Dr. Deborah Pollack Completes Prestigious Leadership Program

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Dr. Deborah Pollack Completes Prestigious Leadership Program

Deborah Pollack, with long brown hair, pink top and gray sweater, smiles at camera.

"I’m now connected with this amazing group of women psychologist leaders whom I can go to for support and help along the way in the rest of my career."

Deborah Pollack, associate professor of psychology, earlier this month completed the American Psychological Association’s Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology program. She was awarded the Florence L. Denmark scholarship by the APA to participate in the program.

The highly selective program is designed for mid-career psychologists across the country, both academics and clinicians, who currently hold or are aspiring to leadership positions. Its mission is to “prepare, support, and empower women psychologists as leaders to promote positive changes in institutional and organizational life and to increase the diversity, number, and effectiveness of women psychologists as leaders.”

Participant leaders engage in a yearlong series of dynamic leadership training sessions, including didactics, facilitated conversations, mentoring, and self- and peer-assessments. The experiences allow them to reflect on their leadership and understand their strengths and opportunities for improvement.

Pollack joined the Utica University faculty in 2020, transitioning to a full-time academic role following a long clinical career. She was motivated to pursue the APA opportunity in large part due to her leadership experiences as president of the Central New York Psychological Association and president-elect of the International Experiential Dynamic Therapy Association.

She was chosen through a nationally-competitive process as one of 20 participant-leaders and one of six to receive a scholarship – recognition that, she explains, was meaningful on multiple levels.

“In the 20 years that I’ve been a psychologist, I’ve been doing a lot of volunteer-based leadership – being on the boards of the Central New York Psychological Association, the IEDTA, and the Samaritan Counseling Center. Those are the kinds of things I’ve always done just for the love of doing it and because I enjoy helping organizations grow,” she says.

“Being a leader is one of those things that, at least in psychology, we don’t get a lot of formal education in how to do. I was really excited that, one, my leadership was recognized by being chosen, two, I received incredible training in how to navigate all of these various leadership roles that I’m in, and, three, I’m now connected with this amazing group of women psychologist leaders whom I can go to for support and help along the way in the rest of my career, and it means a lot to be part of that network.”