Diversity Equity and Inclusion Emerging Leaders (DEI)

AACAP's Diversity Equity and Inclusion Emerging Leaders (DEI) Fellowship

Overview

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) has a significant commitment to promote mental health equity and combat structural racism. The goal of the AACAP Diversity Equity and Inclusion Emerging Leaders (DEI) Fellowship is to support AACAP in strengthening its diversity leadership and workforce development efforts across the organization and the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent (JAACAP). In 2023, this two-year fellowship will offer mentorship and leadership experience in the following AACAP areas:

AACAP Council
JAACAP
Program Committee

In subsequent years the Fellowship will include positions in other AACAP priority areas such as:

Clinical Practice
Government Affairs/Advocacy
Research

Responsibilities

Through the DEI Fellowship, Fellows will complete projects of their choosing and be assigned a mentor who is a member of the AACAP Council or JAACAP. Upon completion of the project, the Fellow must complete an article for AACAP News. Fellows must also attend AACAP meetings related to their area (ie Council Retreat, Annual Meeting, JAACAP Meetings). The DEI Fellowship will be Chaired by Drs. Lisa Cullins and Cheryl Al-Mateen, outgoing Co Chairs of AACAP’s Diversity and Culture Committee. Drs. Cullins and Al-Mateen will serve as secondary mentors and advisors to the Fellowship Program. Fellows must also actively participate in AACAP’s Diversity and Culture Committee by regular attendance on one of the quarterly AACAP Caucuses Zoom meetings in addition to monthly Diversity and Culture Committee Zoom meetings.

Examples of Projects Include:

AACAP Council DEI Fellows will have the opportunity to engage with a host of related AACAP Committees to assess and monitor AACAP’s Workplan to Promote Health Equity and Combat Racism in the Era of COVID-19.

JAACAP DEI Fellows will have the opportunity to build their peer review skills with the support of JAACAP’s senior editors, participate in a mentored scholarly project focused on race, racism, social justice, and health equity in children’s mental health, and learn about scientific publishing.

Program Committee DEI Fellows will have the opportunity to build peer review skills for Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs with support and mentorship from members of the Program Committee. The Program Committee is responsible for selecting all Annual Meeting programming each year. In addition, the Fellow would be a part of the Program Committee’s DEI Subcommittee to evaluate diversity initiatives and ensure that the Annual Meeting program is representative of AACAP’s population.

Fellowship Application & Deadlines

An applicant may apply for the JAACAP , Program Committee, or AACAP Council DEI Fellowship but will be selected for only one. The extended deadline for receipt of all applications is March 6, 2023.

Fellowship Deadlines for the other AACAP priority areas are to be determined and will recruit no earlier than Summer 2023.

Fellowship Eligibility

Must be a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellow (this includes General Psychiatry Residents in their 4th year or Triple Board Residents or Post Pediatric Portal Residents in their final year of training).
Must have demonstrated interest in diversity and equity.
Must be a member of an Underrepresented Minority (URM) group.
Must commit to attending AACAP’s Annual Meeting and other related meetings as related to Fellowship Area.
In addition, JAACAP and Program Committee DEI Fellows:
- must have a demonstrable interest in pursuing a research career.
- individuals in NIH-Funded T32 postdoctoral fellowships or equivalent are also eligible.

Stipend

Up to $2,000 will be provided to each Fellow to cover costs associated with travel to the appropriate AACAP/Fellowship related meeting including the AACAP Annual Meeting (October 23-28, 2023 in New York, NY), June Council Retreat (June 23-24, 2023 in Washington, DC), Council of Science Editors Annual Meeting (April 29-May 2, 2023 in Toronto, ON, Canada), and or AACAP’s Program Committee Meeting (April 21-23, 2023, in Washington, DC).

Fellowship Application

Please send application materials to Carmen J. Thornton, Director, Research, Grants and Workforce, at training@aacap.org. Please clearly specify if the application is for the AACAP DEI Council or JAACAP DEI Fellowship. Applications must include the following:

A personal statement (three pages or less) on how this Fellowship supports their training and career goals. Statement should include a proposed DEI Fellowship project.
The candidate’s curriculum vitae.
Proof of training enrollment
At least two letters of recommendation or support (including a letter from the Program Director supporting the application).