Overview of Our Programming

Learning how to do great science requires a toolbox of skills. Skills for effectively communicating science. To secure funding for scientific work. To identify where and when job opportunities arise. To get the offers to start your first job and build the record to keep that job. No one takes a class to acquire this toolbox, who has the time? Yet, we still need these tools, so where do we find them? We launched the Future Directions Forum to help you build your scientific toolbox. At the Forum, we offer professional development workshops, as well as small group and one-on-one expert consultations on all aspects of academic work. In keeping with our focus on the future of science, we also dedicate time to learning about innovative areas of mental health research, based on featured content from a leading mental health journal, the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (JCCAP). Our 2024 addresses will be delivered by recent authors of articles in JCCAP’s Future Directions series with expertise in:

• Mentoring (Tim Cavell, University of Arkansas)
• Culturally Responsive mHealth (Henry Willis, University of Maryland)

An academic’s toolbox of skills is not limited to those tools that facilitate producing impactful work. These tools must also help you address a perennial challenge with working in academic settings. In particular, to lead a healthy, balanced academic life, we at the Forum are mindful of the need to disengage from your work on a regular basis, in an effort to reduce the effects of job-related stressors as well as the risk of burnout. However, how often do we have a platform for learning strategies to lead a balanced academic life? How do we stay productive in our work and at the same time, stay human and find time to unwind? In an effort to help you build these skills, our programming literally strikes a balance between academic skills and skills for balancing work and life. Our 2024 Professional Development Team includes scholars with a wealth of knowledge across all of these areas of professional development and work-life balance:

• Donte Bernard, University of Missouri
• Sophia Choukas-Bradley, University of Pittsburgh
• Andres De Los Reyes, University of Maryland
• Mary Fristad, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
• Kristina Gordon, University of Tennessee
• Kathryn Humphreys, Vanderbilt University
• Sarah Racz, University of Denver
• Zoe Smith, Loyola University Chicago
• Elizabeth Talbott, William and Mary
• Amanda Venta, University of Houston

-Andres De Los Reyes
Editor of JCCAP & Program Chair for the Future Directions Forum

Stay Tuned for Our Call for Abstracts

More From Fall 2023

More From Fall 2023

More From Fall 2023

More From Fall 2023