Division 37 is pleased to announce the 2022 winners of three of our awards.
Division 37 2022 awardees
Announcement of awardees.
Gershoff, E. T. (2022, July 1). Division 37 2022 awardees. The Advocate. https://www.apadivisions.org/division-37/publications/newsletters/advocate/2022/07/2022-awardees
The 2022 winner of the Nicholas Hobbs Award is Deborah Phillips. Dr. Phillips is professor of psychology, Affiliated Faculty of the McCourt School of Public Policy, co-director of the Child Development and Social Policy Lab, and co-founder of the Center on Children in the U.S. at Georgetown University. Throughout her career, she has conducted rigorous research aimed at informing public policies affecting children and families, particularly with regard to childcare and preschools. She has testified before and briefed Congress, federal agencies, state governors, state legislators, and city councils. She also has served on numerous major boards and commissions, including as first Executive Director of the Board on Children Youth and families at the National Research Council and as President of the Foundation for Child Development. Congratulations, Dr. Phillips, and thank you for your contributions to the field and society!
The 2022 winner of the Distinguished Contribution to Child Advocacy Award is Stacie LeBlanc. She began her career as an assistant district attorney in New Orleans, where she founded the Felony Child Abuse Program. She then became the founding director of New Orleans’ Children’s Advocacy Center, which she led for 19 years. In 2017, she created the Child Advocacy Studies Training Program as an adjunct professor at Tulane University that trains future professionals in how to effectively respond to child maltreatment. Ms. LeBlanc co-founded the UP Institute, which is a think tank for developing upstream child abuse solutions. As part of that effort, she is a passionate advocate for No Hit Zones and for parenting education designed to reduce child abuse. She currently serves as president of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. Congratulations, Ms. LeBlanc, and thank you for all you have done to protect and advocate for children!
The 2022 winner of the Diane J. Willis Early Career Award is Cynthia Najdowski. Dr. Najdowski received her PhD in social and personality psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago and is currently associate professor in the department of psychology at the University of Albany, State University of New York. Dr. Najdowski’s research uses psychological science to identify, understand, and ideally prevent deleterious and discriminatory experiences of children and youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. She works to identify, understand, and prevent the negative and inequitable experiences of marginalized children within the legal system, including children from racial minorities and children with intellectual disabilities. Her research on policies related to juvenile sex offenders and on jurors’ perceptions of juvenile offenders has clear implications for how to make juvenile justice policies and practices less harmful and more equitable for the children subject to them. She has co-authored two books and published over 30 peer-reviewed articles. Congratulations, Dr. Najdowski, on a stellar career thus far and thank you for your research on behalf of children!
Dr. Phillips and Ms. LeBlanc will be present at APA Convention in August to receive their awards. Each will give an awards address highlighting their recent work.