SPECIAL TO THIS ISSUE

Meet the 2022 AAMFT Foundation and AAMFT Award Winners

 

The 2022 Awards Committee received many thoughtful and inspiring nominations that highlight the important work being done by AAMFT members to advance the profession of marriage and family therapy. We thank the Committee, chaired by Sarah Lyon, PhD and comprised of members Andrea K. Wittenborn, PhD, Erica E. Hartwell, PhD, and Shelley A. Hanson, MA for reviewing these nominees and selecting our winners.

AAMFT Foundation Awards

The following awards are made possible by donors to the AAMFT Research & Education Foundation. Awards help raise the visibility and awareness of diverse therapists making a difference in our profession. To support future awards, consider a charitable gift.


Excellence in Media
Kelly Roberts, PhD, LMFT
Dr. Roberts is a licensed marriage and family therapist and AAMFT supervisor serving as the Director of Graduate Programs in Human Sciences at Oklahoma Christian University. She eats policy for breakfast, does advocacy work for lunch, reads the National Register for dinner, and watches CSPAN for dessert.


Outstanding Research Publication Award
Kendal Holtrop, PhD, LMFT
Dr. Kendal Holtrop is an associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University. Her program of research is focused on parenting and parenting interventions, with the goal of addressing mental health disparities by expanding the reach of evidence-based parenting interventions among underserved populations.


Joshua Novak, PhD, LMFT-S
Dr. Novak is an Assistant Professor in the MFT program at Auburn University. His research interests focus on the bidirectional associations between family relationships and health (including health behaviors and health outcomes), as well as the impact of sleep, diet, and exercise on relational therapy outcomes.


Dissertation Award
Sara Tawil, PhD, LMHC
Dr. Sara Tawil is a therapist and the owner of Olive Branch Therapy, LLC. Tawil’s perspectives on advocacy and counseling are closely linked. Some areas of her speciality encompass traumatic psychological injuries (TPI) and their associated challenges; strained relationships; and grief.



Graduate Student Research Award
Tatjana Farley, PhD
Dr. Farley is a graduate of the Marriage and Family PhD program at Florida State University with a research focus on anger and aggression among youth and how anger and aggression connect youth to the Department of Juvenile Justice and foster care. Dr. Farley will be teaching and supervising in the Marriage and Family Therapy program at Appalachian State University starting Fall 2022.


Chélynn Randolph, MA
Chélynn Randolph is a 4th year doctoral candidate in the MFT program at Florida State University where she has been researching the barriers to mental health treatment for marginalized communities. She will be graduating in Summer 2022 and relocating to Denver, Colorado to begin her career as a clinical assistant professor and clinic coordinator for the MFT program at the University of Colorado-Denver.


Diversity Scholarship for Emerging Leaders
MaiLinh Hartz
MaiLinh Hartz is a second-year graduate student pursuing her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Antioch University Seattle. MaiLinh is passionate about supporting and advocating for her BIPOC peers and is looking forward to continuing this work in her community through internship and beyond.


Danielle A. Samuel, LMFT
Danielle A Samuel is a Cum Laude graduate and adjunct professor for the Master’s MFT program at California State University, Northridge. As a current doctoral MFT student at Antioch University, Danielle is passionate about pursuing research and leadership related to social justice and trauma-informed care.

AAMFT Awards

Emeritus
In Honor of Dr. Dorothy S. Becvar
Dr. Dorothy S. Becvar was a member of AAMFT since 1979. She published over 80 peer-reviewed journal articles and 29 book chapters. In her academic career, she was a professor at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis University (Department of Education), Texas Tech University, Washington University, Radford University, and the School of Social Work, Saint Louis University.


Anna Beth Benningfield, PhD
Anna Beth Benningfield served two different terms as AAMFT President, one of only three people ever elected to that office twice. During her tenure she was instrumental in ushering AAMFT in a more professional membership association. She was a catalyst for helping to implement policy governance, a policy/strategic board, and assisting in making clear roles for the Board and the staff. Anna Beth was also very active in advocating for licensed marriage and family therapists throughout the USA as well as assisting divisions with their advocacy efforts.

Russ Crane, PhD, LMFT
Since his undergraduate days, Dr. Russ Crane has sought ways to advance both the profession and the practice of Marriage and Family Therapy around the world. His contributions include: research (cost-effectiveness of MFT, divorce prediction and other topics, over 70 academic articles, authored or edited 12 books and many chapters, eight years as journal editor; mentoring (nine academic faculty and dozens of practitioners); and public service (university academic program leadership; AAMFT state and national committees, COAMFTE leadership and 36 MFT academic program site visits), but primarily as husband to Eileen, father to eight and grandfather to sixteen in his own family.