38th Annual Oklahoma Council on Family Relations Conference
April 5, 2019
“Meeting the Needs of Today’s Diverse Families”
Now accepting call for proposals Please click here for further information. Deadline is February 8, 2019.
Please click here to submit your proposal for the conference.
Student Paper & Poster Award
An award will be given for the top student research paper and poster at the conference luncheon.
This years registration fee is waived for 1st author; other presenters will need to pay the registration fee.
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Oklahoma Council on Family Relations 2018 Annual Conference will feature posters, round tables, workshops, and networking opportunities.
OKCFR invites a broad array of proposals from students, instructors, researchers, family life educators, practitioners, and advocates for a variety of interest areas and issues including: diversity, aging, applied programs, parenting, marriage, interpersonal relationships, family development, violence and neglect, childhood and adolescence, mental health and well being, professional education and development, theory, research methodology, risk and resilience, prevention and intervention strategies, and public policy.
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Keynote Speaker
Dr. Shannon Bert
Associate Professor
The University of Oklahoma, Department of Human Relations
As a Developmental scientist with a minor in Quantitative Statistics, Dr. Bert is particularly interested in designing and evaluating strategies that can sustain, enhance, and when necessary, create environments that are conducive to positive development. From the knowledge gained in the areas of protection, resilience, and positive developmental trajectories, as well as the mentoring relationships formed during Graduate, Post-doctoral trainings, and her career as a professor, she has made substantial contributions to the fields of Social Behavior, Family Systems, Developmental Psychology, Abuse, Prevention, and Intervention as evidenced in her research, publications, and presentations to date. While pursuing a graduate minor in Quantitative Statistics (Thesis: Analytic approaches to risk and resilience research), Dr. Shannon Bert developed a passion for statistical techniques utilized to analyze longitudinal datasets, particularly Hierarchical Linear Modeling and Structural Equation Modeling.
As a faculty member, Dr. Bert has continued her dedication to making substantial differences in the lives of disadvantaged individuals by seeking to understand how historical factors (e.g., history of abuse, trauma, and neglect) and developmental contexts (religiosity, spirituality, family structure, and social support) shape parenting behaviors among adolescent mothers, subsequently impacting their children’s behavior and adjustment. More recently she has begun to explore possible factors that may contribute to African-American’s: (1) successful transitions to emergent adulthood, (2) youth finding educational success, and (3) reducing rates of youth violence. To fulfill her personal interest in tracing the developmental contexts that may influence identity, Dr. Bert developed and implemented a pilot study examining
Biracial/Multiracial Identity Development incorporating an assortment of racial heritages and age cohorts.
Dr. Shannon Bert’s research has led to several professional accomplishments, including receiving and maintaining an NIH Trainee Grant and Promoting Healthy Families Grant during graduate training, and working on two major federally funded research grants during post-doctorate training titled “Evaluation of Promising Models and Delivery Approaches to Child Care Provider Training” and “Predicting and Preventing Child Neglect Among Teen Mothers.” In addition to over 20 journal and chapter publications, Dr. Bert served as co-editor and co-wrote two chapters in each of the books Risk and Resiliency: Adolescent Mothers and Their Children Grow Up, and The Culture of Prevention: The Science and Art of Promoting Health Child and Adolescent Development. Dr. Bert currently serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
