The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) is proud to recognize Janeal M. White, Ph.D., CFLE, as the 2021 recipient of the Cindy Winter Scholarship, which is given to a student or new professional who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and service in the discipline of Family Science. This award recognizes Cindy Winter, NCFR's conference director from 1964 to 2007.

Dr. White recently earned her doctorate from the Louisiana State University School of Social Work. At McNeese State University, she serves as the internship coordinator and assistant professor in the Family Science program. As an educator, Janeal equips students to become professionals who strengthen families through education, service, and advocacy.  

Dr. White is a Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) and and has conducted award winning research on homelessness, resilience, and dignity for more than 15 years. As the coordinator for her local homeless coalition, she brings community members together to strengthen the network of service providers and services for her neighbors experiencing homelessness throughout her 3-county region. Dr. White also advocates on the state level through involvement with the Texas Homeless Network's Advocacy Academy.

Dr. White has an extensive history of leadership and service within NCFR at the university, state, regional, and national levels including chairing two academic conferences, serving as regional president of the Southeastern Council on Family Relations, NCFR Mentoring Academy Steering Committee, Digital Scholarship Board of the Journal of Family Theory and Review, incoming Student and New Professional (SNP) Representative for the Family Policy Section, and former SNP Rep for the Affiliate Councils Board.  

Dr. White was recognized for her achievement during the Awards Ceremony at the 2021 NCFR Annual Conference. Watch the video above to learn more about Dr. White and this award. 

The National Council on Family Relations is the premier professional association for the multidisciplinary understanding of families. NCFR has a membership of nearly 3,000 family researchers, practitioners and educators. For more information on the National Council on Family Relations or its scholarly publications, visit the NCFR website at ncfr.org.