2023 Professional Practice Summit
Presenters 

Megan Pickens, PhD, LPC-S

Megan Pickens, a High Achieving Black Woman (HABW™), conquered relationship struggles, igniting her mission to empower HABW™. With a doctorate in marriage and family therapy, she helps them set boundaries, dismantling harmful masculinity beliefs. As a licensed professional counselor for nearly two decades, Dr. Mēgan excels in transformative supervision. Guiding new counseling students and associates, she offers supervision training for eligible professionals. Originally from Kansas City, Kansas, now in Arlington, Texas, Dr. Mēgan, past president of the Texas Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, shapes counseling. Her pivotal supervision ensures emerging professionals surpass standards. Beyond clinical prowess, Dr. Mēgan shines as a dynamic mental health speaker. She finds joy in documentaries, indie films and dance and advocating positive Black media. A Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. member since 1997, she is a committed member of the Arlington Alumnae Chapter. Dr. Mēgan’s journey illuminates HABW™’s path to embrace power and thrive.

Le'Ann L. Solmonson, PhD, LPC-S

A retired counselor educator, Le’Ann Solmonson has a private practice working with individuals and families as well as provides supervision for licensed professional counselor-associates. She was formerly a professor and program director at Stephen F. Austin State University. Dr. Solmonson has a vast array of experience in the counseling field, including as a counselor educator, a psychiatric hospital administrator and a school counselor. Dr. Solmonson earned a doctorate in counselor education from Sam Houston State University. She is a licensed professional counselor board-approved supervisor. Dr. Solmonson is a past president of the Texas Counseling Association and Texas Counselors for Social Justice. She is a past president of the Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling. She is also the board vice chair of the Methodist Children’s Home. She is a CACREP site visitor team chair and served on the CACREP 2024 Standards Revision Committee.

Jennifer Flynn, CPHRM

Jennifer Flynn, CPHRM, is vice president and risk manager for Healthcare Providers Service Organization in the Healthcare Division of Aon’s Affinity Insurance Services, Inc. Specializing in risk management and having worked in the health care insurance business for over 22 years, Jennifer is dedicated to educating health care professionals on professional liability risks and offers strategies to mitigate those risks by supporting patient safety principles and developing quality management programs. In addition to being a frequent national speaker on health care risk and liability, Jennifer is also a published author on various risk management topics. Jennifer is a certified professional in health care risk management and is a licensed property and casualty agent. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

Lynn E. Linde, EdD

Lynn Linde is the chief of professional practice for ACA. She oversees professional issues related to counseling and ethics and is the project lead for the Counseling Compact. She holds a master’s and doctorate in counseling from The George Washington University. Lynn is an ACA Fellow; served as the 2009-2010 president of ACA, the 2012-2013 treasurer and in a number of other leadership positions; and was a member of the 2014 ACA Ethics Revision Task Force. Lynn is the recipient of a number of state and national awards, including the Carl Perkins Award, the Counselor Educator Advocacy Award, two Presidential Awards and a lifetime achievement award from the Maryland Counseling Association. She is the author or co-author of a number of book chapters on ethical and legal issues for counselors and makes frequent presentations on ethics, the Counseling Compact and current issues in the profession.

Cyndi Doyle, MEd, LPC-S

Cyndi Doyle is the founder of Code4Couples® and co-owner of a group private practice. She is the author of the book Hold the Line: The Essential Guide for Protecting Your Law Enforcement Relationship and the train-the-trainer program by the same name, a speaker and a podcaster. Cyndi utilizes research, her clinical expertise, and personal experience to educate and positively impact the mental and relational health of first responders and spouses by teaching them how to counter the impact and spillover from the job. She speaks to law enforcement and mental health audiences at conferences, keynoting for audiences of up to 2,500. She has been honored to present for the FBI National Academy Associates and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. In 2020, ACA awarded her the Samuel Gladding Unsung Heroes Award for her work with first responders and contribution to the field of counseling. Cyndi enjoys teaching, motivating and helping other mental health professionals find and build their niche to attract their ideal clients, increase their impact and build income.

