Professor of Philosophy at Gallaudet University. Her research interests include bioethics, philosophy of disability, and Deaf philosophy. She currently serves as the Faculty Administrator for Faculty Development in the Office of the Provost at Gallaudet University, and as Editor of the Journal of Philosophy of Disability, along with Joel Michael Reynolds. In addition to serving as a member of the 2014 APA Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion, Professor Burke served as Disability Representative on the APA Committee on Inclusiveness in the Profession from 2008 through 2017, and was acting chair of that committee and member of the APA board of officers in 2015–2016. She is currently serving as a member of the APA Committee on the Status of Disabled People in the Profession, established in 2020.

Professor Burke says, “As a Deaf BIPOC woman in philosophy, I’m humbled to lead the APA Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion on behalf of the APA. The importance of this position, task force, and community are passions of mine. This work is very much a collaborative effort, and I look forward to continuing the work of the task force to ensure that the APA truly feels like our professional home.”

The Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion was established in 2014 to develop a set of recommendations to make the APA more diverse and inclusive, and to oversee and monitor the implementation of those recommendations. The majority of those recommendations have now been implemented, but some remain, and enough time has passed since the recommendations were originally presented to the board that further review and analysis is appropriate.

The 2021 Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion will review the original recommendations; work to implement recommendations that have not yet been implemented; develop additional recommendations, if warranted, for consideration by the board at its fall 2021 meeting; and oversee and monitor the implementation of any newly adopted recommendations.

Questions, comments, and suggestions for the task force should be sent by email to ditaskforce@apaonline.org.