BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND COMMITTEE ON ACCREDITATION

(Please click on + next to each name to read bios.)

Board of Trustees Executive Committee

Chair

Jennifer R. Harper, M Div, LP, NCPsyA, CHAIR

Jennifer Harper is the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the American Board for Accreditation in Psychoanalysis. She is also the Director of the Interfaith Doctor of Ministry Program at Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, where she teaches clinical education and pastoral care for clerical and non-clerical care providers. She is a faculty member and supervisor at the Westchester Institute for Training in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy and also the Blanton-Peale Institutes for Religion and Health. She has held a number of roles at the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis, including past President. She holds an M.Div. in Psychiatry and Religion from Union Theological Seminary, in addition to her Certificate in Psychoanalysis from the Westchester Institute for Training in Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy. She maintains a private practice in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy with individuals and couples in New York City and Tenafly, NJ.

Term ends Jun 30, 2026

Chair-Elect

Open position

Treasurer

Michael Connolly, LP, MPA, NCPsyA

Michael is a Licensed Psychoanalyst who has been working with children and families from underserved communities in New York City since 2006. He is president and executive director of the Harlem Family Institute and since 2010 has led the redevelopment of this multicultural psychoanalytic training institute as it seeks to expand its training of aspiring psychoanalysts, especially from underserved communities, to deepen its services to individuals and families in need and to expand its work in its community-based clinical settings where it also offers workshops for parents and for mothers and babies. Since 2014, Michael has also been treasurer of the American Board for Accreditation in Psychoanalysis. Michael holds a Certificate in Psychoanalysis from the Harlem Family Institute, New York, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard’s J.F. Kennedy School of Government and a yoga-teaching certificate from the World Yoga Center in New York. He has also worked extensively as an editor at major news organizations in the U.S., Australia, Asia and Europe.

Term ends Jun 30, 2026

Secretary

Open position

Chair of the Committee on Accreditation

Annette Vaccaro Ed.D., NCpsyA, SCPsyA

Annette Vaccaro, EdD, NCPsyA, SCPsyA (NJ), LPC, LCSW, LPAT, ATR-BC, ACS, ATCS has served ABAP since 2018 in several roles: Chairperson of the Assembly of Psychoanalytic Institutes (API), member of the Board of Trustees, and past Secretary to the Executive Committee. She has been a site team leader and site team participant on ABAP’s commission on accreditation. At NAAP, she has served on the conference committee and the analyst in training committee while a student. She maintains a general practice with a specialty in psychoanalysis and clinical supervision in Livingston, NJ. She is the Director of Academic Affairs and training faculty at the Academy of Clinical and Applied Psychoanalysis (ACAP) and at The Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis at their New Jersey Campus (BGSPNJ), In addition, Dr. Vaccaro is a Professor at Caldwell University and Program Coordinator as a founding faculty member of their Art therapy programs. She has a primary or support role in preparing for accreditation and licensing renewals in the programs where she teaches and serves as an administrator.

Term ends Jun 30, 2026

Chair of the Assembly of Psychoanalytic Institutes

Open Position

Board of Trustees:

Stephen Guttman

The Center For Modern Psychoanalytic Studies

Term ends Jun 30, 2026

Jeff Romer, NCPsyA, LMFT, LCAC

Colorado Center for Modern Psychoanalytic Studies

Term ends Jun 30, 2026

Committee on Accreditation

Annette Vaccaro, EdD, NCPsyA, SCPsyA (NJ), LPC, LCSW, LPAT, ATR-BC, ACS, ATCS

Annette Vaccaro, EdD, NCPsyA, SCPsyA (NJ), LPC, LCSW, LPAT, ATR-BC, ACS, ATCS has served ABAP since 2018 in several roles: Chairperson of the Assembly of Psychoanalytic Institutes (API), member of the Board of Trustees, and past Secretary to the Executive Committee. She has been a site team leader and site team participant on ABAP’s commission on accreditation. At NAAP, she has served on the conference committee and the analyst in training committee while a student. She maintains a general practice with a specialty in psychoanalysis and clinical supervision in Livingston, NJ. She is the Director of Academic Affairs and training faculty at the Academy of Clinical and Applied Psychoanalysis (ACAP) and at The Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis at their New Jersey Campus (BGSPNJ), In addition, Dr. Vaccaro is a Professor at Caldwell University and Program Coordinator as a founding faculty member of their Art therapy programs. She has a primary or support role in preparing for accreditation and licensing renewals in the programs where she teaches and serves as an administrator.

Term ends Jan 11, 2029