David Zelaya, M.Ed

Graduate School: 

APAGS 

I will be finishing my two-year term with APAGS Committee for the Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Diversity (CARED) in the fall. As a member of APAGS CARED I have been able to advocate for graduate psychology students of color through many ways. Most recently, I helped organize a webinar regarding mental health in high achieving students of color with over 170 attendees. My main project has been working on developing a cultural competency video database and we are currently working on expanding the database to include other resources. Additionally, I have been able to review Diversity Training grants and facilitated conversation hours during the APA convention. I have also been apart of the mentoring program sponsored by the APAGS Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity.

 

Society for Counseling Psychology (Division 17)

 I served as co-chair for the International Student Subcommittee for the Counseling Psychology conference. Our main efforts were targeted towards international students. We planned a speed mentoring session to address unique concerns and problems faced by international students when applying to graduate programs, applying to internship, and applying for jobs after graduate school (e.g., academic positions, college counseling centers, etc).

 

APA  

I was also chosen to represent APAGS in the past election for an APA committee- Membership Board. The Membership Board is responsible for membership, recruitment, and retention efforts for the association and they dedicated an affiliate position for the committee. While, I was not elected to the APA committee this experience provided me with the opportunity to connect with senior members of APA, Council of Representatives, APA Caucuses, and the Board of Directors. 

 

Georgia State University

At Georgia State University I am currently the President-Elect for the Counseling Psychology Organization within the College of Education. I will begin my term as President in the Fall where I will bring forth concerns of current student to the facutly, serve as the liason in applying for graduate student travel funds, and distributing other resources. 

 

Lehigh University 

I served as the graduate assistant (GA) for the Multicultural Resource Center (MRC) for the College of Education, at Lehigh University. As the GA for the MRC I developed and implemented numerous programs to increase diversity efforts within the college. Additionally, I was responsible for scheduling and running the diversity committee for the College of Education compromised of students, faculty, and staff. Throughout my tenure as the MRC GA I was involved with numerous outreach programs that served the greater Lehigh Community, not only the College of Education. I worked with groups such as the Office for Multicultural Affairs, the Women’s Center, LGBTQIA services, and the Counseling Center. Serving as the main programing entity for the College of Education I was tasked with creating innovative programs to promote discussion surrounding difficult topics, such as having an honor violence and female genital mutilation speaker series. One of the most rewarding aspects of this role was working with different offices across the university to enhance programming efforts related to diversity for the greater Lehigh community. Serving in this capacity allowed me to advocate and serve as an ally for individuals with marginalized identities across the Lehigh University campus. As the MRC GA I represented the diversity committee for the college on numerous other committees within the greater Lehigh community such as the University wide Matrin Luther King Committee.