Governing Council
The Governing Council is comprised of a President, President-Elect, Past President, Secretary, Treasurer, and At-Large members. The President, Secretary, and a subset of At-Large Members are elected by the members. The remainder of At-Large members are appointed by the Governing Council to ensure maximal diversity of representation. All Governing Council Members serve 6-year terms.
President: Jennifer Lansford, Ph.D.
(2025-2027)
Duke University
Past President: Vonnie C. McLoyd, Ph.D.
(2025-2027)
University of Michigan
President-Elect: Deborah Rivas-Drake, Ph.D.
(2025-2027)
University of Michigan
Secretary: Christia Spears Brown, Ph.D.
(2025-2029)
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Treasurer: Lisa M. López, Ph.D.
(2023-2029)
University of South Florida
Lucia Alcalá, Ph.D.
Lorena Aceves, Ph.D.
(2025-2027)
Dr. Lorena Aceves was most recently a Research Scientist at Child Trends in their Education Program Area. Her research and teaching experiences have broadly focused on understanding how children and youth’s cultural, educational, familial, and individual-level factors contribute to their academic achievement and educational attainment. Dr. Aceves has experience working with communities, school districts, and leaders in diverse spaces. As a U.S. Policy Fellow (2020-2022) she worked at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Head Start and the U.S. Department of Educations’ Education Research Institute of Education Sciences, and she currently serves on SRCD’s Governing Council, SECC, and Latinx Caucus.
Stephen Asatsa, Ph.D.
(2023-2029)
Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Kenya
Esther J. Calzada, Ph.D.
(2023-2029)
University of Texas at Austin
Ximena Franco-Jenkins, Ph.D.
(2025-2031)
University of North Carolina
Natalia Palacios, Ph.D.
(2025-2031)
University of Virgina
Eleanor K. Seaton, Ph.D.
(2021-2027)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Emilie P. Smith, Ph.D.
(2021-2027)
Michigan State University
Laura K. Taylor, Ph.D.
(2023-2029)
University College Dublin, Ireland
Ex Officio: Suzanne Le Menestrel, Ph.D., CAE
(2024- )
Society for Research in Child Development
