Co-Chair
Co-chairs serve a 3-year term and provide overall leadership for the SIG. They work closely with the Diversity Member-At-Large for Division 54, the Diversity Committee, SIG Secretary, and SIG Trainee Members-At-Large to communicate with, provide resources to, and develop initiatives with and for SIG membership related to the mission of the Diversity SIG.
Kristin Niel, PhD
(she/her/hers)
Dr. Niel is a pediatric psychologist dedicated to the Advanced Cardiac Therapies (ACT) Program at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She specializes in treating patients with advanced heart failure and at all stages of the heart transplant process. Dr. Niel has a specific interest in health equity and providing culturally humble care. She has long been committed to promoting justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion – in pediatric psychology, academic medicine, her community, and her personal networks. Dr. Niel participated in the SPP-funded Diversity Champions program in 2021-2022, led by Dr.s Lori Crosby and Emily McTate, which further cemented her commitment to creating a safe and supportive environment for all SPP members and pushing the profession towards needed change and reparation. She has been actively engaged in and held leadership roles in JEDI committees at her home institutions, as well as at the national level, and she recently co-facilitated an experiential workshop focused on confronting and subverting whiteness in academic medicine and psychological care at SPPAC 2024. She is committed to the lifelong, vital work of interrogating her own whiteness and privilege, and working towards the dismantling of oppressive systems.