Jade Logan, Ph.D., ABPP,  assistant professor of psychology and Director of CHC’s Internship Consortium in the School of Graduate Studies' Department of Professional Psychology, believes thinking about diversity is common to us all, whether we acknowledge it or not; so, her work as a professor and board-certified clinical psychologist focuses on how to embrace diverse thinking and bring it to the forefront.

“Diversity is typically siloed, but in my mind, diversity is something we all do,” said Dr. Logan. “My approach is focused on social justice but essentially it acknowledges that we all have different experiences that lead us to look at the history of how we got to where we are and engage in that difficult conversation.”

Dr. Logan was recently elected the Officer for Diversity and Inclusion for the Pennsylvania Psychological Association (PPA). This position is the first for the professional association, which was founded in 1933 and serves as the third-largest state association affiliated with the American Psychological Association. Dr. Logan follows a long tradition of CHC graduates and faculty in accepting leadership positions with PPA (including CHC third-year psychology graduate student, Kaseem Parsley, who currently serves as President of PPA Graduate Student).

“Jade was the first person I thought of when I was informed that the PPA had created a new position for an Officer of Diversity and Inclusion to help the organization take its mission of diversity, inclusion, social justice, and advocacy to the next level,” said Dr. Cheryll Rothery, Psy.D., ABPP, chair of the CHC Center for Clinical and Professional Psychology, psychology professor, and director of CHC’s Clinical Training Program. “I am already proud of the work she will do with the PPA Board and its members, and the impact it will have on the organization and the varied and diverse communities served by PPA members,” said Dr. Rothery, who introduced Dr. Logan to the organization.

In this new role, Dr. Logan will work to infuse diversity in each aspect of PPA’s work and make it an organic part of the organization. She’s only a few weeks into the position, but she plans to develop an advisory board, with representation from each committee of PPA, to ensure that members are intentionally thinking about diversity and how it can be integrated into the work of their committees. She’s also starting to think about which students have the potential to serve as committee members and officers for PPA and has already identified a few viable candidates.

“You always want the person after you to take what you’re doing to the next level,” said Dr. Logan. “Representation is key and I think the students, first, seeing someone who looks like me in this position and, second, seeing such a position created and, then, led in a meaningful way, will encourage them to move forward.”

Before joining Chestnut Hill College in 2016, Dr. Logan had already formed connections with the campus through her work at a local university’s counseling center, where she supervised doctoral students in CHC’s Clinical Psychology program. Because of her relationship with students and the clinical program staff, that also includes Dr. Rothery, Dr. Logan was invited to lead two seminars at CHC on the topic of diversity; the talks were well-received by students and faculty and showed Dr. Logan that CHC was a place where she wanted to be.

“I was always impressed by how much the students knew and how the faculty as a whole valued these issues on diversity,” said Dr. Logan. “Doing diversity work is hard work, and I’ve been with organizations where the support wasn’t great or they weren’t prepared to do the work, so to know that I would have the support from faculty and students appealed to me immediately.”

The open position, Director of the Internship Consortium – an APA-accredited 2,000-hour doctoral internship program – provided Dr. Logan with the opportunity to teach, supervise, and foster a welcoming environment for diverse approaches to clinical psychology.

“From my first interview with Dr. Logan, I recognized her potential to be a forward-thinking, contributing member of the College community in the area of diversity and inclusion as well as in the supervision and training of our interns,’ observed Carol Jean Vale, SSJ, Ph.D., president of Chestnut Hill College. "I have not been disappointed. This new appointment underscores her expertise in diversity and her ability to work effectively and productively with her colleagues.”

In addition to teaching and leading the Consortium, Dr. Logan has worked within CHC to further amplify the College’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. She participated in the College’s first Diversity and Inclusion Committee and also served on the search committee for the College’s inaugural Officer of Diversity and Inclusion.

“It has been an honor to work with Dr. Logan for the past four years,” said Dr. Rothery, “She is a change-agent and has been a true asset to our students, to the doctoral program, and to the College. I am proud of the work Jade has done within our program, the College, and beyond.”