Our Executive Board
Meet the 2022- 2023 SAIGE Executive Board! We are from all areas of the country; however, we are connected and united in purpose: Serving SAIGE and its members.
Tamekia Bell
President
She/Her/Hers
Dr. Tamekia Bell (she/her/hers) is an Assistant Professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at Governors State University in University Park, IL. Dr. Bell has served on the SAIGE board since 2017 as Secretary, Professional Trustee – Multicultural and Social Justice Concerns, and currently serves as President. Dr. Bell has held other leadership positions within several professional counseling organizations, such as Chair of the Professional Development Committee for the Illinois Counseling Association (ICA), Secretary of Illinois SAIGE (IALGBTIC), President and Past-President of Illinois Counselor Education and Supervision, and Co-Chapter Faculty Advisor of Chi Sigma Iota – Gamma Sigma Upsilon at Governors State University. Dr. Bell’s research interests include multicultural competency as it relates to individuals with disabilities and LGBTGEQIAP+ individuals, Intersectionality, and research, assessment, and program evaluation in counseling.
Christie Jenkins
Past-President
She/Her/Hers
Dr. Christie Jenkins has been working in the social service field for over 25 years. She began working in domestic violence safe houses as a child advocate, life skills trainer, crisis intervention specialist and court advocate. She has been working as a counselor for over sixteen years. She is independently licensed in two states and has a supervisory designation in the state of Ohio. She has been the CEO, Associate Director, and Supervisor for the Family and Child Abuse Prevention Center and The Children’s Advocacy Center. She has over 16 years of experience working with a vast array of clientele in inner city Toledo..
Rob McKinney
President-Elect
He/Him/His Pronouns
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.
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.
Meg McMorrow
Student Trustee
She/Her/Hers
Meg McMorrow (she/her/hers) is pursuing a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Born, raised, and currently living in Chicago, Meg has lived in Morelia, Mexico and San Francisco, CA. Prior to her graduate studies she was self-employed in the fields of hospitality interiors and furniture design. As an emerging queer counselor, Meg is focused on working with the LGBTQQIP2SAA community, gender and identity exploration, trauma, whole-being healing, and social justice. She is thrilled at the opportunity to work alongside the SAIGE Board and its student members, and hopes to support graduate student involvement, representation, and inclusivity.
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Gene Dockery
Chair of
Public Policy Committee
Them/Them/Theirs
Gene Dockery, MA, LPC, NCC, is a doctoral candidate in counselor education and supervision at Ohio University. They work in private practice, specializing in queer neurodivergence, counseling adolescents, adults, and couples. Gene is active in legislative advocacy through the Ohio Counseling Association, where they lead the organization’s efforts against anti-LGBTQIA bills. Their research is focused on trans and queer liberation, advocacy, and disability justice.
Dae'Quawn Landrum
Chair of Emerging Leaders Committee
He/Him/His
Dae’Quawn Landrum is pursuing his doctoral degree in Counseling at Montclair State University. Dae’Quawn is a psychotherapist at a community hospital. Dae’Quawn has also worked as an intimate partner violence group facilitator and provided training in detention centers around LGBTQ issues. He is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in New Jersey and licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) in Maryland. Dae’Quawn is recognized as a national certified counselor. Dae’Quawn has presented at state and national conferences discussing issues surrounding African American men and mental health, intersectionality, and substance abuse within the LGBTQ+ community. Dae’Quawn’s areas of research are social justice, African American men, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer, (LGBTQ+) community.
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Stacy Speedlin Gonzalez
Trustee of Membership & State Branches
2020-2023
She/Her/Hers
Dr. Speedlin Gonzalez is currently an Assistant Visiting Professor at the University of Texas of San Antonio where she teaches the crisis, grief and trauma course and the biopsychosocial aspects of addiction course. Additionally, Dr. Speedlin Gonzalez has a small private practice where she sees clients with substance use disorders, LGB, trans and nonbinary clients. Dr. Speedlin Gonzalez has been published multiple times in peer-reviewed journals on the topics of addiction, mentorship, LGBTQ clients and their needs, and how social media impacts relational connectivity. Dr. Speedlin Gonzalez also co-authored five book chapters on addiction in a medical book that serves as an educational textbook for medical doctors. Dr. Speedlin Gonzalez is passionate about mentoring LGBTQ+ students and serving her local LGBTQ+ community.
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.
Clark D. Ausloos
Chair of Technology & Resource Committee
He/Him/His
Dr. Clark D. Ausloos, PhD, LPC, LPSC, NCC, currently serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Denver, and also works clinically in Northwest Ohio, working with youth and families who identify as LGBTGEQIAP+. Dr. Ausloos was nominated for Toledo’s 20 Under 40 Award, Chi Sigma Iota’s Outstanding Practitioner Award, and the OACES Professional Integrity and Leadership Award. Dr. Ausloos was a NBCC Minority Fellow (2019), and was selected to serve as an Item Writer/Content Expert for the National Counseling Exam (NCE). Dr. Ausloos has several publications published/in press in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and has presented over 60 professional conference presentations.
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.
Sheldon Aaron
Emerging Leader, 2022-2023
He/Him/His
Sheldon Aaron is currently a Doctoral Candidate in the Counselor Education program at the University of Central Florida. Sheldon received his master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the Eastern Illinois University. Sheldon is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Illinois, a National Certified Counselor, and holds Level-1Training in Gottman Method Couples Therapy. Clinically, Sheldon specializes in working with LGBTGEQIAP+ adolescents and adults and individuals presenting with mood-related disorders, relational difficulties, and adjustment related symptoms. Sheldon’s research interests include counseling faculty multicultural development and advancement of cultural humility and sensitivity when working with BIPOC and LGBTGEQIAP+ students and clients.
Annie Dwyer
Emerging Leader, 2022-2023
She/Her/Hers
Annie Dwyer (she/her) is a Masters student in Seattle University’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. She also holds a PhD in English and a Graduate Certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from the University of Washington. In her work in higher education, Annie has pursued several critical pedagogy projects, including the development of a Queer Pedagogy Workshop. She has also taught inside prisons and collaborated with incarcerated queer and trans persons and their allies to advance group-based, capacity-building efforts across prison walls. Currently, Annie is a phone worker volunteer for the King County crisis hotline run by Crisis Connections. As an emerging counselor, Annie looks forward to serving the LGBTGEQIAP+ community, and pursuing research, teaching, and advocacy to increase access to high quality, culturally competent, and emancipatory mental health care.
Kate Heaton
Emerging Leader, 2022-2023
She/Her/Hers
Katharine "Kate" Heaton (LPC-S, NCC) is a Licensed Professional Counselor – Supervisor (MS), working in the field for over 10 years. She graduates in August with her PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision. Currently, Kate works in private practice, providing a safe space and culturally inclusive counseling for LGBTGEQIAP+ individuals. While she enjoys her work as a counselor, Kate looks forward to being a Counselor Educator, engaging students in clinically challenging discussions on being an affirming counselor. In addition to her current work and future goals, Kate shares best practices with current practitioners for working with LGBTGEQIAP+ persons through professional publications and presentations.
Organizational Bylaws
Our Board follows the Bylaws of SAIGE.