 | UTAH ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS |
UASP 2022-23 Awards
Lifetime Achievement
Penny Philips
Penny is a school psychologist in Davis School District. She has worked in Davis School District since 1996, for 3 years as a Head Start family service worker, and since 1999 as a School Psychologist. Penny is well known and valued by those she works with for her knowledge, patience, kindness, and soft-spoken but strong voice and advocacy for student needs. Her nominators noted: “Penny has been a longstanding and leading force in our district by modeling NASP standards in practice of school psychology in her schools and in our department meetings.” “Penny is simply awesome! While she is quiet, she shares her knowledge of school psychology with people throughout her job. It seems like she is always helping the new psychologists in the district, either through being a mentor or an intern's supervisor.” “Penny literally wrote the manual on being a strong and supportive mentor to School Psychologists in their early career; she has positively impacted the careers of so many School Psychologists and by default made a difference in the lives countless students.”
School Psychologist of the Year
Kendra McPherson
Kendra is a School Psychologist in Nebo School District. She has worked in Nebo in the elementary setting for the past 9 years. In addition to her role as a School Psychologist, Kendra serves as the in-service coordinator, TBI specialist, and frequently mentors new School Psychologists. Her nominators noted: “I hope to one day be a school psychologist who is half as good as Kendra." “Kendra represents well the practitioner role as a School Psychologist. She emulates kindness, support, advocacy, and spends time outside the school researching best practices, taking time to engage parents into the IEP process, and implements effective academic and behavioral strategies that help students progress.”
School Psychology Student of the Year
Miiko Masse
Miiko is a graduate student at BYU; she is currently in her internship year. Miiko has strength and wisdom beyond her years as a practitioner and her advocacy for the field of school psychology is simply outstanding. Her nominators noted: “Her enthusiasm, ability to get work done, and get others involved is infectious.” “We have not yet seen an arena in which her talent, wit, depth, charisma, compassion, and outreach has not been a shining example of an excellent School Psychologist in training.” “Miiko exemplifies speaking up. She has a level head and balanced viewpoints in nuanced and not-so-nuanced controversies surrounding diversity, inclusion, belonging and equity. She is passionate about paving a path for future School Psychologists of color in our university. She considers the community as her priority and works hard to build it up. We cannot imagine a better example of UASP ideals and our discipline than Miiko.”
Outstanding Service to Children and Families
Kathleen Riebe
Senator Riebe has made longstanding positive impacts in the lives of Utahns in her work as an educator, member of the Utah State School Board, and Utah Senator. Kathleen was first elected to the Utah Senate in 2018. UASP has appreciated her strong voice and support for school based mental health and educational equity. Kathleen serves on the Senate Educator Committee. She is not afraid of conflict in her role when advocating for students. She has been supportive of School Psychologists' efforts and has added School Psychologists to her legislative priorities for two years in a row. In addition to her work as a Utah Senator, Kathleen is currently an Educational Technology Specialist in Granite School District (previously taught 4th-6th grades).
Distinguished Service to UASP
Rovi Hidalgo
Rovi displays continued active engagement on the UASP board. Her efforts and talents are seen in her work on the Conference Committee and Publications Committee. Rovi also serves as the UASP Corresponding Secretary. On top of all of her work with these various UASP roles, Rovi consistently offers to engage in other UASP projects. UASP so appreciates her dedication, advocacy, perseverance, and creativity. Rovi is currently a School Psychologist in Davis School District.
Barbara Bennett Excellence in Diversity Award
Lindsey Wert
Lindsey is a School Psychologist at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind (USDB) Jean Massieu School for the Deaf. She has worked at USDB for the past 13 years. Her dedication, wisdom, and advocacy for the unique needs of deaf students is applauded and appreciated by all she works with. Lindsey is known to go above and beyond in her efforts to ensure students access in school and community settings to foster equity and encourage students to advocate for their needs so they can become independent citizens. A quote from her nominators that stood out and seems to embody the value of Lindsay as a School Psychologist at USDB is: “Lindsey’s wealth of knowledge is unparalleled. As a new administrator, I cannot imagine my first few years without Ms. Wert by my side.”
Please consider nominating a fellow UASP member today!
Review the nomination criteria for each award on their respective applications below.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT The purpose of the Lifetime Achievement Award is to identify and recognize an outstanding school psychologist who has had state level impact on the field of school psychology and who has dedicated his or her professional life to the development and betterment of school psychology. SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST OF THE YEAR The purpose of the School Psychologist of the Year Award is to identify and recognize an outstanding school psychologist and to promote public awareness of the profession. | BARBARA BENNETT EXCELLENCE IN DIVERSITY The purpose of the Barbara Bennett Excellence in Diversity Award is to identify and recognize an outstanding school psychologist who has provided leadership and advocacy for the treatment of diverse populations with respect within the field of school psychology. SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY STUDENT OF THE YEAR The purpose of the School Psychology Student of the Year Award is to identify and recognize an outstanding school psychology student and to promote public awareness of the profession. |
Two additional awards are presented annually by the UASP Executive Board:
DISTINGUISHED SERVICEOUTSTANDING SERVICE TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES