The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) is proud to recognize Kimberly A. Crossman, Ph.D., as the 2018 recipient of the Jessie Bernard Outstanding Contribution to Feminist Scholarship Paper, which is given to a graduate student or new professional who has demonstrated excellence in research and potential contribution to feminist scholarship. Her paper is titled “Placing coercive control at the center: What are the processes of coercive control and what makes control coercive?”

Dr. Crossman is an assistant professor of human development and family studies at California State University, Monterey Bay. She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Florida State University and both her master’s and doctorate in human development and family studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has been an active NCFR member since 2009 and currently serves as the Students and New Professionals representative on the NCFR Board of Directors. Dr. Crossman's research focuses on intimate partner violence and its impact on the safety and wellbeing of women and their families. In particular she is interested in understanding the nature and consequences of coercive control for women currently in or separating from abusive relationships.

Dr. Crossman will be recognized for her achievement at the 2018 NCFR Annual Conference, Nov. 7-10 in San Diego, California.

This award is presented in memory of Jessie Bernard, former NCFR Board Member and pioneer in the field of feminist family studies. Jessie Bernard declared herself a feminist in 1970 and is known for her celebrated description of "his" and "her" marriages. She was a board member of the American Sociological Association, the Groves Conference on Marriage and Family, and NCFR.

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.