Assembly
The Assembly is a deliberative body that advises the APA via the Board of Trustees. It represents the individual members of the Association and acts for them in the affairs of the Association by means of the District Branch representatives. The Bylaws of the Association were amended in 1952 to create the Assembly of District Branches, which is commonly known as the Assembly. This allowed for representatives members of local/state psychiatric societies to meet and influence the direction of the national organization. The Assembly meets twice yearly, in Washington, DC each November and each May just before the APA Annual Meeting.
The Assembly is officiated by a Speaker, Speaker-Elect and Recorder and governed by a Procedural Code of the Assembly. It uses The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure by Alice Sturgis, to maintain order during its meetings.
The Assembly is composed of Representatives and Deputy Representatives elected by the District Branches; a Representative and Deputy Representative from each Minority/Underrepresented Group; a Member‑in‑Training Representative and Deputy Representative from each Area; an Early Career Psychiatrist Representative and Deputy Representative from each Area; a Representative from each Assembly Allied Organization; and the Assembly Executive Committee.
Voting members of the Assembly include the duly elected Representatives of a District Branch and each Officer of the Assembly, the three immediate Past Speakers, each Area Representative and each Deputy Area Representative, each Representative from Minority/Underrepresented Groups, each Area Member‑in‑Training Representative, each Area Early Career Psychiatrist Representative, and each Assembly Allied Organization Liaison.
APA Staff Contacts:
Margaret Cawley Dewar
Director, Association Governance
p: 703-907-8526
f: 703-907-7852
e: mdewar@psych.org
Lori Klinedinst
Senior Governance Specialist - Assembly
p: 703-907-8524
f: 703-907-7852
e: lklinedinst@psych.org