Member at Large – APA Convention
Jonathan P. Scaccia
Term Dates
2025-2028
Professional Bio
Jonathan P. Scaccia, Ph.D. is a data scientist at Aptive and Advisor of the Dawn Chorus Group. He has extensive experience supporting organizations in selecting, adapting, implementing, and evaluating community-based improvement interventions, with a focus on social equity, implementation science, and data-informed decision-making. Dr. Scaccia was one of the original developers of the R=MC² readiness model, which is widely used to assess and strengthen organizational readiness for change. Beyond his role at Aptive, Dr. Scaccia is the founder of PubTrawlr, a science dissemination platform that uses AI-powered tools to synthesize and summarize complex research into accessible, actionable insights. Through PubTrawlr and its affiliated verticals—including This Week in Public Health, This Week in Science, and This Week in Pet Health—he aims to democratize access to high-quality scientific information for professionals, educators, and the general public. PubTrawlr’s innovative use of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) systems and chatbots helps communities, nonprofits, and health systems quickly locate and apply relevant research findings. His current work explores how artificial intelligence can accelerate research translation, enhance stakeholder engagement, and improve decision-making in both clinical and community settings. At the Dawn Chorus Group, Dr. Scaccia leads evaluation and capacity-building efforts with local, state, and national partners to promote systems change and health equity. Dr. Scaccia is committed to bridging the gap between evidence and practice by making scientific knowledge more timely, relevant, and user-friendly. He received his Ph.D. in clinical-community psychology from the University of South Carolina and completed a federal research fellowship with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health.
CP and Me
I found my way to community psychology after starting in astrophysics and then working as a substance abuse counselor in Philadelphia. There, I saw firsthand that real change meant more than reducing symptoms. It required valuing people’s goals, voices, and contexts, and addressing the systems that shape their lives. Visionary leaders like Arthur Evans showed me how a holistic, recovery-oriented approach could transform both individuals and communities. Graduate school deepened my commitment to community psychology’s blend of social justice, prevention science, and systems thinking. Over time, I’ve come to believe that artificial intelligence can be a powerful ally in this work, helping us synthesize knowledge faster, identify patterns in complex systems, and make evidence more accessible to the people who need it. For me, community psychology is about working alongside communities, honoring lived experience, and using every tool (including AI!) to create the conditions where everyone can thrive.