Fielding graduate university provost elected APA president

Abstract

The American Psychological Association (APA) last week announced that Wendi S. Williams, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California, has been elected 2026 president of the APA, a news release stated. A psychologist, advocate and educator, Williams focuses her work on the inner lives of Black women and girls. Blending ideas from liberation psychology and various feminist perspectives to guide her work, Williams designs and runs programs for individuals, groups and organizations aimed at personal and organizational growth. Her goal as a psychologist is to help diverse women and girls thrive while pushing for meaningful change in organizations and society as a whole. Williams has been an active member of APA for more than 16 years, most recently serving as president of APA's Division 35, the Society for the Psychology of Women, and as the division's representative to APA's governing Council of Representatives. She was previously president of the Section on Black Women of Division 35 and a member of the APA Division 17 Presidential Taskforce Against Racism in K-12 Schools. Williams will serve as 2025 APA president-elect before becoming president on Jan. 1, 2026.