Meet the Division 29 Central Office Administrator, Ms. Tracey Martin

At the September Board of Directors meeting, we voted to extend the contract of our Central Office Administrator, Tracey Martin. She has now been with the Division for six years, and continues to do an excellent job working with our leadership, membership, and publications. The following interview was conducted by Linda Campbell, the Psychotherapy Bulletin Editor, with the intent of giving the membership a more personalized introduction to Tracey.

Q: Tracey, would you tell us a little about yourself, your growing up years, and how you came to live in the Phoenix area?

I was born in Pennsylvania (many years ago) and lived most of my life in the Washington-metropolitan area of Maryland. I worked for a large, non-profit membership association for 15 years, where I learned the association management skills necessary to administer a large, complex division like Psychotherapy. I served in several different capacities during that 15 years, but mostly in the areas of public/media relations, project development, and marketing.

I moved to the Phoenix area in 1993 to start a new life with my then-fiancé, now-husband.

Q: How did your professional experience and interests draw you to the Division of Psychotherapy?

About a year after I arrived in Phoenix, I started working with the largest association management firm in the state. Instead of working for only one association, as before, I was now working for about forty client organizations! What an eye-opener! In this type of environment, it was important to be a "multi-tasker" and very organized, because you were responsible for all facets of an association's health and growth.

The Division of Psychotherapy was one of the associations with which I worked at that firm, and I became quite knowledgeable, particularly about its membership database and recruitment efforts.

During the four years that I worked at that firm, I grew to respect and admire the Division's governance and membership, and the diverse viewpoints that make up a dynamic, interactive association like the Division.

Q: What do you find most interesting in your work with our Division? What is most challenging?

The most interesting part of my job is that it is so unstructured. The Division has certain events that happen at certain times each year, so those you can plan for. But, it's the unplanned things that are absorbing. Some days, I am working on membership, some days the Psychotherapy Bulletin, some days on the Division's program at APA, and occasionally, a combination of everything.

Of course, the most challenging is any aspect of financial accounting and planning. The precision of working in a numbers environment can be quite taxing (pardon the pun), and the accuracy becomes so important when making projections and working within the limitations of budgets.

Q: How would you describe your professional aspirations at this point in your career and how can your work with Division 29 contribute to your goals?

At this point, I have four clients, all non-profit membership or professional associations. I am comfortable in this environment and these clients are so personally engaging and rewarding, so my professional aspirations are intrinsically linked to my clients' goals.

For instance, Division 29 is my largest and most active client. I would like to see the Division expand its membership and financial resources, and by doing so create a greater atmosphere for intellectual exchange, promoting division goals, and conducting division programs. By helping the Division achieve its ends, I also grow my own business and gain a greater personal satisfaction.

We thank Tracey for this interview and encourage our membership to contact Tracey (assnmgmt1@cox.net) with questions about committees, membership, continuing education, the Psychotherapy Bulletin, and any other member related matters that would be informative.