NCFR 2018

The 2018 NCFR Annual Conference is just months away! We will be meeting in beautiful sunny San Diego, California, for the conference. Hurry and register to get the early bird registration rate. Here are some exciting things to look forward to at this year’s conference:

• Stellar sessions on families and health! The Families and Health Section had another record-breaking year, with 162 individual proposals (not counting individual symposium papers) submitted to the section for the conference, which means we received lots of presentation slots! There will be great posters, papers, presentations, workshops, and symposia related to families and health issues. Thanks to all the reviewers who helped score these proposals. What a team effort!

• We will be giving out four awards at the Families and Health Section meeting at the 2018 NCFR conference. In addition to our long-standing (a) best student/new professional and (b) professional paper awards, we will be giving out a best poster award for (c) undergraduate/master’s, and (d) doctoral and new professional. We did this for the first time last year and decided to make the poster awards a standing award. Look for more information coming via the Families and Health Section discussion group regarding how to apply for these awards.

• Our section will have our second annual ever three-section meeting with the Family Policy and Ethnic Minorities Sections. We will meet together just as the Families and Health Section for the first hour of our section meeting and then join with the other two sections for our roundtables, which include opportunities to work on symposium proposals for the next NCFR conference, propose policy briefs, discuss important topics in the field, and swap teaching or clinical ideas and resources.

• And—of course there will be door prizes, great networking, free memberships for newcomers who want to try our section out, and food!

Families and Health Section Spotlight

Erin Yelland, Ph.D., Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist at Kansas State University

The Families and Health Section awarded Erin Yelland with the Student/New Professional Best Paper of the Year Award in 2017 for her work examining public perspectives toward sexual expression among long-term-care residents with dementia. Erin Yelland is an assistant professor and extension specialist in adult development and aging in the School of Family Studies and Human Services at Kansas State University. She received a bachelor’s degree in youth, adult, and family services from Purdue University and a doctorate in Family Science from the University of Kentucky. Erin’s extension initiatives focus on improving health and wellness across the life span to promote optimal aging. She is passionate about translating innovative research into meaningful community education and change-oriented initiatives to enrich the lives of Kansans. She serves as co-chair of the North Central Region Aging Network and is an invited member of USDA NIFA’s Adult Development and Aging Workgroup. At Kansas State, Erin was recently named a University Civic Engagement Fellow. In addition to her extension work, Erin is passionate about sexual rights for older adults, particularly those who reside in long-term care.

Section Member Spotlight

For our member spotlights in each newsletter, we highlight the previous year’s conference winners for best student/new professional and professional paper awards and undergraduate/master’s and doctoral/new professional the best poster award.