Our 2024-2025 Election Results:
President Elect: Margarita Martinez
Secretary: Joseph "Joe" Charette
Graduate Student Trustee: Brandon Marrero
Trustee, Research & Scholarship: Jordan Westcott
Trustee, State Branch - Marlon Johnson
GC Representative - Mike Chaney
Our incoming board members term starts July 1st, 2024. Thank you to all the nominees and members who voted!
Our Executive Board
Meet the 2024-2025 SAIGE Executive Board! We are from all areas of the country; however, we are connected and united in purpose: Serving SAIGE and its members.
Stacy Pinto
President
She/They
Dr. Stacy Pinto is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology and the immediate past-director of the School Counseling program at the University of Denver. She completed her graduate degrees at Montclair State University, is a certified school counselor, on the Editorial Review Board for the Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling, and has provided counseling and educational services across community agency and P-20 contexts. Her scholarly interests include intersectionality and sexual identity labeling and language and her involvement with SAIGE has included strategic planning, conference committees, and standards and statements..
Rob McKinney
Past-President
He/Him/His
Dr. Rob McKinney, LMHCA, NCC is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Counselor Education at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Rob earned his Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision at Kent State University and his Master's from Eastern Illinois University. He is proud to be a member of ACA, ACES, SAIGE, and the Washington Chapter of SAIGE. Rob also serves as the Chapter Faculty Advisor for Gonzaga’s chapter of Chi Sigma Iota (Gamma Chi Epsilon). His professional and research interests include LGBTGEQIAP+ considerations in counseling, multicultural counseling, and various advocacy-related issues.
Margarita Martinez
President-Elect
They/Them/Theirs
Margarita Martinez was born in Colombia and calls the DC DMV area home, specifically PG County Maryland. Margarita is the proud co-owner of Multicultural Career Center, LLC a Virginia-based therapy and career services private practice. Margarita has committed their career to servant leadership, JEDI (justice, equity, diversity and inclusion) and being unapologetically authentic. Margarita is a proud spouse to a fellow Counselor and proud parent of two black cats named Spooky and Midnight. Margarita is an avid crafter who enjoys knitting, crocheting, diamond painting but most importantly collecting craft supplies to last several lifetimes.
Marion Toscano
Treasurer
She/Her/Hers
Marion E. Toscano, PhD, LPC (WI), LCPC (MD), NCC is an Assistant Professor at Mount Mary University. She is a committed educator, researcher, and counselor. Her areas of research include the areas of Diversity Equity and Inclusion, Identity, LGBTQ+, Historical Traumas, Spirituality, Sub-cultures, Teams, and Teamwork. Her recent work includes creating and validating a measure of self-acceptance. She identifies as a lesbian and is now happily married to her long-time partner.
Mickey White
Secretary
He/Him/His
Dr. Mickey White, NCC, BC-TMH (he/him), is an Assistant Professor of Counseling at East Tennessee State University. His research agenda includes intersectionality and gender identity among trans individuals; the process of identity disclosure for LGBTGEQIAP2S+ professionals; and multiculturalism and social justice in counseling. He is a past emerging leader for SAIGE, and has been an active member since 2013. His personal and professional commitments to equity and inclusion stem from his own intersectional identities and on behalf of his past, present, and future clients, students, and supervisees.
Jane Rheineck
Governing Council Representative
Sher/Her/Hers
Dr. Jane E. Rheineck, LPC, NCC is an Associate Professor in Counseling at Mount Mary University. Dr. Rheineck identifies as a lesbian. Her extensive clinical background includes inpatient, outpatient, higher education, school-based, and community counseling across the lifespan. Dr. Rheineck has an ongoing program of research and scholarship that focuses on LGBTQ issues in counseling. In addition to her current role for SAIGE, she has served as SAIGE and Association for Adult Development and Aging Past President, as Treasurer and Executive Committee Member for ACA.
Ami Crowley
Board Trustee
State Branches
She/Her/Hers
Dr. Ami Crowley is an Associate Profession in the Counselor Education Department for The Chicago School of Professional Psychology Online. In addition to being an educator, she is a supervisor, clinician, and mentor. Her research interests are in the areas of multicultural competency in supervision, harm reduction, diversity integration in counselor education, addictions, and LGBTQ+ counseling. She was the founding President for SAIGE-FL (Formally FALGBTIC) and is a current member of IAAOC’s Ethics Committee. She identifies as Queer and lives outside of Orlando, FL with her spouse and their three children.
Mariangelly Sierra
Board Trustee
Multicultural & Social Justice Concerns
She/They/Ella
Dra. Mariangelly Sierra (She/They/Ella), LCMHCA, NCC, is a Contributing Faculty member of Walden University’s School of Counseling, a National Certified Counselor, and a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in private practice. er current clinical focus is on supporting the Latinx and LGBTQIA+ communities. In the past, she has worked with non-US citizens on the Texas-Mexico border and refugee families survivors of trauma from countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. Mariangelly’s research interests include multicultural competence in counseling and counselor education and supervision.
