Dr. Sammy Steen
(he/him/his)
PhD, George Mason University
Professor
Director, Diversity Research and Action Consortium
Counseling
Contact Information
Phone: 703-867-1960
Email: ssteen (@gmu.edu)
George Mason University
Fairfax Campus
Krug Hall 202
4400 University Dr.
Fairfax, VA 22030
Curriculum Vitae
Profile
Dr. Sam Steen a Professor, licensed Professional School Counselor, Director of the Research Action Consortium and former Division Director for CFCE within CEHD, specializes in school counseling, group work and cultivating Black students’ academic identity development. Dr. Steen was a school counselor for 10 years and these practitioner experiences shape his research agenda, approach to teaching, and service. Currently, on the faculty at George Mason University and serving as the Academic Program Coordinator, two objectives guide his scholarship: 1) to further develop creative and culturally sustaining school-based counseling interventions that improve student achievement; including The Achieving Success Everyday Group Model (ASE Group Model) designed to promote social emotional and academic development for students of color and 2) to explore issues related to the training and preparation of pre-service counselors and school counselors in the local, regional, and national community. Dr. Steen is a Fellow for the Association for Specialists in Group Work, a division of the American Counseling Association. Dr. Steen is also the recipient of the Al Dye Research Award and the Professional Advancement Award both from ASGW recognizing his outstanding efforts advancing the field of group work though research and development and the Counselors for Social Justice (CSJ) Advocacy of the Year Award, through CSJ a division of ACA. Recently, Dr. Steen is serving as a principal investigator on a major project that is awarded 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.
Research Interests
Currently, two objectives guide his scholarship: 1) to further develop creative and culturally sustaining school-based counseling programs that improve student achievement; including The Achieving Success Everyday Group Model (ASE Group Model) designed to promote social emotional, academic and career development for students of color and 2) to explore issues related to the training and preparation of pre-service counselors and school counselors in the local, regional, and national community.
Recent Publications
Recent Books:
Beasley, J.J., Steen, S., & Ieva, K.P. (2026), Thriving Children and Adolescents: A Framework for Healing and Belonging in Schools. Kendall Hunt.
Hines, E., Steen, S., & Moore, J. (Eds.) (2026), Counseling Black Males with Excellence: Exploring Career, Clinical, and School Contexts. Emerald Publishing.
Levy, I., & Steen, S. (Eds.) (2025), Forging Interdisciplinary Collaborations: Comprehensive Mental Health Programming Across P-16 Education Systems. Emerald Publishing.
Steen, S., & Coogan, T.A. (2025). Applying Culturally Affirming Interpersonal Skills. Kendall Hunt.
Steen, S., Melchior, S, & *Sansbury, A. (2024). Advancing Equity Focused School Counseling forAll Students: Confronting Disproportionality in PreK-12 Schools, Routledge, PA.
Steen, S., Vannatta, R., Ieva, K.P. (2023). Introduction to Group Counseling: A Culturally Sustaining and Inclusive Framework. Springer Publishing: New York, NY.
Roysicar, G., Steen, S., & Cole, K. (2022). Anti-Black Racism in Contemporary America, Cognella, CA.
Coogan, T., & Steen, S. (2021). Group Counseling Leadership Skills for School Counselors: Stretching Beyond Interventions, Cognella, CA.
Recent Articles:
Golden, M.N., Cintron, D.W., Fort, J., Byrd, C.A., McGlone, D.A., Singleton, P. II, Hines, E.M., Moore, J.L. III, & Steen, S. (2026). A 45-Year (Summative) Content Analysison Black Men and Boys in The Career Development Quarterly: 1980-2025. The Career Development Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.70038
Day-Vines, N, Young, A., & Steen, S (2026). Regrouping: A call for the profession to engage in strategic leadership in preparation and practice. Urban Education, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/00420859261433932
Steen, S., Beasley, J.J., Ieva, K., *Zikun, L., & *Atkins, L. (2025). Affinity Groups in Educational Settings to Promote Inclusive Excellence: A Systematic Literature Review Iris International Journal of Educational Research. DOI: 10.33552/IJER.2025.05.000616
Ieva, K. P., *Figueroa, E., *Franzosi, M., *Owens, I, Beasley, J. J., & Steen, S. (2025). School Counselors’ Implementation of Educator SEL Interventions: A Critical Participatory Action Research and Healing Study. Professional School Counseling, 29(1a). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X251335947
Hull, K., & Steen, S. (2025). Self-Development in Group Counseling with Neurodivergent Youth. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 1-34. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207284.2025.2484176
Ngadjui, O.T., Sanchez-Rodriguez, M., Chan, C.D., Reyna, M., & Steen, S. (2025). Magnifying Black/African American representation to expand cultural sensitivity in counselor educator preparation programs. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmcd.12318
Griffin, D., Steen, S., & McCullough, R. (2024). Using poetry to foster positive racial identity in middle school Black girls: Implications for school counselor practice, preparation, and research. Professional School Counseling, 28(1a), 2156759X241234904.
Steen, S., Sulkowski, M. (2024). The Achieving Success Everyday Group Counseling Model: Providing social support for homeless students in school settings. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207284.2024.2338289