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 (DEI) Emerging Leaders 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 2025, 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 and be assigned a mentor who is a member of the AACAP Council, JAACAP, or the Program Committee. 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, Program Committee Meeting, JAACAP Meetings).
The DEI Fellowship will be chaired by Drs. Lisa Cullins and Cheryl Al-Mateen. Drs. Cullins and Al-Mateen will serve as secondary mentors and advisors to the Fellowship Program.
Fellows must actively participate in AACAP’s Diversity and Culture Committee by regular attendance on one of the quarterly AACAP Caucus Zoom meetings in addition to monthly Diversity and Culture Committee Zoom meetings. Finally, Fellows will be engaged in projects of the Diversity Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Committee such as: reviewing and analyzing demographic details of the AACAP membership, JAACAP reviews and submitters, and Annual Meeting submitters to provide longitudinal data on how these demographics change over time and how representative our members/contributors are of the overall population.
Examples of Projects Include:
AACAP Council DEI Fellows: Creation of DEI-related organizational statements. 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: The opportunity to build their peer review skills with the support of JAACAP’s senior editors, serve as a member of the JAACAP antiracism subcommittee, 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: 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, ensure that the Annual Meeting program is representative of AACAP’s population, and guide presenters in incorporating DEI concepts and themes into their presentations.
Fellowship Application & Deadlines
An applicant may apply for the JAACAP, Program Committee, and/or AACAP Council DEI Fellowship but will be selected for only one. The deadline is November 22, 2024.
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 Annual Meeting, in addition to travel to the required meetings below. The AACAP Annual Meeting (October 20-25, 2025 in Chicago, IL and October 26-31, 2026 in Atlanta), June Council Retreat (June 27-28, 2025 in Washington, DC), Council of Science Editors Annual Meeting (May 3-6, 2025 in Minneapolis, MN), and/or AACAP’s Program Committee Meeting (April 25-27, 2025, in Washington, DC).
Fellowship Application
Please send application materials to Daphney Chancy-Green, Grants and Research Program Manager, at research@aacap.org. Please clearly specify if the application is for the AACAP DEI Council Fellowship, JAACAP DEI Fellowship, or Program Committee DEI Fellowship.
Applications must include the following:
- A personal statement (three pages or less) on how this Fellowship supports their training and career goals.
- 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).
Selection Committee
Applications are due November 22, 2024. The Selection will review applications no later than. Notifications will be made shortly thereafter.
For more information contact the AACAP Department of Research, Grants and Workforce at 202-587-9663, or research@aacap.org.