Whitney P. Akers
Board Trustee
Research & Scholarship
She/They
Whitney P. Akers, PhD, LCMHC, NCC, ACS is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Counseling and the Director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at
the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. A National Certified Counselor, an Approved Clinical Supervisor, and a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor, Dr. Akers' clinical experience
includes counseling in community agency, inpatient, spiritual care, hospital/integrated care, detention center, school, equine therapy, and private practice settings. Their research interests
center on the ways in which people who identify as LGBTQIA+ experience outness, how intersections of queerness and race, class, ability, spirituality, and ethnicity influence mental
health and wellness, and how these intersectional lived-experiences are impacted by the current sociopolitical climate in terms of access to safety, survival, and personhood.
Sandra Gavin
Trustee of Membership & State Branches
She/Her/Hers
Dr. Sandra Gavin, PhD, LPC, NCC, ACS is an Assistant Professor of Counselor Education at Adams State University, a Licensed Professional Counselor, and a National Certified Counselor. Her research interests focus on increasing counseling self-efficacy and competency of counselors-in-training to work with LGBTQIA+ people. Sandra continues to work in private practice, primarily with LGBTQIA+ clients. She currently serves on the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling. Sandra identifies as bisexual and lives in Alamosa, CO.
Jeffry Moe
Editor-In-Chief
Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling
He/Him/His
Jeff Moe, PhD, LPC, is an associate professor of counseling at Old Dominion University. He earned his doctorate in counselor education and supervision from the University of Toledo, and has worked as clinical mental health counselor in a variety of settings with a specialization in serving LGBTGEQIAP+ clients. His research on LGBTGEQIAP+ issues in counseling has appeared in national journals including the Journal of Counseling & Development, Journal of Homosexuality, Journal of Counseling Psychology, Journal of Gay and Lesbian Social Services, Professional School Counseling, and the Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling. He currently serves as the editor of the Journal of LGBTQ Issues in Counseling, and has served as Secretary of ACES, President of the Virginia Association of LGBT Issues in Counseling, and Treasurer of the Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling
Amanda Brace
Chair of
Rainbow Run Committee
She/Her/Hers
Amanda Brace, Ed.S, LSC, PCC-S, has received specialized training in helping children and adolescents with learning disabilities, adjustment issues, and issues surrounding bullying (including cyberbullying). Amanda enjoys working with children, adults, families, and couples using a creative, holistic, and systemic approach to counseling enabling clients to explore the issues that have interrupted their lives. She also specializes in EMDR, as well as working with children who have experienced the loss of a loved one. Amanda is one of the authors of the ALGBTIC Competencies for Counseling with LGBQQIA Individuals.
Kelsey Scanlan
Chair of Technology & Resource Committee
They/Them/Theirs
Dr. Kelsey Scanlan, PhD, LPCC-S (OH), NCC, CCMHC currently serves as Clinical Faculty at Adams State University, and also works clinically in Central Ohio, working with adolescents and adults who identify as LGBTGEQIAP+. Dr. Scanlan has clinical and research interests in gender-affirming care, neurodiversity, and clinical supervision. They have presented on LGBTGEQIAP+ issues in counseling at local, state, regional, and national conferences. They are also involved in their state's SAIGE chapter in the technology and regional representative roles.
Jordan Westcott
Co-Chair of Education Committee
She/Her/Hers
Jordan B. Westcott, MS, NCC (she/her) is a PhD Candidate in Counselor Education at Virginia Tech. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor for Virginia Tech. Through qualitative and quantitative approaches, Jordan explores structural factors that facilitate and inhibit LGBTQIA+ health equity and the role of counselors in advancing LGBTQIA+ health and wellness through research and practice. Her research also focuses on LGBTQIA+ identity at the intersections of aging and disability. She is currently investigating how barriers to accessing health services impact older sexual minority women with disabilities.
Gerard Lawson
Co-Chair of Education Committee
He/Him/His
Dr. Gerard Lawson, LPC, NCC is a Professor in the School of Education at Virginia Tech, and was the 66th President of the American Counseling Association, having served in that office from July 2017-June 2018. Gerard earned his bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech, in Human Development, his Master’s in Counseling from Longwood College, and doctorate in Counselor Education from the College of William and Mary, all in Virginia. Gerard has been a disaster mental health volunteer with the American Red Cross since 2002, and has supported numerous national, state, and local disasters. He was instrumental in helping to coordinate the counseling response to the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007, and he was the author of Virginia Tech’s original Disaster Behavioral Health Plan. He serves as a consultant with the Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, supporting communities in preparing for mass violence, and responding to communities affected by mass violence. His focus is on building resilience in the individuals (including counselors) and communities that are affected by disasters.
