Current Award Recipients
2026 Award and Scholarship Recipients
GV Goddard Early Career Award for Achievement and Excellence in Applied Psychology: Dr Emma Woodford
This is awarded in recognition of Dr Woodford's significant research contributions for children identified as neurodiverse, who have a rare genetic developmental condition and are under-represented in the research in Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally.
Dr Woodford was one of a group of postgraduate students who worked in a research and clinical service team within the University of Canterbury Pukemanu Centre, a University-based training clinic for Child & Family Psychology students. The focus of this group was to develop, evaluate, and disseminate behavioural and cognitive-behavioural sleep interventions for neurodiverse, predominantly autistic, children. Two of her publications, where she is a co-author, arose from this work with sleep problems in autistic children. When she began her PhD she had the option of continuing with research on sleep problems in autistic children, but she chose, instead, to work with another group of neurodiverse children, namely those with rare, genetic, neurodevelopmental conditions. In addition to severe, chronic sleep problems, theses children and their parents face additional challenges, which include intellectual disability and medical fragility. Thus, although by definition RGNC are rare (<1 per 2000), they constitute a population characterised by very high need and relatively little in the way of psychological expert services. Because these syndromes are rare, Dr Woodford had to recruit participants and provide therapy nationally across Aotearoa New Zealand and used phone and telehealth methods to do so.
In addition to this, Dr Woodford, as she began to implement her work with RGNC families via careful functional assessment and treatment planning, elected to plan her interventions within the ethical frame of the least restrictive principle, which demands skilful and creative therapy design and execution. She met the challenges of her PhD research with great success, a testament to her clinical skills as well as to her ethical commitment and research competence, and her findings have been published. Her research has clearly shown that psychologists working within the framework of cognitive-behavioural therapy have something very useful to offer families coping with RGNC. In all, from her PhD research, Dr Woodford is the first author of five journal articles.
During the course of her PhD studies, Dr Woodford also completed the Postgraduate Diploma in Child & Family Psychology, and became a registered psychologist. Since the end of 2024 she has worked, initially part-time and then full-time, for the Ministry of Education in a Behaviour Support team.
Jamieson Award: Professor Katharina Näswall
This award recognises significant contributions of NZPsS members to industrial and organisational psychology in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is offered once every four years.
Professor Näswall is an internationally recognised scholar whose outstanding research has advanced our understanding of psychological contracts, workplace resilience, and wellbeing. Her academic work is widely cited, and she is highly respected in the field. Reinforcing her standing as a respected voice in the global research community, Professor Näswall serves on the Advisory Board of Work & Stress, one of the leading international journals in organisational psychology. In this role, she sits alongside eminent scholars such as Paul Spector, Arnold Bakker, Kevin Kelloway, and Eva Demerouti, supporting her standing as a respected voice in the global research community.
Through her body of work, Professor Näswall has disseminated research and best practice, always with a focus on the end users needs and requirements. In addition to her research practice, Professor Näswall has formed long-standing trust-based relationships with key organisations. Through these, she has been able to propose evidence-based solutions that have improved wellbeing, engagement, and performance. Key collaborations include a large tertiary education provider (organisational values implementation), a financial institution (13-year collaboration on employee engagement), and public sector organisations on effective response and recovery during crises and post-disaster. This applied focus makes her an outstanding candidate for the Jamieson award.
Finally, Professor Näswall has played an important role in the education of organisational psychologists. Her sustained leadership has created the conditions for future generations of organisational psychologists to thrive. Namely, she led the design and implementation of a suite of education programmes that have reshaped the professional training of organisational psychologists in Aotearoa and expanded access to organisational psychology globally. These contributions have not only increased the pipeline of organisational psychology graduates in Aotearoa New Zealand, but also addressed long-standing structural barriers to training, registration, and workforce development. Her work demonstrates a rare combination of scholarly excellence, strategic foresight, and social responsibility. In sum, Professor Näswall exemplifies a calibre of leadership, scholarship, and applied practice that has helped to set the standard for organisational psychology in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Postgraduate Psychology Student Social Justice Scholarship 2026: Charlene D'Silva
This scholarship is awarded in recognition and support of Charlene's research bringing together psychological and geographical knowledge and expertise to explore the experiences of migrant communities in times of disaster, and how they navigate a western-centric system.
Her doctoral research in critical community psychology, examines the intersections of migration, disaster risk, and social justice within Aotearoa’s settler-colonial context, focusing on South Asian migrants. Titled South Asian Migrants: Visibilising and (Re)Storying Everyday Experiences of (Re)Settlement and Disasters in Aotearoa, the project investigates how South Asian migrants experience settlement, belonging, disaster risk, and resilience in everyday and disaster contexts.
This research addresses a significant social justice issue in Aotearoa: the unequal distribution of safety, recognition, and support across communities in times of disruption. The project is based on the premise that migrant experiences of disaster cannot be separated from wider questions of settlement, inclusion and social power. This framing draws attention to the everyday and ambient injustices that shape vulnerability long before a hazard occurs. For South Asian migrants in Aotearoa New Zealand, these conditions may include racialised exclusion, economic insecurity, precarious housing and work, and limited institutional support, which together create layered forms of precarity that constrain the capacity to prepare for, cope with, and recover from disasters.
Te Karahipi a te Tumuaki President's Scholarship: Xavia Connolly
This scholarship is awarded for her research exploring the mechanisms through which cultural/kaupapa Māori supervision influences the development of culturally responsive psychological practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Situated within broader frameworks of professional development and reflexive practice, the study draws on kaupapa Māori principles to critically examine how psychologists, as agents of the Crown, are currently being supported to uphold their Te Tiriti obligations to Māori. Through survey-based, qualitative research with trainee, intern, and practising psychologists Xavia's research investigates how cultural/kaupapa Māori supervision bridges the gap between bicultural knowledge and practice. z
A key focus of her research concerns psychologists’ lived experiences of cultural/kaupapa Māori supervision, including aspects perceived as meaningful, challenging, and/or unfamiliar. It also examines how these aspects are navigated and how they translate into clinical practice. By exploring psychologists’ lived experiences, Xavia's research aims to offer practice-based recommendations to enhance the implementation and delivery of cultural/kaupapa Māori supervision, thereby contributing to wider efforts to strengthen psychologists’ cultural competence. Through these aims, her research supports Māori aspirations for equitable, culturally grounded mental health services. Māori continue to experience significant inequities in access to, engagement with, and outcomes from mental health services. Her research responds to this by examining how supervisory practices can better equip psychologists to enact ethical, safe, and responsive practice in their everyday work with Māori clients.
Past Award and Scholarship Recipients
See the full list of all past recipients of NZPsS Awards and Scholarships: Past award recipients
