How does your background qualify you for this office?
My background combines sustained NAN service, organizational leadership, scientific administration, and commitment to the neuropsychology community. I have served on NAN’s Board of Directors as a Member at Large since 2024. Previously, I served as Program Chair for the 2022 Annual Conference, and as a member of NAN’s Legislative Action and Advocacy Committee. These experiences have provided direct knowledge of NAN’s governance, committee structure, educational mission, strategic priorities, and responsibility to its members. As Program Chair, I coordinated a complex national program involving speakers, committees, staff, deadlines, and competing priorities. As a Board member, I have participated in organizational decision-making and learned the importance of continuity, discretion, preparation, and clear documentation. I also lead a multidisciplinary research unit at the National Institute on Aging and collaborate across institutions, disciplines, and large consortia. These responsibilities require careful organization, consensus building, accurate communication, and dependable follow-through.
What do you see as the major challenges to neuropsychology in the next 5 years? How do you believe NAN, under your leadership, can be effective in meeting these challenges?
Neuropsychology faces several interconnected challenges. Advances in artificial intelligence, digital assessment, biomarkers, and remote care will require standards that protect validity, ethics, test security, privacy, and clinical judgment. Reimbursement pressures and changing healthcare models may limit access to comprehensive services and threaten practice sustainability. The field must also demonstrate its value within increasingly data-driven health systems. NAN can meet these challenges by leading rather than reacting. It should provide practical guidance on emerging technologies, expand education in biomarkers and neuroscience, advocate for appropriate reimbursement and scope of practice, and support research demonstrating the clinical and economic value of neuropsychological services. Under my leadership as Secretary, I would help translate these priorities into sustained action by promoting clear Board processes, documenting decisions and commitments, preserving institutional continuity, and supporting effective communication across NAN.
How would you promote professional practice?
I would promote professional practice through advocacy, professional development, and public visibility. Neuropsychologists need a strong national organization that can respond to changes in reimbursement, regulation, technology, and healthcare delivery while protecting the quality of our services. I would support NAN’s advocacy for fair reimbursement, appropriate recognition of neuropsychological expertise, and expanded access to care. NAN should clearly communicate how neuropsychological services improve diagnostic clarity, treatment planning, patient safety, functional outcomes, and healthcare efficiency.
How do you plan to bridge science and practice?
Bridging science and practice requires a two-way exchange. Research must address questions that matter to patients and clinicians, while clinical experience must help shape the research agenda. My own work integrates neuropsychological measures with neuroimaging, blood biomarkers, genetics, proteomics, and longitudinal clinical data to understand cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disease. I would encourage NAN to make emerging science accessible and clinically relevant. This could include practice-oriented research summaries, continuing education that pairs researchers with clinicians, and guidance on how biomarkers, digital tools, and artificial intelligence should be incorporated into care. NAN should also support studies examining whether innovations improve diagnostic accuracy, access, equity, patient outcomes, and efficiency in real-world settings. The exchange must also move from practice to science. Clinicians identify unmet needs, implementation barriers, and populations that remain underrepresented in research. NAN can create opportunities for practitioners to identify research priorities, contribute practice-based data, partner with investigators, and participate in multicenter studies.
Dr. Walker is a member of the following organizations:
- National Academy of Neuropsychology, Member
- Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment, Member
- American Heart Association, Member