The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) proudly recognizes Matthew Rivas-Koehl, M.S., and Dane Rivas-Koehl, M.S., as recipients of the 2024 Jessie Bernard Paper Award. This award commends the work of Family Scientists engaging in rigorous feminist family scholarship that queries and problematizes the numerous biases and systems of privilege and oppression within Family Science and society.

Matthew Rivas-Koehl is a doctoral candidate in the human development and family studies program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He received his master's degree in human development and Family Sciences from Texas Tech University.

Matthew prides himself on research, teaching, and community engagement work informed by
a critical feminist, family science lens. He has over 20 peer-reviewed publications spanning topics
such as romantic relationships, violence prevention, sexuality, as well as LGBTQ+ health and well-being across the lifespan.

Matthew's service includes presenting at NCFR annual conferences, has published in the Journal of Family Theory & Review (JFTR), and was awarded NCFR Honors Student Recognition. Matthew will also be a 2025-2027 Students and New Professional's (SNP) representative to the Inclusion and Diversity (IDC) Committee.

Dane Rivas-Koehl is a doctoral student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the human development and family studies program. His master's degree, completed at Texas Tech University, was in human development and Family Sciences.

Dane's manuscripts have been published in journals such as the Journal of Agromedicine. Dane was part of the International Partnership for Queer Youth Resilience (INQYR)'s International Student Training Network (ISTN) third cohort, an SSHRC-funded interdisciplinary and multilingual international research partnership focused on understanding and supporting the resilience of LGBTQIA2S+ youth through technology-engaged research. 

Dane's service includes presenting at NCFR annual conferences, publishing in the Journal of Family Theory and Review, is a Students and New Professionals (SNP) representative to the Feminism and Family Science Section, and was awarded NCFR's Honors Student Recognition.

NCFR is proud to present this award to Matthew Rivas-Koehl and Dane Rivas-Koehl in acknowledging their work in challenging biases and furthering Family Science. Their paper is titled, "The Temporal Intersectional Minority Stress Model: Reimagining Minority Stress Theory."

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.

Matthew Rivas-Koehl and Dane Rivas-Koehl will be recognized for their achievements during a plenary at the 2024 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.