Early Career Contributions to Diversity Science Award

Early Career Contributions to Diversity Science Award

The SCCAP Early Career Contributions to Diversity Science Award is intended to recognize an early career psychologist who has established a program of empirical research that has had a major scientific and/or public impact on the field’s understanding on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

This year we are delighted to announce Jocelyn I. Meza, PhD, as the winner of this award. Dr. Meza is a bilingual Licensed Psychologist and Assistant Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences. At UCLA, she is the Director of the Health Equity and Access Research and Treatment (HEART) Lab and Associate Director of the Youth Stress and Mood (YSAM) Program. Dr. Meza completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Science at the University of California, Berkley and two postdoctoral fellowships at UCLA and the University of California, San Francisco, respectively.

Dr. Meza has made exceptional contributions with her work examining equitable suicide prevention strategies for diverse communities and sociocultural risk and protective factors associated with self-harm in youth. She has led the way in using her findings to inform clinical guidelines on suicide prevention for Black and Latine youth. In addition to her research accolades, Dr. Meza has made a significant impact in her community by training mental health providers in equitable evidence-based suicide prevention strategies, methods for managing depression, and skills to help children cope with experiences of discrimination. In fact, Dr. Meza has trained over 1,000 mental health providers in the Los Angeles area on equitable suicide prevention strategies, which will undoubtedly impact the lives of many children and families. In addition to training providers, Dr. Meza regularly provides clinical care to families, in English and Spanish, in community-based settings. Clearly, Dr. Meza is a rising star and embodies the spirit of this award.

As part of this award, Dr. Meza will receive a $3,000 honorarium to travel to the APA Convention in Seattle, Washington and provide a talk on her groundbreaking and inspiring work. Please join us in recognizing Dr. Meza as the 2024 Early Career Contributions to Diversity Science Award recipient!