The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) is proud to recognize Jessica N. Fish, Ph.D., as the 2019 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 1964-2007.

Dr. Fish is an assistant professor of Family Science at the University of Maryland, School of Public Health. Her research focuses on the mental health and well-being of sexual and gender minorities (i.e., lesbian/gay, bisexual, and transgender people) and their families. Dr. Fish earned her master’s degree in couple and family therapy from Purdue University Calumet, and her doctorate in family and child sciences from Florida State University.

With postdoctoral training fellowships from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Fish developed an interdisciplinary research program focused on the sociocultural and interpersonal factors that shape the development and health of LGBTQ people. She has published over 40 original articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals, which collectively integrate theories from Family Science, minority stress, and developmental sciences to establish the developmental nature of alcohol use and its progression among minority groups in the early life course.

At NCFR, Dr. Fish served as a co-chair of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Straight Alliance (GLBTSA) Focus Group; was a Students and New Professionals co-representative on the 2017 NCFR Annual Conference Program Committee; and co-founded the NCFR Mentoring Academy in 2019.

Dr. Fish will be recognized for her achievement at the 2019 NCFR Annual Conference, Nov. 20-23 in Fort Worth, Texas.

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.