Invited Presenter Symposium is a session in which the presenter(s) were invited; all attendees are welcome to attend.

Panel: Lorena Aceves, Ph.D., AAAS/SRCD Federal Policy Postdoctoral Fellow, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Head Start; Autumn Bermea, Ph.D., Ohio State University; Jillian Caldwell, M.S., Oklahoma State University; Jennifer L. Doty, Ph.D., University of Florida; Shawn Mendez, Ph.D., University of North Carolina-Asheville; Rebecca Oldham, Ph.D., Middle Tennessee State University; Andrew Rose, Ph.D., Texas Tech University; Chang Su-Russell, Ph.D., Illinois State University

Discussant: Leslie A. Anderson, Ph.D., LMFT, University of Southern Mississippi

Chair:  Jennifer L. Doty, Ph.D., University of Florida

This Session is Sponsored by MAXQDA - The Art of Data Analysis; Organized by NCFR Students and New Professionals

Summary
Black, Brown, and underrepresented ethnic students in academia often struggle in an institution that was built to prevent their success. Experiences shared in the #Blackinacademia Twitter conversation have showcased experiences of racism from peers and professors in spaces that claim to be ‘liberal’ and ‘welcoming to all.’ Black, Brown, and ethnic new professionals face continued opposition as they work toward and seek positions in and out of academia, tenure, full professorship, and administration. A lack of Brown and Black professionals in counseling professions such as Couples and Family Therapy and non-profit leadership systemically contributes to discrimination against the Black and Brown families  . Educational disparities literature documents the need to expand the bridging capital of underserved students (e.g., increase networking, award, and scholarship opportunities for these students). While NCFR has created spaces and resources for students and new professional at every level and within every section and focus group, the Students and New Professionals Leadership Council sees the need to attend to the ways in which anti-racism continues to function within the organization to prevent Black and Brown students from joining the membership, attending the conference and presenting research, publishing in the affiliated journals, and holding leadership positions. Until systemic racism is addressed in the education and professional systems that NCFR supports, discrimination against Black, Brown, and underrepresented ethnic students and new professionals (SNPs) is likely to continue. In this presentation, the results of a needs assessment will be presented. The needs assessment was conducted to identify systemic racism in academia and at NCFR and to empower and privilege the voices, needs, and experiences of Black, Brown, and underrepresented ethnic SNPs at NCFR. We will engage SNPs to brainstorm solutions to issues identified in the needs assessment.

Objectives

Audience members will gain knowledge in:

• The results of the needs assessment about systemic racism that exists within NCFR and academia for BIPOC SNPs
• Strategies to empower Black, Brown, and underrepresented SNPS
• Best practices in supporting Black, Brown, and underrepresented SNPS through the job search, mentoring, advising, etc.