Article archive / September 1, 2015
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 9. Source pages: 1, 3.
Governor Jindal has appointed Dr. Koren Boggs and Dr. Jesse Lambert to serve on the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists (LSBEP), according to a memo dated August 14, 2015, obtained by the Times.
Dr. Boggs is a licensed clinical psychologist practicing in the Autism Center of Children’s Hospital of New Orleans. She is a member of the Association for Behavior Analysis International and International Society for Autism Research.
Dr. Lambert, of St. Amant, is a licensed clinical psychologist with St. Elizabeth Physicians in Gonzales. He is a member of the Baton Rouge Area Society of Psychologists and student member of the Louisiana Academy of Medical Psychologists (LAMP).
The appointment came after a three-month delay and an ongoing dispute between the psychology board and the Louisiana Psychological Association (LPA) over the names submitted to the Governor for appointment.
After the close of the election in January 2015 to fill a regular opening. LPA sent the names of Dr. Beverly Stubblefield and Dr. Koren Boggs to the Governor. The letter was signed by then LPA President Joe Tramontana. He wrote that Stubblefield obtained 176 votes and Boggs had 132 votes in the 2015 election. He asked that the top vote getter be appointed.
Then in May, the Senate did not confirm Dr. Comaty, which left an unexpired vacancy. Comaty had been appointed in 2014 after a contested election in which the top vote getter was Dr. Constance Patterson. Emails show that LAMP was influential in Dr. Comaty’s appointment over Patterson.
On June 1 the LSBEP held a special meeting and voted that the January letter by LPA listing Dr. Stubblefield and Dr. Boggs was wrong. The LSBEP voted that the statute should be interpreted to mean that “all” results were to be reported, including Dr. Lambert, who was 3rd place with 71 votes. The LSBEP directed Cindy Bishop, current Executive Director at LPA, to send all results to the Governor’s Office.
Dr. Lambert’s appointment maintains the six-year majority presence of medical psychologists or LAMP members on the state psychology board.
Medical psychologists (MPs) constitute about 5 percent of those licensed by the psychology board. While MPs are required to be licensed under the medical board, including their practice of psychology, a state psychology license is optional for MPs.
The LSBEP also published an Emergency Rule on July 15, which appeared to eliminate the possibility that top vote-getter Dr. Patterson might be appointed to fill the Comaty vacancy. LPA wrote asking the Governor to consider appointing Patterson, since she was high vote getter in the 2014 election.
Emails obtained this week show that on July 17, Boards & Commissions Director, Dirman Barker and the Executive Council at the Governor’s Office had a phone conference with Ms. Kelly Parker about the Rule. However, no additional information was given.
Emails obtained last month by the Times indicated that the LSBEP had requested private meetings with Boards & Commissions officials. In an email sent from Ms. Parker’s iPhone on July 9, she appeared to have met with Mr. Barker Dirmann. The topic is not known.
On August 18 the Times requested to physically examine the meetings calendar at Boards & Commissions but the request was denied. A release of documents this week did not include any calendar information about meetings.
According to the appointment letter signed by Governor Jindal, and sent to Secretary of State Tom Schedler, Dr. Boggs will replace outgoing Chair, Dr. Rita Culross. Dr. Boggs’ appointment is noted to be until 2020.
Dr. Lambert’s appointment letter notes that he is to fill the position vacated by Dr. Joe Comaty. The term is noted to extend to 2020. However, past vacancies have been filled for the unexpired portion of the term created by a vacancy.
The appointment letters were sent to Ms. Parker, Operations Director, and the LSBEP on August 25 by email.
Dr. Boggs received her degree in 2007 from the University of Mississippi and has been licensed for a number of years and in Louisiana since 2013.
Dr. Lambert has been licensed since 2009 in clinical psychology. He graduated from Argosy University in Dallas, Texas.
Dr. Lambert was asked to complete a web application on the morning of August 4, and Dr. Boggs that afternoon, according to emails released by Boards & Commissions. No other nominees were contacted, based on the emails.
A look into one of the large wall mirrors in the Governor’s Offices that bookend the reception area. The Governor made appointments to the psychology board last month.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.