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Director, Fellows and Scholars

Director

Sam Steen

Dr. Sam Steen holds a bachelor's in psychology, a master's degree in School Counseling and a Ph.D. in Education with a specialty in preparing school counselors and mental health professionals. He holds the rank of Professor and is a licensed Professional School Counselor in VA and AZ, the Director of the Diversity Research Action Consortium, and the Director of the Child, Family, Community Engagement Division at George Mason University. Dr. Steen specializes in school counseling, group counseling and cultivating Black students’ academic identity development. He was a school counselor for 10 years and this experience shapes his research agenda, approach to teaching, and service. Dr. Steen is a Fellow for the Association for Specialists in Group Work and is the recipient of the Al Dye Research Award and the Professional Advancement Award, both from ASGW. He received the Counselors for Social Justice (CSJ) Advocacy of the Year Award and has written over 70 articles and book chapters and is the co-author of the following 4 books: Group Counseling Leadership Skills for School Counselors; Stretching Beyond Interventions (2021), Anti-Black Racism in Contemporary Society (2022), Introduction to Group Counseling: A Culturally Sustaining and Inclusive Framework (2023) and Advancing Equity-Focused School Counseling for All Students (2024). Dr. Steen’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation which aims to advance programs, knowledge, and skills targeting Black male middle school students for better accessibility, and higher likelihood for success, in Algebra 1 and future STEM related careers.

Fellows

Jordon Beasley

Dr. Beasley is currently an Assistant Professor in the Counselor Education Program at Augusta University in Augusta, GA. Prior to becoming a Counselor Educator, she served as an elementary school counselor in Greenville, SC and Atlanta, GA for 6 years. In addition to teaching the School Counseling program courses and children and adolescents courses at the University, she also does research and professional presentations in the areas of Antiracist School Counseling, Program Evaluation in School Counseling, Group work in educational settings, and social/emotional wellness for students and adults.

Kara P. Ieva

Dr. Kara Ieva (she/hers) holds many identities. In addition to being a wife, mom, school counseling advocate, and co-conspirator in working to dismantle oppressive educational practices, policies and systems, she is a Professor in the Counseling in Educational Settings program at Rowan University. Her educational career spans over 20 years as a former Spanish teacher, administrator, and professional school counselor, and counselor educator. Kara uses her research for advocacy by using asset-based approaches to empower student agency while promoting equity and wellness (academic and mental health). Her specific interests include social emotional development (with students, in classrooms, embedded in content, educator SEL, and systemic tiered interventions centered on promoting healthy identities), group counseling, and post-secondary/ career development (First Gen & STEAM). She consults and delivers professional development nationally to PK-12 school counselors, teachers, and administrators on strategies for cultivating a safe, equitable, and inclusive mental health and neurodiverse culture in schools.

Olivia Ngadjui

Olivia T. Ngadjui, (she/her/hers) PhD, NCC, LPC (ID) is an Assistant Professor of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology at Western Michigan University. Dr. Ngadjui received her Doctorate of Philosophy in Counselor Education from Idaho State University. She also holds a Masters of Arts degree from The George Washington University in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She currently serves as the 2022-2023 Parliamentarian for the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development, a member of the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision’s (ACES) Human Rights and Social Justice Committee and the co-chair of the ACES Diversity and Inclusion Interest Network. Relatedly, she received the Rocky Mountain Association for Counselor Education and Supervision’s 2020 Multiculturalism and Social Justice Advocacy Award and the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development’s 2021 Kim Lee Hughes Womanista “Wings” Award. Her academic interests include a) expanding culturally responsive practice for teaching, counseling, supervising, research/scholarship and leadership/advocacy in counselor education (b) culturally responsive strategies for informing the work of teachers and practitioners working with students of color in P-12 school environments and, (c) preventative wellness practices in counselor education for budding counselors.

Jordan Shannon

Dr. Jordan Shannon is an assistant professor of counseling at Seattle University. He previously served as a faculty member and program director at Seattle Pacific University. His research interests center on racial identity development and experiences of racism in counseling, help-seeking behaviors and counseling utilization among diverse populations, mental health stigma and deterrents of counseling, and multicultural training in counselor education. His research has been published in peer reviewed outlets such as the Journal of Counseling & Development (JCD), Journal of Multicultural Counseling & Development, and Race, Ethnicity and Education. Alongside his scholarship he engages in multiple professional service roles. He currently sits on the editorial board for the Journal of Counselor Leadership and Advocacy and the JCD, and he served as chapter faculty advisor for his local chapter of Chi Sigma Iota – International Counseling Honors Society.

