ABPsi Service Award:

Dennis Alexander, Ph.D.

Dr. Dennis Alexander has served with Dr. Theopia Jackson as Co-Chair of the Education and Training Committee for approximately six years. He has been an active participant on the National Convention Committee and has also worked with the Rituals Committee. To him we can attribute much of the credit for our Ancestors’ shrine and also for preparing the ritual items used in our ceremonies. He has served humbly with devotion, competence, and compassion at the national and local levels. Locally, he has played a variety of roles in the Ohio chapter, during its existence, from President to Historian and within his institution, and has been locally recognized for his service to students, particularly Afrikan American males. He is highly deserving of the ABPsi Service Award.

Theopia Jackson, Ph.D.

Dr. Theopia Jackson has served as the ABPsi Education and Training Co-Chair along with Dr. Dennis Alexander. She has served in this capacity and in various capacities at both the local and national levels for many years as a student and as a professional. She has served very competently in a variety of leadership roles within ABPsi, including being Bay Area Chapter Chair, Bay Area Student Circle Co-Leader, General Assembly Chair, and in her present capacity. Along with providing leadership she has generously supported the activities of ABPsi as a volunteer while a student and as professional. She helped to coordinate children’s programs as a part of NCC. She singlehandedly developed a pre-conference trauma workshop.   She has worked  alongside Dr.  Grills and Dr. Rowe to carry out training and research on the Emotional Emancipation Circles. Additionally, among other things, she has consistently gained the support of her institution, Saybrook, for the ABPsi conventions. Her long-time, consistent commitment to ABPsi and the integrity that she has demonstrated make her an excellent candidate for this award.

ABPsi Student Service Award:

Sheree Tarver, M.A.

Sheree Tarver is a Clinical Psychology doctoral student at Nova Southeastern University, Florida. She has served as Chair for Student Circle in the South Florida chapter of  the Association of Black Psychologists (ABPsi) since 2014. During her tenure, Sheree expanded membership in Student Circle from one university to four universities in South Florida.

Bobby E. Wright Award

Joseph Jones, Ph.D.

Dr. Joseph L. Jones began serving as the 14th President of Arkansas Baptist College September 1st, 2016. A product of two HBCU’s, he has had teaching appointments at several HBCUs. He is the Founding Executive Director of the Social Justice Institute at Philander Smith College. In 2014 the Arkansas Times recognized him as a Visionary Arkansan for his work with the Social Justice Institute at Philander Smith College. Noteworthy achievements of the Institute include infusion of social justice themes in the Freshman Colloquium Curriculum, the increase of justice-related internships for students, creation of the Ozell Sutton Metal of Justice, and founding of the student organization, “The Social Justice League.”

Community Service Award (Member)

Amorie Robinson, Ph.D. aka Kofi Adoma

President, Metro Detroit ABPsi. Dr. Robinson is the co-founder of the Ruth Ellis Center, a homeless shelter for displaced LGBTQ youth in Metro Detroit. She also co-founded the Karibu House, a community center for LGBT people of color in Metro Detro. She has served as the President of the Metro Detroit ABPsi chapter for the past six years. She has also authored several articles on LGBTQ issues and presented at ABPsi national conventions on these issues.

Community Service Award (Non-Member)

Dr. Roderick King, M.D., MPH

Assistant Dean of Public Health Education, Associate Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Chief Executive Officer, Florida Institute for Health Innovation Dr. King is a pediatrician who received his medical degree at Cornell Medical College in 1992 and a Master’s degree in Public Health from Harvard School of Public Health in 1998. Dr. King has been a national and international leader in public health and specifically in the areas of disparities in health and health care services for African Americans. Dr. King serves as the Chair of the Advisory Committee for Minority Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health.

President’s Award

Leonard Dunston, MSW

Leonard G. Dunston is Vice President of Preudhomme, Dunston and Associates, a consulting and management training firm. Mr. Dunston is also a founding member  of the National Black Independent Political Party, founding member Coalition of Black Trade Unions, an executive board member of the Institute of the Black World 21st Century, and Convener of The IBW/Black Family Summit, Board Member The Harvest Institute, a member of the Litigation Committee of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA), a board member of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, a board member of the All Healers Mental Health Alliance, and a lifetime member of the NAACP.Mr. Dunston is also the former Commissioner of the New York State Division for Youth (now known as the Office of Children and Family Services), a position he held for an agency-record twelve years prior to retiring in 1995 after 29 years of public service. Additionally, he is President Emeritus of the National Association of Black Social Workers, Inc., of which he served as National President from 1994 to 1998. Mr. Dunston has appeared on over forty national television programs including “Nightline”, CNN, C-SPAN, and nationally syndicated “Night Talk”, Bev Smith, and Sharp Talk radio talk shows. As a highly respected national and international speaker, Mr. Dunston  has given over 400 public speeches, including commencement addresses, and is the recipient of over 300 plagues/ citations.

Stephen C. Rose Scholarship

Abigail Nicholas

“Intraethnic Discrimination and Psychological Distress: The Moderating Role of Collegiate Self-Esteem among Black Young Adults”