These highlights have been prepared by the APA Administration to summarize key discussions from the Board of Trustees meeting. They are intended for informational purposes only and are not official meeting minutes. Official minutes will be prepared separately and approved by the Board in December.

CEO and Medical Director Report

Dr. Marketa Wills, CEO and Medical Director, provided the Board with a comprehensive written report of the Association’s activities from August – September, which can be accessed here. Dr. Wills shared an update on efforts to strengthen members’ connection to APA, drawing on the 2025 Member Experience Survey and follow-up interviews, focus groups, and listening sessions. The findings showed that both career stage and practice setting influence whether members feel understood and represented. Members across academic, hospital, community, and private practice settings wanted their day-to-day professional experiences to be more fully reflected in APA’s work, with satisfaction lowest among those in private practice. In response, APA will build on its career-stage offerings by placing greater emphasis on practice setting. Updating member profiles will help APA better understand workplace needs, while direct collaboration with members will guide the development of relevant resources and opportunities for connection.

Administration Updates
Dr. Wills and members of the senior leadership team shared updates on APA’s work to support clinical practice, strengthen member engagement, and align operations with the strategic plan.

Publishing revenue remained on target through August, with a net income of $10.9 million against a budget target of $9.9 million. Licensing and royalties exceeded both budget and the prior year, while cost management also contributed to the results.

Across its advocacy and educational work, APA is addressing developments that affect psychiatric practice, including artificial intelligence.

Practical clinical education remains a priority for the Division of Education, with offerings such as Psychopharmacology Unplugged and the upcoming Psych Core board review course. That focus on member value also informs preparations for the May 1–5 Annual Meeting. Registration will open earlier, on November 4, giving attendees more time to plan. Changes to the meeting experience and submission review process are intended to improve accessibility and transparency.

Efforts to strengthen member connections include a mentoring pilot, which is attracting applications and establishing mentor–mentee matches. The annual Member Experience Survey will help APA assess these and other efforts by tracking member perspectives over time and identifying emerging needs. APA is also updating how it delivers information to members, with plans to transition Psychiatric News from a newspaper to a magazine format, accompanied by a redesigned website and an online-first publishing approach.

Treasurer’s Update

Dr. Gia Merlo, Treasurer, presented APA’s financial report for the period ending August 31, 2026. Five of the six key financial metrics are on track to meet or exceed year-end expectations. The exception is total revenue, now forecast at $57.2 million against a budget of $57.7 million, primarily because Annual Meeting registration and sponsorship revenue fell below budget. APA’s financial position remains strong. Unrestricted net assets totaled $105 million as of August 31, and the investment portfolio returned 8.8%, exceeding the 8.6% investment policy benchmark. The portfolio remains diversified and structured to withstand market volatility. Dr. Merlo reviewed the 2027 budget planning timeline and shared the history and calculation of the Reserve Spending Policy for both APA and the APA Foundation. Mr. Carlton Davids, Vice President, Finance, indicated that the goal for the 2027 budget is to use less than the calculated reserve spending amount and continue reducing reliance on reserves to fund operations. This would move APA toward full compliance with the policy, which prohibits using reserves for operations by 2030.

Update on the Work Groups on Medical Leadership for the Interprofessional Mental Health Care Team

Drs. Robert Tresman, MD, and Jimmy Potash, MD, chairs of the Medical Leadership of the Interprofessional Mental Health Care Team Ad Hoc Workgroups, presented their final report to the Board of Trustees on “Strategies to Ensure Patient Safety Through Improving Quality and Access to Care.” The report outlines priorities for the APA Board of Trustees to consider to ensure psychiatrists’ position as team leaders in mental health care. The report suggests that psychiatrists should define standards of care, clarify competencies across disciplines, lead team-based models, establish escalation expectations, redesign training, align financing, and incorporate AI safely into psychiatric care. The report makes the following recommendations to help set the stage for strategic APA leadership over the next generation through a national practice-transformation initiative:

• Establish a time-limited APA Task Force on psychiatrist-led team-based care and convert the report into formal APA policy and practice guidance, which the Board approved.
• Create a model that matches clinical complexity to necessary skill levels and supervisory recommendations.
• Create a framework of the components for meaningful supervisions.
• Use a consistent set of metrics for tracking access, quality, safety, and outcomes in patients with acute or complex clinical conditions and as part of team-based care.
• Create a framework for use of AI in team-based care.
• Redesign psychiatric education and certification expectations.
• Advocacy for payment reform.
• Facilitate research on psychiatrist-led models of team-based care.