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The 2019 NCFR Conference has come and gone, and attendees experienced another great conference filled with informative presentations, engaging roundtable discussions, thought-provoking keynotes and symposia, and a sampling of the many different cuisines offered in downtown Fort Worth. Thank you to the Program Chair Katia Paz Goldfarb, conference host University of North Texas, the NCFR Annual Conference Program Planning Committee, and NCFR staff for planning and executing an excellent program. I want to extend a special thanks to Jackie Kirby Wilkins from the Academic Administration and Leadership Focus Group for collaborating on an invited symposium titled “Family Science Contextualized: Clarifying, Promoting, and Securing the Unique Contributions of Family Scientists to Institutions of Higher Learning.” Presenters addressed the challenges embedded in identifying and advocating for Family Science’s place and position within higher education while offering an eye toward how we can continue to make the contributions of Family Scientists visible.

The close of the conference marked the ending of my first year as the Advancing Family Science (AFS) Section Chair. We had several notable accomplishments as section in 2019, including honoring Deborah Gentry, Ed.D., CFLE, our first AFS Legacy Award recipient; recognizing Trent W. Maurer, Ph.D., with the Outstanding Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Paper Award for his manuscript; and awarding the Wesley Burr Student Scholarship Award to undergraduate student Victoria R. Anders, B.A., and to graduate student Kristin Matera, J.D. Additionally, AFS was asked to facilitate the review process for the Felix Berardo Scholarship Award for Mentoring. As the review committee was reading and discussing the nominations for this award, it struck us that the scoring criteria favors the longevity of the mentorship relationship, which is difficult when someone is at the earlier end of their career and/or has moved institutions. The review committee strongly felt that one of the less-seasoned applicants deserved to be recognized for her outstanding mentorship record and commitment to supporting the professional development of students; thus, Morgan Cooley, Ph.D., LCSW, was presented with the Emerging Mentor Award at the AFS Section meeting.

Our primary goals for 2020 include formalizing an emerging mentor–teacher award and creating a new award that recognizes an outstanding administrator in Family Science—stay tuned for more information! Speaking of 2020, I hope that you are planning to attend the conference in St. Louis, Missouri, Nov. 11-14. I also hope that many of you submitted a proposal to the AFS Section! Topics we often look forward to seeing pertain to the strength and sustainability of Family Science programs, including marketing and recruiting for Family Science programs; innovative and effective teaching strategies for Family Science courses, including development, delivery, and evaluation of Family Science curricula; best practices for administrators of Family Science programs; ethical issues in the practice of Family Science; and the state of Family Science as a discipline. The section welcomes conference proposals that address these issues. In addition, each year the section welcomes conference proposals that address the conference theme. Considering the 2020 conference theme topic of “Family Expansions, Expanding Families: Contouring Family Science’s Negative Spaces,” we will be looking for proposals that address the “negative spaces” that lie within the contexts of the Family Science classroom, in institutions of higher education, and across the discipline.

In the meantime, I look forward to crossing paths with you in the AFS online discussion group!