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Antonio E. Puente, PhD

Antonio E. Puente, PhD, was born in La Habana, Cuba and emigrated to the US in 1960. Puente received his PhD from the University of Georgia and his BA from the University of Florida. He has taught at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) since 1981 and holds the rank of Professor of Psychology. His primary teaching activities include Brain and Behavior, Clinical Neuropsychology, and History of Psychology. Prior to that he was Assistant Professor of Neuroanatomy t St. George’s University School of Medicine. He is a visiting professor at the Universidad de Granada (Spain) and UCLA.

In addition, Puente was the founding director of UNCW’s Centro Hispano, and his research focuses on the interface between culture and neuropsychology. Puente founded and edited the journals Neuropsychology Review and Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice as well as a neuropsychology book series. He has published 10 books, 75 chapters, and 113 scientific articles in several languages. Puente also maintains a private practice in clinical neuropsychology and is the founder and co-director of mental health services at the Cape Fear Clinic, a bilingual multi-disciplinary health center serving the indigent. He served as the American Psychological Association’s (APA) advisor for 15 years to the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) prior to serving for an additional 8 years as one of 17 members of the AMA CPT Panel.

Puente served as president of the N.C. Psychological Association, N.C. Psychological Foundation, the Hispanic Neuropsychological Association, National Academy of Neuropsychology, Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (Division 40 of APA), Society of Behavioral Neuroscience and Comparative Psychology (Division 6 of APA), and is current president of international psychology (Division 52 of APA). In 2017, Puente served as the 125th president of the American Psychological Association.

Clinician, Educator, Researcher and Policy Maker