Funding Opportunities
Division 37 Diane J. Willis Early Career Award
The Division 37 Diane J. Willis Early Career Award is named after Dr. Willis to honor her life-long advocacy on behalf of children and families. This award supports talented young psychologists making contributions towards informing, advocating for, and improving the mental health and well-being of children and families, particularly through policy.
The Division 37 Diane J. Willis Early Career Award is named after Dr. Willis to honor her life-long advocacy on behalf of children and families. Dr. Willis’ work cuts across many areas including clinical child, pediatric, developmental and family psychology. Through her publications, clinical work, mentoring and teaching, she has changed policy at the local, national and international level. She has advocated for children’s rights at the United Nations, developed programs on prevention and early intervention for Native American children living on reservations and established services promoting the well-being of children with developmental disabilities, chronic illness and those who have suffered from maltreatment.
This award supports talented young psychologists making contributions towards informing, advocating for, and improving the mental health and well-being of children and families, particularly through policy.
More information about Division 37 (Society for Child and Family Policy and Practice)
Eligibility
APF encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds with respect to age, race, color, religion, creed, nationality, ability, sexual orientation, gender, and geography.
Nominees must be psychologists with an EdD, PsyD, or PhD from accredited universities no more than 10 years postdoctoral.
Self-nominations are permitted.
Application Instructions
Nomination Materials:
- nomination letter outlining the nominee’s career contributions
- two letters of support (please note that the two letters of support are separate from the nomination letter)
- current CV
Evaluation Criteria
Nominees will be evaluated on:
- magnitude of professional accomplishment in advancing public understanding of mental health and improvement of the well-being of children and families through policy and service
Please be advised that APF does not provide feedback to applicants on their proposals.
Please review our program FAQs for important details on the application process.
Recent Recipient
Dr. BreAnne A. Danzi
University of South Dakota
Past Recipients
2024
BreAnne A. Danzi, PhD, University of South Dakota
2022
Cynthia Najdowski, PhD, University at Albany
2021
Sonja P. Brubacher, PhD, Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University, Australia
2020
Amber Hewitt, PhD, National Office of Policy and Prevention, Nemours Children’s Health System, Washington, D.C.
2019
Kathryn Howell, PhD, University of Memphis
2018
Betty S. Lai, PhD, Georgia State University
2017
Rinad Beidas, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
2016
Daniel Bagner, PhD, Florida International University
2015
Jonathan Comer, PhD, Florida International University
2014
Paula Fite, PhD , University of Kansas
2013
Lindsay Malloy, PhD