MINNEAPOLIS ­— The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) membership has elected Tammy S. Harpel, Ph.D., CFLE, as the new President-elect of the NCFR Affiliate Council. Dr. Harpel is currently associate professor of human development & family science at Illinois State University.

A member of NCFR for over 20 years, Dr. Harpel has had roles on the Honor Student Recognition Committee, Program Planning Committee, and the CFLE Approved Program Review Committee. She has also been the Past Chair, Chair, Secretary/Treasurer, and Student/New Professional of the Family Science Section. Her involvement with the Affiliate Councils has been as Faculty Advisor, Louisiana Tech University Student Council on Family Relations and membership secretary of the Southeastern Council on Family Relations.

“As Affiliate Councils President-elect, I would emphasize my role as a liaison between the Affiliate Councils and NCFR, striving to maintain and enhance support from NCFR for the Affiliate Councils' activities occurring at the university, state, and regional levels. In addition, I would seek out connections and collaboration opportunities within the Affiliate Councils in order to supplement and maximize affiliate resources, and enhance the visibility and impact of the Affiliate Councils and their activities. Finally, I would promote policy, education, and advocacy activities throughout the Affiliate Councils to address issues from local to global levels.”

Dr. Harpel and the other newly elected board members will assume their roles at the 2017 Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida, planned for Nov. 15 – 18.

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 NCFR or its scholarly publications, contact NCFR at 1-888-781-9331 or visit its website at www.ncfr.org.