Student & Early Career Council
The Student and Early Career Council (SECC) represents student and early career interests on SRCD committees and foster the development of student and early career scholars who are the future of interdisciplinary research on infant, child and adolescent development in diverse contexts and across life-long trajectories.
The Student and Early Career Council (SECC) was established in 1999 by the SRCD Governing Council to facilitate increased involvement in SRCD for students and young professionals who are within five years of receiving their graduate degree. This involvement includes representing student and early career interests on SRCD committees and working to identify and implement organizational changes that might benefit the student and early professional membership. SECC's overarching goal is to foster the development of student and early career scholars who are the future of interdisciplinary research on infant, child and adolescent development in diverse contexts and across life-long trajectories.
To facilitate this, SECC provides resources and opportunities to student and early career members of SRCD relevant to their professional development through:
- A Dissertation Funding Award for graduate students who are in the dissertation proposal stage
- Expanded programming related to student and early career interests at the SRCD biennial meetings
- Representatives who serve on SRCD committees and SECC co-chairs who serve on the Governing Council to highlight and advocate for student and early career needs and interests. By service on committees and the Governing Council, SECC also serves as an internal information-sharing venue to coordinate activities across the different committees.
> Get to Know Your SECC Representatives
> Read the SECC Spotlight - January 28, 2018
SECC Representatives
| Michelle Brown, Co-Chair | 2023-2027 | University of South Carolina |
| Lorena Aceves, Co-Chair | 2021-2025 | Child Trends |
| Josefina Bañales | 2021-2025 | University of Pittsburgh |
| Shanting Chen | 2021-2025 | University of Texas at Austin |
| Alexandra Golden | 2021-2025 | Cleveland State University |
| Sabrina Mendez-Escobar | 2021-2025 | Truman College, City Colleges of Chicago |
| Qian Miao | 2021-2025 | Harvard University |
| Amber Sansbury | 2021-2025 | George Mason University |
| Meltem Yucel | 2021-2025 | University of Virginia |
| Nazlı Akay | 2023-2027 | Middle East Technical University |
| Ashleigh Aviles | 2023-2027 | New York University |
| Vanessa Bermudez | 2023-2027 | University of California, Irvine |
| M. Bishop | 2023-2027 | University of Maryland, College Park |
| Claudia Kruzik | 2023-2027 | Boston College |
| Qingyang Liu | 2023-2027 | Syracuse University |
| Dalhia Lloyd | 2023-2027 | University of Nebraska-Lincoln |
| Melissa Lucas | 2023-2027 | Boston University |
| Ekjyot Saini | 2023-2027 | The Pennsylvania State University |
| Michelle Brown, Governing Council Representative, Ex-Officio | 2023-2025 | University of South Carolina |
| Gustavo Carlo, Governing Council Representative, Ex-Officio | 2019-2025 | University of California, Irvine |
| Zoë Spencer, Staff Liaison | 2024- | Society for Research in Child Development |
Information on SECC Elections
Read the 2023 call for Nominations
Elected Student and Early Career Council Representatives will simultaneously serve as a representative to a specific SRCD committee for a 2-year term and to the Student and Early Career Council (SECC) for a 4-year term. Any SRCD member can submit a nomination, but only SRCD’s Student and Early Career members will elect the representatives. For a full roster of current SECC Members, visit the Get to Know Your Current SECC Representatives page. Please contact the current committee representative for information regarding the goals and requirements of a specific committee. To learn more about SECC, contact SECC co-chairs.
Eligibility:
Nominees for Student and Early Career Representatives are open to students and early career individuals who are in their second year of doctoral studies and beyond, but no more than one (1) year post-doctoral degree (or equivalent). Membership is not required to be nominated although those elected and appointed must agree to join SRCD for the duration of their term. Preference will be given to nominees who have been an SRCD member for at least a year.
In keeping with the Society's commitment to diversity and inclusion in all its forms, we encourage nominees from groups that have been historically under-represented in SRCD governance including members of under-represented racial/ethnic groups, those from outside the United States, those from disciplines other than psychology, and those from outside research-intensive academic institutions.
Contact Early Career Representatives at secc@srcd.org