Russell Fulmer, PhD, LPC

Russell Fulmer is a professor and director of the graduate counseling programs at Husson University in Bangor, Maine. Russell taught in medical education for five years in the Caribbean. Recently, he lived in Suzhou, China, working as a professor and practicing counselor. His research interests include psychodynamics and AI. Russell published one of the first randomized controlled trials testing the efficacy of an AI bot on helping college students with anxiety and depression. He sits on the Ethics Committee of X2AI, a Sillicon Valley-based AI company. He is currently chair of the ACA Task Force on AI.

Connor McClenahan, PsyD

Connor McClenahan is the director of Here Counseling, a member-based co-practice in Los Angeles. Having run a video marketing business for therapists, as well as hosted and presented at conferences and retreats, Dr. McClenahan has distilled an essential framework for digital marketing that can help you use empathy as a tool to clarify not only your marketing but also your passion for your work. His SimplePractice Learning video course and accompanying workbook are made to help therapists grow a healthy private practice.

Marcelle Giovannetti, EdD, LPC

As vice provost, Marcelle Giovannetti leads the Division of Student Success and Engagement at Messiah University. Additionally, she teaches graduate counseling courses as an assistant professor. She is a clinician in private practice and owner of Courageous Hope Counseling LLC. She has presented at national, state and local conferences. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Elizabethtown College, and her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling and doctoral degree in counselor education and supervision from Shippensburg University. She has a postgraduate certificate in social justice from Harvard University. She is a certified drug and alcohol counselor, an approved clinical supervisor, a national certified counselor and a licensed professional counselor in Pennsylvania. She is also a certified clinical trauma professional and certified EMDR therapist. She is the vice president for the Pennsylvania Certification Board and chair of its Ethics Committee. She is senior co-chair of ACA’s Ethics Committee.

Jude T. Austin, III, PhD, LPC, LMFT

Jude Austin has a doctorate in counselor education and supervision and is a licensed professional counselor, a licensed marriage and family therapist, a national certified counselor and a certified clinical mental health counselor. He is currently an assistant professor in the Master of Arts in counseling program at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and serves as the program’s clinical mental health counseling track coordinator. He is also in private practice in Belton, Texas. His research focuses on counselor education pedagogy, specifically finding ways to help counseling students develop therapeutic presence in session. He was a 2021 ACA conference keynote speaker. He is also the co-author of the ACA books Counselor Self-Care, Surviving and Thriving in Your Counseling Program and Doing Counseling: Developing Your Clinical Skills and Style, as well as the Springer Publishing book The Counselor Educator’s Guide: Practical In-Class Strategies and Activities.

Julius A. Austin, PhD, LPC

Julius Austin has a doctorate in counselor education and supervision and is a licensed professional counselor and a national certified counselor. He is an assistant professor in the counseling program at Grand Canyon University and is in private practice in New Orleans, Louisiana, working with individuals, couples and families. He was a 2021 ACA conference keynote speaker. He is also the co-author of the ACA books Counselor Self-Care, Surviving and Thriving in Your Counseling Program and Doing Counseling: Developing Your Clinical Skills and Style, as well as the Springer Publishing book The Counselor Educator’s Guide: Practical In-Class Strategies and Activities.

Ann Ordway, JD, PhD

Ann Ordway, J.D., Ph.D., is program director for the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC). In this capacity, Ann supports AFCC’s chapters, develops educational programming, provides staff support for AFCC special projects and collaborates on the production of AFCC eNEWS. Ann previously taught graduate-level students in the counseling department at the University of Phoenix in Phoenix, Arizona. She was a practicing attorney for more than 20 years, with a practice focus on high-conflict family litigation, including intimate partner violence, custody matters and child protective services proceedings. Ann was a family mediator, child advocate and parenting coordinator. She is an active member of ACA and has presented Learning Institutes at the annual conferences six years in a row.

Elsa Soto Leggett, PhD, LPC-S, RPT-S, CSC

Elsa Leggett’s clinical experience, research and publications focus on counseling children and adolescents, solution-focused counseling, solution-focused play therapy and supervision. She earned her doctorate at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. She participated in the development of the Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling (ACAC) as the 20th division of ACA. She served as ACAC president (2015-2017) and served on the ACA Governing Council (2017-2019). She has been on the editorial board for the Journal of Child and Adolescent Counseling since 2014. She co-edited Directive Play Therapy: Theories and Techniques and authored or co-authored numerous articles and book chapters as well as presented at local, state, regional, national and international conferences. She is the current past president of the Texas Counseling Association. Dr. Leggett is also an associate professor and practicum and internship coordinator at Truman State University.

