Women in Neuropsychology
Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Advocacy (IDEA) Award

We were truly overwhelmed by the large number of spectacular candidates who demonstrated a passionate and exemplary service in Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, or Advocacy across settings, but one applicant stood out above the rest. We are excited to announce the winner of our first ever WIN Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Advocacy (IDEA) Award: Janet J. Yáñez! Congratulations! Thank you Janet for your passion and commitment to diversity, Equity & Advocacy. See below to read Janet’s bio and learn more about her interests and achievements.

Of note, it was honestly a very difficult process to evaluate and rank such an extraordinary and large candidate pool. We were so impressed with a number of applications, and would also like to feature three additional amazing women: Alexandra Clark, Erin Kaseda, and Karen Dorsman. See below for their bios to learn more about these spectacular women.

We sincerely appreciate the time and effort that many WIN members spent to apply to our IDEA Award. There were many other amazing WIN women who we did not feature today. We hope all IDEA award applicants continue to stay involved and engaged in both WIN and SCN. In addition, we will be recruiting for a new WIN student representative (as well as three committee member positions) in the coming months, so please stay tuned for the announcement with more information!

Sincerely,

Rachael Ellison, PhD
WIN Chair

WIN IDEA Winner & Honorable Mentions
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Janet J. Yáñez

WIN IDEA Winner
Janet J. Yáñez M.A., LMFT is a doctoral candidate at Alliant International University, Los Angeles. Janet is an intern at Jackson Memorial Hospital in affiliation with the University of Miami (UM) Miller School of Medicine. She previously served as a student representative for the California Psychological Association (CPA) Division of Neuropsychology and Health Psychology. Ms. Yanez is currently a member of the Social Justice and Advocacy Committee (SJAC) through the Hispanic Neuropsychological Society (HNS). As a recipient of the APA Minority Fellowship Program (MFP), she focuses on promoting health equity, mental health advocacy and policymaking while developing research to examine the effects of dementia caregiving in Latinx caregivers’ cognitive/emotional functioning. Her advocacy efforts include lobbying with state legislators to increase accessibility to mental health services. She has also met with local elected officials to address environmental inequities in the Latinx community of Southeast Los Angeles and has collaborated with Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) at the U.S.-Mexico border to provide asylum evaluations to families from the Central American Migrant Caravan.
Alexandra Clark-2 2

Alexandra Clark

WIN IDEA Honorable Mention

Academia has traditionally been a space of privilege and while it can be difficult to challenge the “norm” alone, several exceptional junior women colleagues of Alexandra’s have seen her value, celebrated her voice, and stood with her. This energy has fueled her mission to provide others with the same—diverse trainees belong, bring incredible value to our academic communities, and should have mentors that will always proudly stand with them. Thus, Alexandra has worked to elevate the voices of junior trainees, create opportunities, and provide diverse trainees with critical support and a safe space to share their unique experiences. In brief, this work has included composing and leading a “Call to Action” centered on fostering cultural humility and competency training within UCSD; establishing a forum for BIPOC trainees to establish a sense of community and advocate for their professional needs collectively; mentoring and elevating the voice of diverse students across the nation; and composing grants that address health disparities in traditionally underserved populations.

Erin Kaseda

Erin Kaseda

WIN IDEA Honorable Mention

Erin's diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts include developing and running a mentor match program for PhD program applicants from underrepresented backgrounds, participating in federal advocacy efforts to make science and healthcare more accessible and equitable, volunteering as a clinician and administrative panel member for her university's free community clinics for uninsured patients, serving on multiple university committees advancing diversity initiatives, and creating trainee-focused programming through the APA Science Student Council and Asian Neuropsychological Association.

Karen Dorsman

Karen Dorsman

WIN IDEA Honorable Mention

Karen Dorsman is a doctoral student in clinical psychology at UTSW in Dallas. She was born and raised in Nicaragua where her interest in neuropsychology and community health were born. Her area of research is focused on social determinants of brain health and mechanisms of health disparities across the lifespan. Additionally, she serves in a student-led research group dedicated to developing a curriculum assessment tool to support faculty members in the improvement and infusion of multicultural training, anti-racist and social justice values in doctoral level academic courses in clinical psychology programs. She is a strong advocate, a mentor to students of minoritized backgrounds, and an active volunteer health educator in her community. She works to bring people together and is continually learning how to use her voice to advocate for equity in science and our country.

About the Award

The Women In Neuropsychology (WIN) committee of the Society for Clinical Neuropsychology (SCN; Division 40) is excited to offer an annual  WIN Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Advocacy (IDEA) Award, to recognize women and gender non-binary trainees in neuropsychology who demonstrate exemplary work in advocacy or service in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

Women and gender non-binary trainees (particularly Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, BIPOC), are often doing much of the work to improve DEI in their programs, departments, organizations, and communities. However, despite this work being absolutely critical, DEI efforts are rarely compensated or meaningfully recognized.

Therefore, this award is meant to be a small token of recognition and support for a trainee who has made a significant impact on DEI.

Deadline: TBD

Award amount: $500

Evaluation criteria: Applicants must: (1) be a current member on the WIN listserv; and (2) be a current neuropsychology trainee in a psychology doctoral program, on clinical internship, or working as a postdoctoral fellow/resident. Women and gender non-binary trainees who identify as BIPOC are especially encouraged to apply.

One woman or gender non-binary neuropsychology-focused trainee who demonstrates exemplary service in Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, or Advocacy (IDEA; e.g., for their department, university, professional field, and/or community) will be selected.

Proposal criteria:

Application submission link will be available once the call for application is releasedApplications will not be accepted prior to the call. Applications must include:

1. A brief statement (200-250 words) describing your work in advocacy or service in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Be sure to highlight:

  • both professional and/or community-based service-work (if applicable)
  • unofficial or unpaid labor associated to DEI-related activities

2. A pdf of your current resume or curriculum vitae (CV). Please name the file with your last name and first name. For example, “Smith_Jane_CV.pdf”. Please ensure that your CV captures the following information:

  • Full Name
  • Name of current graduate institution
  • Year you entered your graduate program
  • Preferred phone (in case we need to contact you)

If you have any questions, please contact us.

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