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About Charmain Jackman, PhD
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Harvard-trained licensed counseling and forensic psychologist with 25+ years in the field.
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Innovation: Founder + CEO, InnoPsych, Inc., an organization on a mission to disrupt racial inequities in mental health.
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School-Based Mental Expert: 17+ years in public schools supporting adolescents and their families and developing policies and programs to support optimal youth development.
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Dean of Health & Wellness: 10 years as a Senior leader for a public school.
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Entrepreneur: 16+ years as owner of a thriving private practice & consulting company.
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Consultant: Work with schools and organizations on topics including school mental health, child/adolescent development, racial trauma, mental health stigma, and employee emotional wellbeing.
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Healing Justice Advocate: teaches and practices tools that foster healing and thriving.
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Creator: My Time To Thrive mindfulness card deck; Thriving Therapreneur Masterclass.
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Media Contributor: featured on national media outlets such as the New York Times, NPR, PBS, and the Boston Globe.
Charmain F. Jackman, Ph.D., (she/her) is a licensed counseling and forensic psychologist, clinical supervisor, and equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) practitioner. She trained at Boston Children’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, and was a Staff Psychologist at both institutions. She also held an academic appointment at Harvard Medical School. She was Dean of Health & Wellness at a Boston high school from 2011-2021, and is now CEO of InnoPsych. Dr. Jackman’s expertise include school mental health, child/adolescent development, child welfare, racial trauma, and workplace wellbeing. Dr. Jackman lives by the creed, “If you don’t see it, create it,” which has led her to create a number of public facing initiatives. In 2020, she launched InnoPsych, an award-winning mental health platform that addresses mental health equity in communities of color. She also created The Thriving Therapreneur Masterclass, a digital course that fosters entrepreneurship among therapists. Dr. Jackman has served as a board member for Massachusetts Psychological Association (MPA), was a Council of Representatives (Massachusetts) from 2019-2021, and held leadership roles on the Public Interest and Women’s Caucuses. She is a member of Divisions 17, 35, and 45 and an alum of the Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology. She was appointed co-chair of MPA’s first Presidential Task Force on EDI, where she was instrumental in guiding the association’s EDI initiatives; and was a 4-year Diversity Delegate at APA’s Practice Leadership Conference. She was awarded the PLC Diversity Award (2020) and received APA’s Citizen Psychologist Award from MPA in 2021.
Candidate Statement
Twenty-four years ago, I attended my first APA Annual Convention. I was a 2nd year doctoral student then, and it was truly an inspiring and transformative experience. Now, twenty-four years later, as a mid-career psychologist, I remain as excited about psychology as I was starting out. Over the course of my career, I have had a chance to work with a range of client populations; supervise master’s and doctoral-level students; hold leadership roles in APA, the Massachusetts Psychological Association, and in my community; advocate at state and federal levels for mental health justice; and most recently, start a mental health technology company. Given my professional experiences, leadership roles, and passion for psychology, I would be honored to have your vote and to work with you and APA to prioritize mental health equity by creating a diverse workforce; ensuring that our graduate training adequately prepares students for a technology-driven society; and fostering self-care and community care amongst APA colleagues.
A major priority for APA will be to close the racial and ethnic gap in health service providers in order to create a more diverse workforce, especially in light of the mental health crisis that has emerged from the COVID-19 and racial injustice pandemics. As data from a 2015 survey from APA’s Center for Workforce Studies reveals, health service providers (HSP) of color represent only 13% of the psychology HSP workforce. When talking to young people of color about psychology, they often tell me that their families believe that a career in psychology is not worthwhile. We have to change this. As a result, I am deeply invested in working with APA to disrupt the negative stigma that communities of color hold about mental health and to create a new narrative that positions psychology as a career path that is enriching and financially sustainable. Working in the mental health technology space has made me acutely aware of how often psychologists are left out of mental health technology strategy and product development. Given that the mental health tech industry was valued at almost $400 billion in 2020 and is one of the fastest growing industries, we need to be at the table. Ensuring that our psychology graduate training is agile and responsive to a rapidly changing society is key. Finally, as we advocate for our clients and the general public, it is equally important that we attend to our own wellbeing. The mental health crisis is likely to persist for some time, therefore we have to be intentional in how we care for ourselves and for each other. I am energized to collaborate with you to create opportunities that foster self-care and community care. As a member-at-large, I will be committed to ensuring that we stay focused on APA’s Strategic Plan and Racial Equity Action Plan in order to achieve positive outcomes for the general public, students, colleagues, and staff. Thank you for your time and your vote, Charmain Jackman, PhD
Leadership Highlights
American Psychological Association: Active Member since 1998:
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Council of Representatives- Massachusetts Rep (2019-2021)
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Chair, Public Interest Caucus (2021)
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Co-Chair, Nomination Committee, Women’s Caucus- 2020 & 2021)
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Diversity Delegate Liaison for Practice Leadership Conference (2017-18)
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Diversity Delegate: Representative for Massachusetts (2015-2016)
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Early Career Delegate for State Leadership Conference (2006-2007)
Massachusetts Psychological Association: Active Member since 2003:
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Board of Directors (2010-2012; 2015-2017; 2019-2021)
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Co-Chair Presidential Task Force on Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (2019-2020; 2020-2021)
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Appointed Member- Strategic Planning Taskforce [2016]
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Appointed, Co-Chair of the Early Career Initiative [2006- 2008]
Massachusetts General Hospital:
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Department of Psychiatry Diversity Committee (2010-2011)
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Association of Multicultural Members of Partners (2002-2011)
Massachusetts Association of Guardians ad Litem:
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Board of Directors (2008- 2012)
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Nominations Committee Chair (2009)
Community Engagement
In The News
The Boston Globe:
Changing the face of health: These groups are making wellness more inclusive
The Monitor (APA):
Increasing the visibility of providers of color
New York Times:
Itʼs Hard to Search for a Therapist of Color. These Websites Want to Change That
Greater Boston TV Show:
What's In The Mental Health Bill Passed by the Massachusetts Senate?
National Public Radio:
Meeting The Need For POC Therapy
The Washington Post:
How to navigate the ‘chaotic’ world of mental health apps
Awards & Recognition
2021
American Psychological Association Citizen Psychologist Award (Massachusetts Psychological Association)
City of Boston Innovator of the Year Award
(Black History Month Celebration Committee)
2021
2020
Diversity Award
(American Psychological Association’s Practice Leadership Conference)
2020
50 Most Influential Business People of Color
(Charles River Chamber of Commerce)
Education
December 2001
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
Ph.D., in Counseling Psychology (APA-Accredited)
Dissertation: A Comparison of Male Juvenile Offenders and Non-Offenders of Color with Respect to their Perceptions of Self, Peers, and Police Officers
M.S., Counseling Psychology (APA-Accredited)
Thesis: Development of the Attitudes toward Multiracial Children Scale
August 1998
University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
May 1995
University of Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa
B.A., Psychology and Business Administration Magna Cum Laude
