Overview

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) has a significant commitment to promoting mental health equity and inclusivity among its members. The goal of AACAP’s Emerging Leaders Fellowship is to support AACAP in strengthening its leadership pipeline and overall workforce development efforts across the organization and the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent (JAACAP). In 2026, this two-year fellowship will offer mentorship and leadership experience in the following AACAP areas:

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 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 fellowship, the Fellow must complete an article for AACAP News about their experience as a fellow. Fellows must also attend AACAP meetings related to their area (ie, Council Retreat, Annual Meeting, Program Committee Meeting, JAACAP Meetings).

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 Fellows: Creating organizational statements and activities related to belonging and inclusivity. The opportunity to support activities of the Presidential Theme and engage witha host of related AACAP Committees to assess and monitor AACAP’s Workplan to Promote Health Equity

JAACAP Fellows: Building 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 Fellows:  Building 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 inclusion initiatives, ensure that the Annual Meeting program is representative of AACAP’s population, and guide presenters in incorporating important concepts and themes into their presentations.

Fellowship Application & Deadlines 

An applicant may apply for the JAACAP, Program Committee, and/or AACAP Council Fellowship but will be selected for only one. The deadline is November 21, 2025.

• 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 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 26-31, 2026 in Atlanta and October 25-30, 2027 in New York), June Council Retreat (June 2026, Location TBD), Council of Science Editors Annual Meeting (May 2 - 5, 2026 in Durham, NC) and/or AACAP’s Program Committee Meeting (April 2026, in Washington, DC).

Fellowship Application

Please use this link to or the button below to submit your application: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZBLL6DQ

Applications must include the following:

1. A personal statement (three pages or less) on how this Fellowship supports their training and career goals.
2. The candidate’s curriculum vitae.
3. Proof of training enrollment. 
4. At least two letters of recommendation or support (including a letter from the Program Director supporting the application). Please send letters directly to Daphney Chancy-Green, AACAP Grants and Research Program Manager, at research@aacap.org.

Selection Committee

Applications are due November 21, 2025. The Selection will review applications no later than December 19, 2025. 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.