The Distinguished Early Career Contributions Award – Practice recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to the practice of I-O psychology within ten years of receiving a terminal graduate degree.
The recipient of each award is given a plaque and a cash prize of $1,500.
Administrative Procedures
- At least five members of the SIOP Awards Subcommittee will review and evaluate each nomination package and recommend an award winner(s) to the SIOP Executive Board. Two or more nominees may be recommended if their contributions are similarly distinguished.
- The Executive Board may either endorse or reject the recommendations of the Awards Subcommittee but may not substitute a nominee of its own.
- In the absence of a nominee who is deemed deserving of the award by both the Awards Subcommittee and the Executive Board the award may be withheld.
Composition of the Subcommittee
- Subcommittee members must be SIOP Fellows who primarily self-identify as practitioners (current or retired), or previous winners of this award, or have more than 10 years of work experience as a practitioner.
- Diversity of all types is encouraged, including non-U.S. based members.
Criteria for Eligibility
Nominees will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Breadth or depth of impact of the nominee’s contributions to people at work, organizations, and/or the practice of I-O psychology. Breadth of impact could be demonstrated by evidence such as adoption of the practice, procedure, or method by individuals, organization(s), or other I-O psychologists. Depth of impact could be demonstrated by evidence of a unique contribution to an organization or of having produced major change within an organization.
- Extent to which nominee’s approaches are grounded in sound psychological research (i.e., are evidence based).
- The status of the nominee as a practitioner vis-à-vis other prominent early career practitioners in the field of I-O psychology.
- Extent to which contribution goes beyond nominee’s own employing organization and/or client base.
- Contributions to the larger practice of I-O psychology may include the sharing of knowledge through conference presentations, articles, and service involvement.
Call for Nominations
Nomination Guidelines
- A nomination letter by a SIOP member is required. Self-nominations are welcome.
- All nominees must be SIOP Members.
- The nomination package should also include: a current curriculum vitae, three to five letters of support, and any additional materials that illustrate the contributions of the nominee. All nomination materials (including proprietary information) are considered confidential , and reviewers must delete materials after the review process is complete. Although letters of support from non-I-O psychologists representing individuals or organizations affected by the nominee are appropriate and encouraged, no more than three of the supporting letters should be of this type.
- Eligible nominees must have obtained their terminal degree no earlier than 2014. Documentation of meeting this criterion should be included in the nomination package in the form of a transcript from the degree-granting institution showing the date the degree was granted, a scan or photo of a diploma, or a letter from the dissertation committee chair or department chair verifying the date the degree was granted.
- The nomination package should specify the most notable contributions the nominee has made to people at work, organizations, and/or the practice of I-O psychology. For each contribution, the nomination package should identify the nominee’s role (e.g., led, contributed to), how the contribution leveraged evidence-based practice, the extent to which the contribution was an application of existing practice versus an innovation, evidence of impact of the contribution, including size and scope of the populations impacted (e.g., I-O practitioners, HR practitioners, managers, staff), and the context of the contribution (e.g., within the nominee’s core responsibilities, extra role).
- The letter of nomination, CV, and all supporting letters and materials must be submitted online by the nominator.
- When submitting the nomination materials, nominators will also be asked if the nominee is being investigated, or has been found responsible, for misconduct prohibited in SIOP’s Anti-Harassment Policy and to provide a brief explanation if this is the case.
Current Award Recipients

Kevin Stanek, PhD
Award Type
Distinguished & Career Awards
Previous Award Recipients
Carter Gibson
Modern Hire-A HireVue Company
2024
Peter Reiley
Leadership Arts & Sciences | Foundation for VETS | Penn State University
2024
Michael Natali
U. S. Navy
2023
Philip Walmsley
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
2022
Related Articles
Please Share Your Opinion With SIOP by Feb. 14
February 12, 2025
Register Now for the Early Career Faculty Consortium
February 12, 2025
Conference Career Center Offers Valuable Resources
February 12, 2025