The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) is proud to recognize Matthew Ogan, M.S., as the 2022 recipient of the Feldman Outstanding Research Proposal for Research in Family Policy Award, which recognizes a graduate student or new professional who has demonstrated excellence in research and potential contribution to family policy studies, particularly in the areas of gender/women's issues or poverty.

Mr. Ogan is a doctoral student in human development and Family Science at the University of Missouri-Columbia. He completed his Bachelor of Science in family and human services at John Brown University and Master of Science in human development and Family Science at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Before working towards his master’s degree, Mr. Ogan was employed as a behavior intervention specialist in which he provided comprehensive, compassionate, quality care to children and adolescents through support services, behavioral assistance, crisis stabilization, and life skills education.

Recognizing the importance of behavioral and mental health, Mr. Ogan’s research focuses on stress in romantic relationships. He employs quantitative methods to examine the influence of stressful contexts on romantic relationship functioning and stability, with an emphasis on alleviating the negative effects of stress at multiple levels. Mr. Ogan examines the causes and consequences of romantic relationship instability, with a particular focus on the social contexts in which couples are embedded. More specifically, his research seeks to understand the impacts of low-income hardships on romantic relationships, and interventions or social policies which might buffer these effects. His work underscores associations between stress, adaptive responses, socioeconomic status, and relationship instability.

Mr. Ogan’s work has appeared in the Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science, Family Process, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, as well as Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. His work has been supported with grants and training from the Marriage Strengthening Research and Dissemination Center, Columbia Population Research Center, Research & Creative Activities Forum, Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, and Stats Camp Foundation. Mr. Ogan serves as the communications specialist for the Research and Theory Section of NCFR.

This award is presented in memory of Harold Feldman and Margaret Feldman, NCFR members and pioneers in the field of family policy.

Mr. Ogan was recognized for his achievement at the 2022 NCFR Annual Conference.

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.