News
Federation and FABBS Announce New Executive Director
The Federation and FABBS are pleased to welcome Paula R. Skedsvold, J.D. Ph.D. as the incoming Executive Director for both organizations. Dr. Skedsvold will bring a unique blend of policy and science experience that will further the missions of both the Federation and FABBS. Federation President, Dr. Leaetta Hough, says “Dr. Skedsvold is an exceptional individual, passionate about our sciences. We are very fortunate that she is joining the Federation and FABBS as our new Executive Director. She will be a significant force for our sciences."
Dr. Skedsvold is currently the Director of Education Research Policy at the American Educational Research Association (AERA). She brings firsthand knowledge of and experience with policy initiatives both on Capitol Hill and within federal agencies. She is a talented advocate for the behavioral, psychological, and cognitive sciences and their contributions to improving individual lives, communities, and organizations. In addition to her work at AERA, Dr. Skedsvold has been involved in planning behavioral and social science initiatives at the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research and in addressing research oversight and policy issues as senior staff of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Working Group on Human Research Protections, a working group of the former National Human Research Protections Advisory Committee. She has worked in the offices of U.S. Representatives Nancy Pelosi and John Lewis and served as Scientist in the Public Interest for the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.
As Federation Executive Director, Dr. Skedsvold will advocate for behavioral, psychological, cognitive, and brain sciences with policy makers and the public. As FABBS Executive Director, she will organize experts to educate and communicate about the value of these sciences. FABBS President Dr. Susan T. Fiske notes, “Paula Skedsvold has an amazing variety of experience that will enable her to connect with all the communities that matter to our sciences. Together with the rest of our talented staff, she brings new ideas, expertise, and energy to the Federation and FABBS.”
Dr. Skedsvold received her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of South Carolina and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, American Bar Association, and the Maryland and District of Columbia Bar Associations.