Scholars

Ranada Atkins

Ranada Atkins, a Kalamazoo native and first-generation college student, received the Kalamazoo Promise Scholarship in 2011. Before transferring to Western Michigan University in 2020 to finish her Bachelor of Science with a behavior psychology concentration, she earned an associate degree from Kalamazoo Valley Community College. She is presently enrolled in Western Michigan University's master's program in counseling psychology. Ranada has ten years of experience in the field of mental health at the Battle Creek VA Medical Center and is currently a DBT case manager. Her research focuses on racial disparities in the development of professional identities in Black students as well as education to Black and Brown communities in the mental health provided to urban advancement.

Ranada Atkins is currently participating as a graduate research assistant in a cross-university study with George Mason University and Western Michigan University. The IRB approved study led by Dr. Ngadjui and Dr. Steen is entitled "Assimilation, Acculturation, Integration: A Q-Methodology Study of Racially Minoritized Faculty Understanding of Professional Identity Development in Counselor Education". Ranada Atkins co-presented about this research study at the 2023 Association for Counselor Education and Supervision National Conference in Denver, CO and the 2023 European Branch of the American Counseling Association Conference in Leiden, Netherlands.

Cat Victoria Baeza

Cat Baeza is currently a Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate student at Western Michigan University. She is working towards a clinical addictions specialization certificate through WMU’S Specialty Program in Alcohol and Drug abuse, as addictions and trauma care are some of her therapeutic interests. She is incredibly passionate about advocacy and social justice as both things directly impact the community members she works with. She strives to add her voice and support towards a more diverse and equitable society, where all are welcome to be present as their most authentic selves.

Cat Baeza is currently participating as a graduate research assistant in a cross-university study with George Mason University and Western Michigan University. The IRB approved study led by Dr. Ngadjui and Dr. Steen is entitled "Assimilation, Acculturation, Integration: A Q-Methodology Study of Racially Minoritized Faculty Understanding of Professional Identity Development in Counselor Education". Cat Baeza co-presented about this research study at the 2023 Association for Counselor Education and Supervision National Conference in Denver, CO and the 2023 European Branch of the American Counseling Association Conference in Leiden, Netherlands.

Canaan Bethea

Canaan is at George Mason University working towards a Ph.D. in Education with concentrations in Educational Psychology and research methods in sports psychology. His prior educational experiences include earning a Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology from George Mason, and earning a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Professionally, Canaan Served as an Assistant Wrestling Coach at George Mason University for two seasons. Before coaching at George Mason, Canaan was the Assistant Director of Mentoring for the Beat The Streets Philadelphia. While serving in that role Canaan co-founded the Trenton Youth Wrestling Program which provides wrestling, tutoring, and mentoring to under-privileged youth.

Canaan's research focuses on critical race theory and self-regulation from the social cognitive theoretical perspective. A lot of what sparks Canaan’s research interest are questions regarding cultivating self-regulatory skills in academic settings and sports context. Implications from his research help students, athletes, educators, and coaches cultivate equitable environments and self-regulatory mindsets.

Brianna Hurley

Brianna G. Hurley is a graduate of George Mason University’s Counseling and Development program, with a concentration in Community Agency Counseling and is a Resident in Counseling working towards LPC licensure in Virginia.

Brianna’s clinical interests include work with adolescents and young adults who are simply working to discover their ever-evolving identities and determining where they fit in, and/or struggle with varying mental health concerns, including anxiety, ADHD, emotion regulation, adjustment concerns, and career counseling needs. These clinical interests particularly inform Brianna’s research interests, which include the implications of mainstream dynamics within school systems for Black youth (cradle to prison pipeline, influence of group counseling on academic achievement, restorative justice in peer-to-peer conflict resolution, etc.).

Brianna has utilized Relational-Cultural Theory, Trauma-Informed therapy, and Mindfulness in her research on the implications of group counseling on the mental health and coping of activists. She is currently working to study the impact of group counseling in public schools for Black and Latinx youth.

