Charter:


The purpose of the MPA Advocacy Work Group will be to support coordination and communication around MPA’s broad-based advocacy initiatives, and to develop a leadership pipeline for state legislative advocacy. To this end, the work group will:

  • Engage with the Executive Committee and committee chairs to coordinate advocacy initiatives, both within MPA (e.g., membership recruitment) and in interactions with entities outside of MPA (e.g., programming, engagement with outside organizations).
    • Work group membership will include the FAC, Public Policy Consultant, and representatives from key committees involved in advocacy efforts(e.g., Diversity, Insurance, CYF, Masters, ICC).
    • A work group representative will attend meetings of the Inter-Committee Task Force.
      • Note: Will need to be alert to which these functions are redundant with the work group.
  • Assist in developing a network of subject matter experts who will, upon request of the Executive Committee (per MPA Policy 5.19, Representing MPA in Public), assist in providing public-facing communications on behalf of MPA.
    • These include but are not limited to position papers, social and traditional media posts and interviews, and (per #3, below) testimony at legislative committees.
    • The work group will explore the feasibility of emulating other STPAs in having a “Psychologist of the Month” presence in the state legislature.
  • Track state and federal level legislation pertinent to Michiganders’ access to quality mental health care and to the practice of psychology.
    • The work group will work to develop a grass-roots network of MPA members who can be called upon to contact state and federal legislators around specific legislation.
    • A designated work group member will be engage with the Public Policy Consultant to develop knowledge and leadership skills.
      • The Public Policy Consultant will serve as a mentor around
        • Learning to read bills
        • Learning how to build relationships with state legislators
        • Learning about how to testify effectively in legislative hearings.
      • It is anticipated that this leadership training (including some shadowing) will involve a time commitment of around 5 hours a month.
      • It is anticipated that this leader-in-training will succeed the Public Policy Consultant in that role


Work Group Members:
Molly E. Gabriel-Champine, PhD - FAC
Judith Kovach, PhD - Public Policy Consultant
Joy Wolfe Ensor, PhD - Past-President
Amy Nasamran, PhD - MPA Member