The Executive Committee of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) announces the appointment of Laura L. Namy, Ph.D., as the Executive Director of SRCD as of September 5, 2017. Dr. Namy completed her undergraduate education at Indiana University and earned her doctoral degree in Psychology at Northwestern University. She served for 19 years in the Psychology Department and Linguistics Program at Emory University where she founded and supervised the Language and Learning Laboratory and directed the interdisciplinary Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture. Dr. Namy is past editor of the Journal of Cognition and Development, and recently served as Director of the Developmental and Learning Sciences Program at the National Science Foundation. She has been a career-long member of SRCD and has served in various capacities, including as a member of the Publications Committee.
The Society for Research in Child Development is one of the world’s most prestigious and respected professional organizations in the field of child development. Founded by the National Academy of Sciences in 1933 as a multidisciplinary, not-for-profit, professional association, SRCD has a membership of approximately 5,500 researchers, practitioners, and human development professionals from 65 countries. The mission of SRCD is to advance developmental science and promote its use to improve human lives. This mission is achieved through a variety of programs, publications, and policy advocacy initiatives.
Dr. Namy’s goals for the Society are grounded in its core Strategic Plan. The five elements of the Strategic Plan include 1) Advancing developmental science, 2) Communicating, exchanging, and translating knowledge, 3) Integrating diversity, 4) Building capacity, and 5) Engaging members. In implementing these goals, Dr. Namy’s top priorities include enhancing communication about and dissemination of cutting-edge developmental science, stimulating innovation through interdisciplinarity, internationalization, and inclusivity, fostering training experiences for early career scholars in the field, and leveraging member engagement to synthesize informational resources. Dr. Namy takes the helm at the Society’s new headquarters in Washington, DC, and is developing plans to work closely with Congress and associations and organizations worldwide to promote developmental science.