On July 23, Governor Edwards announced that he appointed Dr. Gina Gibson of Lafayette and Dr. Michelle Moore of New Orleans to the Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists. Both were nominated by the Louisiana Psychological Association.
Dr. Moore received the top number of votes in a regular election held this past February to fill the opening left by the normal completion of service by Dr. Jesse Lambert. Dr. Gina Gibson (who has since changed her last name from Beverly) was nominated and ran in an April special election to fill an unexpected vacancy caused by the resignation of Dr. Leah Crouch.
Dr. Gibson is a neuropsychologist with the Department of Veterans Affairs, licensed in 2008. She lists her specialty as Counseling/Clinical Neuropsychology. Her training is from Louisiana Tech University and employment is with Dept. of Veterans Affairs and also private practice. She is a member of the National Academy of Neuropsychology and the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology.
In her statement, Dr. Gibson wrote that “there are numerous critical issues facing psychology, including revising the complaints process,” and “exploring the use of healthcare designations in place of specialty classifications.”
“Moving forward,” she wrote, “I believe that the board’s primary obligation is to the public consumers of our services and psychologists themselves. Examining these issues and finding balanced solutions that work to support and advance the profession should be at the forefront. My goals for the psychology board are to be an advocate for psychology as a progressive and critically important discipline that is well-suited to use our collective knowledge and training to help others and solidify our place in the current healthcare environment.”
Dr. Michelle Moore is an associate clinical professor at the LSU Health Science Center. She has served as Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, Department of Psychiatry, Section of Psychology, and Training Director of Clinical Psychology Internship Program.
From 2016 to present her research and scholarship has included: Working with ReNEW Charter School Network to provide needed clinical services to students either in special education or seeking evaluations for possible special education services; Primary Investigator and Mentor, AsianAmerican Mental Health among Medical Students; and Primary Investigator, Collaborating with Community Partners.
She is a member of the American Psychological Association; Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers; Louisiana Psychological Association; Southeastern Psychological Association; and Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers. “In my current role as Training Director for the internship program at LSU Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine,” Dr. Moore said in her statement, “I have the pleasure of directly training students and trainees who are the future of our profession. Being in this position, I would bring a unique perspective to the Board from the graduate program applications we review, the training of psychology interns and fellows and how we are preparing individuals for independent practice. […]”
Among other appointments announced in July 23 press release, the Governor also reappointed Bambi Polotzola of Opelousas, the executive director of the Governor’s Office of Disability Affairs, to the Statewide Independent Living Council. “Bambi has been a leader in disability issues for over a decade working with people with disabilities and their families as an educator and as a home and community-based service provider. She has served on state councils and boards of numerous disability-related non-profit organizations. Her work has primarily been centered in capacity building and systemic change that supports people with disabilities and their families to be fully included and valued members of their communities,” said the author of the announcement.