Devan Livaudais
Student Trustee
He/Him/His
Devan identifies as a queer and neurodivergent individual, using he/him pronouns. Currently, Devan is undertaking the final year of his Master's Program in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Saybrook University. His professional objective is to assist individuals in navigating life's complexities through a well-rounded therapeutic approach, encompassing the person-centered methodology, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, narrative therapy, and nature therapy. Devan is a lifelong learner who seeks novel experiences and knowledge expansion. Outside his academic and therapeutic commitments, he appreciates moments of tranquility with his partner and their cherished pets.
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Gene Dockery
Chair of
Public Policy Committee
Them/Them/Theirs
Gene Dockery, PhD, LPC, NCC, CCMHC is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Counseling at Seattle University. They are a recognized expert in LGBTQ legislative and policy advocacy in counseling and they have done this work at both national and state levels. Gene’s clinical specialties are queer neurodivergence and gender affirming care. Their research is focused on trans and queer liberation, advocacy, and disability justice.
Sheldon Aaron
Co-Chair of Emerging Leaders Committee
He/Him/His
Sheldon Aaron, M.S., LCPC (IL), NCC is Core Faculty in the Department of Counseling and Behavioral Health at William James College in Newton, MA. Sheldon received his master’s in Counseling from Eastern Illinois University and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL. He is a National Certified Counselor and a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in Illinois. Sheldon also utilizes Level 1 training in Gottman Couples Counseling when working with couples. Sheldon’s research interests include counseling instructor and student development, advancement of cultural humility and sensitivity when working with students and clients of color and who identify as LGBTGEQIAP+ and the advancement of professional standards of care with these populations. With over nine years of experience working with the LGBTQIA+ community in multiple settings, Sheldon integrates relational cultural, and psychodynamic approaches in his work as an educator, advocate, and counselor.
| [email protected] |
Kate Johnson
Co-Chair of Emerging Leaders Committee
She/Her/Hers
Kate Johnson, Ph.D., LPC-S (MS), LPC (AL), NCC is an Assistant Professor and CACREP-Liaison at Delta State University, where she teaches multicultural counseling, human sexuality, research, and child/adolescent classes. She received her PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of the Cumberlands. Dr. Johnson also owns her own private clinical practice with a background in individual and family counseling and over 14 years of experience at varied levels of care. Dr. Johnson is an advocate and ally for the LGBTQIA+ communities in her clinical practice, classroom, and through her service. She teaches cultural competence and best practices in her classes and professional presentations.
Pei-Yu (Peggy) Lee
Masters Emerging Leader, 2024-2025
She/Her/Hers
Pei-Yu Lee (Peggy) is a first-year graduate student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Seattle University. She has actively participated in social service projects and pursued any educational and extracurricular learning opportunities that related to the counseling profession. While in Taiwan, Peggy specialized in tutoring children with ADHD and ASD. Peggy also volunteered in different countries, immersing herself in various cultures. To broaden her research scope, Peggy is currently focusing on relationships within the LGBTQIAP+ community, including couples and family orientations. This interest has led Peggy to join a research team that specializes in exploring minor stress and resilience among the LGBTQIAP+ population. Peggy also contributes several proposals to upcoming counseling conferences. For the 2024-2025 academic year, Peggy will continue her research and learning process at Seattle University and also explore opportunities in other related counseling professions.
Michelle Augsut
Doctoral Emerging Leader, 2024-2025
She/Her/Hers
Michelle August, MA, LPC (OH), NCC, is a doctoral student in Counselor Education and Supervision at the University of Cincinnati. Her work focuses on addressing systemic barriers to affirming and celebratory mental heath care for LGBTGEQIAP+ individuals, particularly within religious college and university settings. She has been connected to SAIGE since starting her master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Gonzaga University, serving as the Graduate Student Representative for the Washington state chapter (WA-SAIGE). She is excited for this opportunity to serve as an Emerging Leader to collaborate in creating a more affirming and empowering environment for LGBTGEQIAP+ individuals within the counseling profession and beyond.
Nicholas Juzdan
New Professional Emerging Leader, 2024-2025
He/Him/His
Nicholas Juzdan
Storytelling, advocacy, and mental health have always played significant roles in Nicholas Juzdan’s life as he grew up. Juzdan's Syrian father and Palestinian mother shared stories of their history, placing culture at the center of their household. Nick's passion for others has been instrumental in his past marketing and media work, and he aims to further his impact in mental health by collaborating with a diverse group of clients navigating their intersectional identities. He recently graduated from Montclair State University with a Master's Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. During Nick's internship, he led several LGBTQIA+ groups and developed psychoeducational topics, which helped expand his library of curriculum. His dedication to mental health and social change motivates him to develop new projects aimed at impacting the communities he serves.
Organizational Bylaws
Our Board follows the Bylaws of SAIGE.