Two Directors of the WAIMH Board, Jody Todd Manly and Hisako Watanabe, will end their four-year term of office in June 2020. They have worked with great dedication and warmth on behalf of WAIMH during their term.
President President Kai von Klitzing steps down from his position as the President of WAIMH and becomes the Past President, while President-Elect Campbell Paul starts his term as the new President of WAIMH.
According to the Bylaws of WAIMH, two Directors will now be elected by the members of WAIMH and one will be appointed by the new President at the beginning of his term.
WAIMH Central Office and the Board nominating committee have received seven candidates. The nominees are:
Sherri Alderman
Catherine Maguire
Giampaolo Nicolais
Nichole Paradis
Clara Schejtman
Jody Todd Manly
Hisako Watanabe
The seven candidates for WAIMH board of Directors 2020-24 are presented below. The materials (including Letters of interest) are available online at WAIMH website.
The election
All WAIMH members (2020, 2019) are allowed to take part in an election taking place 25th January-21st February, 2020. The voting time ends 15.00 (3 pm) February 21st, 2020 (EET). The voting time ends 15.00 (3 pm) February 21st, 2020 (EET).
The full process has been presented previously for members via e-mail, and you can read more on the WAIMH website.
Each member has one vote. The two Candidates, with the most votes, shall be elected.
All members will receive a link to an electronic vote (Webropol 3.0) to the e-mail address associated with their WAIMH membership. If you do not receive the link, please check your spam folder.
All members, who made their payment prior to the voting time ending, have the right to vote. If a member renewed after the voting period started, the link will be sent to member within a week. Renew your WAIMH membership or join WAIMH online.
Candidates in alphabetical order
Sherri Alderman
Dr. Alderman, MD, MPH, IMH-E®, FAAP is an IMH Specialist, Developmental Behavioral Pediatrician, University Adjunct Faculty, Executive Committee member, American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Early Childhood, has a Masters in Public Health, and is endorsed Infant Mental Health Mentor–Clinical and Policy. Her special interests include infant rights, social justice, climate change, and international health. Others have said of Dr. Alderman that there is “no stronger leader, no more hopeful heart, no deeper wisdom, and no more humble, yet inspiring person” than she. Dr. Alderman brings to WAIMH BOD dedication, energy, and passion as a genuine and inspiring champion for all families worldwide.
Catherine Maguire
Catherine Maguire is a Clinical Psychologist and Endorsed Infant Mental Health Mentor IMH-E®. Based in Cork, she leads an interdisciplinary IMH team who deliver universal community based services for a pre-birth to three-year population experiencing adversity. Catherine is a passionate IMH leader, communicator, lecturer and researcher. Since 2004, she has led the development of IMH in Ireland and is co-founder of the Irish Association for Infant Mental Health. She wishes to bring her considerable skillset to WAIMH and its membership and assist WAIMH’s global mission to support the optimal development of infancy, infant-caregiving relationships and prevention programmes that minimise impairment.
Giampaolo Nicolais
Nicolais, Giampaolo, PhD, 51, born and currently living in Rome, Italy. Married, father of three daughters.
Clinical child psychologist, is Associate Professor of Child Psychology and Director of the School of Specialization in Clinical Psychology at Sapienza University of Rome.
He’s been practicing for more than two decades as psychologist and psychotherapist in the areas of developmental psychopathology and childhood trauma. Main research interests are in the field of developmental psychopathology, attachment, childhood trauma and its intergenerational transmission, early moral development. He authored and co-authored several publications on these topics.
Ordinary member of WAIMH and President of the italian WAIMH affiliate AISMI – Italian Association for Infant Mental Health.
Nichole Paradis
Nichole Paradis, LMSW, IMH-E® is the Executive Director of the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health where she works to professionalize the infant-family field. She is endorsed as an Infant Mental Health Mentor – Clinical. Her chapter on providing relationship-based intervention appears in Case Studies in Infant Mental Health: Risk, Resiliency and Relationships. She is the co-author, along with Betty Tableman, of the 2008 publication Courts, Child Welfare, and Infant Mental Health. Nichole co-authored an article in the November 2017 issue of the ZERO TO THREE Journal related to Early Childhood Mental Health Endorsement.
Clara Schejtman
Faculty of Psychology, University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina.
– PhD, Permanent Professor: Developmental Psychology and postgraduate training professor in child and adolescent clinic.
– Director Community Programme: “Infancy at social risk”,
– Director Research Programs on Mother-infant interactions, since 2002
International Psychoanalytic Association (IPA):
Training analyst.
Faculty Member, Research Training Program (RTP), since 2016 Buenos Aires; Frankfurt; Los Angeles; Buenos Aires.
Professor EULAPS “Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in psychosomatic diseases”. Psychosomatic Departament and Neuropsychoanalysis, Interdisciplinary Institute of Psychosomatic Medicine, Moscow, Russia, since 2017.
Board member SAPI, Sociedad Argentina Primera Infancia, affiliate WAIMH
Psychoanalytic private practice and supervisor in Buenos Aires with children, adolescents adults and families.
Jody Todd Manly
Jody Todd Manly, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and Clinical Director at Mt. Hope Family Center in Rochester, New York. She was honored to be appointed as Executive-at-Large for WAIMH and is inspired by the dedicated people around the world who work on behalf of young children and their families. Through the National Child Traumatic Stress Network, she works with U.S. trauma experts on providing and evaluating evidence-based trauma treatments. She has thirty-five years of experience providing services to children and their families, training students and professionals, and disseminating research on attachment, depression, violence and child maltreatment.
Hisako Watanabe
Hisako Watanabe is a child psychiatrist in Japan, with manifold trainings including that at the Tavistock Clinic, and has integrated Western trans-disciplinary, neurobiological and psychodynamic approaches with Japanese concept of Amae. Since the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 2011, Watanabe has led supports to families in Fukushima, devastated by the nuclear disaster. Watanabe continues to bring perspectives of Asian communities and other parts of the world to diversify the voices represented. One of her most recent work includes her outreach visit to Bangladesh, where she observed families being supported to use play and music to preserve their traditional culture.