Hannah Carter, MS

Hannah “Carter” Carter received her master’s degree from Georgia State University (GSU) in rehabilitation counseling and is now a third-year counselor education doctoral student at GSU. Carter is a national certified counselor and a certified rehabilitation counselor. She has experience in providing mental health and career services and vocational counseling for behavioral health and disability-related rehabilitation centers. Carter currently provides adjustment counseling for the Center for the Visually Impaired. Her passion is to create and provide access to mental health services in veteran and first-responder community settings to reduce and prevent the rate of suicide-related deaths.

Erin Mason, PhD

Erin Mason has practiced as a school counselor for 13 years in the metro Atlanta area. After earning her doctorate, she spent nine years as a faculty member in the counseling program in the College of Education at DePaul University in Chicago. As a researcher, author and presenter, she seeks to reach both practitioner and scholarly audiences. She enjoys mentoring and preparing others for the field and strives to incorporate innovative practices into her instruction and supervision. Throughout her career, she has been actively involved in both state and national school counseling organizations, frequently serving in leadership roles. Her research has resulted in a body of work on topics including leadership, advocacy, anti-racism, evidence-based practice and the use of technology.

Daniel Dosal-Terminel, MS

Daniel Dosal-Terminel (él/he/him/his) is an immigrant from Mexico. He received his master’s from St. Edward’s University and is a doctoral student in counselor education and practice at Georgia State University. He is a researcher, educator, supervisor-in-training, national certified counselor, and NBCC Minority Fellow. Daniel is primarily involved with ACAGA as the advocacy liaison. He has experience providing mental health services in schools, religious organizations and nonprofits. He currently provides mental health services for the International Rescue Committee. His passion is to create and provide access to mental health services in community settings for underrepresented families. Dan is narrative exposure therapy trained and working toward a play therapy certification.

Alec Prince, MS

Alec Prince (he/him), M.S., M.P.A., NCC, is a first-year doctoral student in counselor education and practice at Georgia State University. He earned his master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling and Master of Public Administration in policy analysis and evaluation from Georgia State University and his bachelor’s degree in history from Oglethorpe University. His research and clinical interests include gender and sexual minorities, public policy and mental health, and multicultural competencies.

Amy Fortney Parks, EdD, LPC

Amy Fortney Parks brings with her over 30 years of experience working with children, adolescents and families as an educator and psychologist. Dr. Parks earned a doctorate in educational psychology with a specialty in child and adolescent developmental neuroscience. She is the founder and clinical director of The Wise Family Counseling, Assessment & Parent Coaching group practice in Virginia. She is also the founder of the Clinical Supervision Directory (www.clinicalsupervisondirectory.com), a one-stop URL connecting supervisors with supervision seekers working toward licensure in all mental health fields across the United States. Dr. Parks serves as a nationally accredited clinical supervisor for Virginia licensed professional counselor-residents, as well as an adjunct assistant professor at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Parks is also an international speaker and the soon-to-be author of a book on the practice of clinical supervision.

Ajita M. Robinson, PhD, LPC

Ajita Robinson, the “experts’ therapist,” is a celebrated grief and trauma therapist and author of The Gift of Grief. With features on Good Morning Washington, Wall Street Journal and more, her expertise is widely recognized. As the force behind Friends in Transition Counseling in Bethesda and CEO of Legacy Wellness Group, she pioneers generational wealth and healing. From a decade in trauma care to creating an eight-figure mental health enterprise, Dr. Robinson uniquely bridges entrepreneurship with community well-being.

Monica S. Johnson, MA, LPC

Monica Johnson, M.A., LPC, is the director of the 988 & Behavioral Health Crisis Coordinating Office. Ms. Johnson has worked in the behavioral health field for 26 years and most recently served as the interim commissioner for the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities. Prior to this role, she served as the division director for the Division of Behavioral Health for eight years, the community mental health director for three years, and the child and adolescent mental health director for one year. Ms. Johnson earned an undergraduate degree in psychology (minor in communications) from Kennesaw State University and a graduate degree in professional counseling/psychology at Argosy University. Ms. Johnson is a proud alumnus of the Georgetown University Leadership Academy and a recipient of the intensive cognitive behavior therapy for schizophrenia certification at the Aaron T. Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy in Philadelphia.