The Early Career Forum had a productive week at the NASP Convention. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the ECF session and to all the participants who attended the sessions. Interested individuals can access handouts and information on the presenters each of our sessions below.
 
Our first activity of the conference was the panel, Dollars and Sense: Advice for Early Career Scholars on Grantsmanship, featured four distinguished speakers: Edith Arrington, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Connections; Jacquelyn Buckley, Institute of Education Sciences; James Griffin, National Institutes of Health; and  Jessica Hoffman, Northeastern University. The panelists provided guidance on current federal and foundation funding opportunities, and strategies for navigating the funding process and developing compelling proposals.
 
Next, Rob Volpe, Amy Briesch, Julia Ogg, and Maria Rogers led a conversation hour, Developing and Sustaining Research Collaborations. Participants engaged in an informal discussion surrounding how to foster productive research partnerships with peers and students.
 
The session, Academic Motherhood: Perspectives from Early Mid and Senior Career Faculty, was a resounding success. Panelists Bryn Harris, University of Colorado Denver; Jessica Hoffman, Northeastern University; Shannon Suldo, PhD, University of South Florida; Beth Doll, University of Nebraska Lincoln discussed strategies for navigating the tenure clock, increasing research productivity, teaching strategies, negotiating parental leave, and forming supportive systems while parenting.
 
In the symposium, Straight Talk about Faculty Careers: Preparing for the Role,Bryn Harris, University of Colorado Denver; Amanda L. Sullivan, University of Minnesota; Janine Jones, University of Washington; Jamie Zibulsky, Fairleigh Dickinson University, discussed the variety of career opportunities available to prospective faculty in school psychology, the common roles and expectations of faculty in different types of institutions, and strategies in which graduate students and practitioners can engage to prepare themselves for this career track.
In the final offering of this conference, Making Mentoring Work for You: Advising and Collaborating with Students, ECF Committeemembers Amanda Sullivan and Rob Volpe, with Amy Briesch provided an overview of various faculty roles in mentoring and advising, tools for facilitating positive mentoring relationships with students, and strategies for initiating and maintaining productive rewarding individual and group mentoring relationships. Rob also discussed how to develop a research team, complete with a team website for recruiting and dissemination.
 

We think these sessions were successful, but we’d love to hear from participants. What worked? What didn’t? What topics would you like us to address in the future? Please let us know!