Brianna is the recipient of the following awards: The Pete Warren Fellowship (Virginia Counselors' Association, 2021); Outstanding Student Award (George Mason University’s Community Agency Program, 2021).

Zikun Li

Zikun Li is a PhD candidate at the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Sport Management from Beijing Sport University (China) and a Master's degree in Sport Management from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). Currently, Zikun is pursuing an interdisciplinary doctoral program with a specialization in Sport for Development and Peace (SDP).

Zikun Li is currently participating as a graduate research assistant in a cross-university study with George Mason University and Western Michigan University. The IRB approved study led by Dr. Ngadjui and Dr. Steen is entitled "Assimilation, Acculturation, Integration: A Q-Methodology Study of Racially Minoritized Faculty Understanding of Professional Identity Development in Counselor Education". Zikun Li co-presented about this research study at the 2023 Association for Counselor Education and Supervision National Conference in Denver, CO and the 2023 European Branch of the American Counseling Association Conference in Leiden, Netherlands.

Zikun's research interests primarily focus on the sociological and psychological aspects of sports, approaching them as an intervention strategy. She is currently investigating topics such as the globalization of sports, the Olympic Games, and the intersections between sports, immigration, and refugees.

Malik B. Merritte

Malik Merritte is a first year graduate student of George Mason University’s Counseling and Development program, with a concentration in masters in clinical mental health. He is originally from Richmond, Virginia and before joining George Mason, he received his Bachelor's degree in Exercise Science from Old Dominion University. At GMU. Malik is currently assisting the athletic department in a project in helping athletes transition from athletics to life after college. With a huge passion in sports, he strives to have an impact and break the stigma with Mental health and Sports.

Malik Merritte is currently participating as a graduate research assistant in a cross-university study with George Mason University and Western Michigan University. The IRB approved study led by Dr. Ngadjui and Dr. Steen is entitled "Assimilation, Acculturation, Integration: A Q-Methodology Study of Racially Minoritized Faculty Understanding of Professional Identity Development in Counselor Education". Malik Merritte co-presented about this research study at the 2023 Association for Counselor Education and Supervision National Conference in Denver, CO and the 2023 European Branch of the American Counseling Association Conference in Leiden, Netherlands.

Anna G. Nungester

Anna Nungester is a second-year doctoral student in Counseling Psychology at Western Michigan University. She is originally from southern Indiana and is excited to be join the research team with Dr. Ngadjui and Dr. Steen. Her current research topic is intergenerational trauma within the Jewish population.

Anna Nungester is currently participating as a graduate research assistant in a cross-university study with George Mason University and Western Michigan University. The IRB approved study led by Dr. Ngadjui and Dr. Steen is entitled "Assimilation, Acculturation, Integration: A Q-Methodology Study of Racially Minoritized Faculty Understanding of Professional Identity Development in Counselor Education". Anna Nungester co-presented about this research study at the 2023 Association for Counselor Education and Supervision National Conference in Denver, CO and the 2023 European Branch of the American Counseling Association Conference in Leiden, Netherlands.

Kemmel Palmer

Kemmel holds a bachelor’s in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling psychology. He is currently attending Western Michigan University (WMU) for his doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision. At WMU, Kemmel is the program coordinator for the Lewis Walker Institute- Youth Juvenile Justice Program and was previously the community mentorship program coordinator within the Multicultural Affairs for Students Department. He is actively involved in working with adolescents from minority backgrounds and promoting more inclusion within the mental health field.

Kemmel Palmer is currently participating as a graduate research assistant in a cross-university study with George Mason University and Western Michigan University. The IRB approved study led by Dr. Ngadjui and Dr. Steen is entitled "Assimilation, Acculturation, Integration: A Q-Methodology Study of Racially Minoritized Faculty Understanding of Professional Identity Development in Counselor Education". Kemmel Palmer co-presented about this research study at the 2023 Association for Counselor Education and Supervision National Conference in Denver, CO and the 2023 European Branch of the American Counseling Association Conference in Leiden, Netherlands.

Justin Ridgell

Justin is pursuing a master's degree in clinical mental counseling. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky. Justin is a recent awardee of a Mentoring for Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (MARIE) Grant funded by the office of the Provost. His work centers on promoting positive racial identity development and confidence in mathematics among young Black males in middle school.