Dr Ruth Perkins joined the VPA more than 25 years ago and served as Secretary before becoming President of the VPA in 2001. Ruth stepped down from that position in 2010 after almost 10 years in the role. As well as her contribution to the VPA Committee, Ruth was an extremely active job representative at the Royal Children’s Hospital, where she is sorely missed by her colleagues. It was a great pleasure to be able to present Life Membership of the VPA to Ruth in person. Her activism, commitment to the public mental health system and her strong belief in social justice and the benefits of unionism have been an inspiration.

Dr Patricia Miach was a founding member of the Victorian Psychologists Association, which was formed in 1980 to give voice to psychologists working in the Victorian health system. One of the first tasks of the new Committee was to get an Award to cover psychologists in Victoria. Patricia has served in various roles on the VPA Committee, most recently as Treasurer.

Trish has always advocated for the rights of psychologists, and for psychology as a discipline. Trish has been a strong voice for the profession in many forums, industrial and professional, and especially at Southern Health, where up until 2011 she was the senior psychologist (P4) in adult mental health.

We are fortunate that Trish is staying on as a co-opted member of the VPA Committee, now that she has gone into private practice.