Sep 5, 2025 | TPC Outstanding Scholar
Ashley Ascherl Pechek, Kristin A. Vincenzes, Kellie Forziat-Pytel, Stephen Nowakowski, and Leandrea Romero-Lucero received the 2024 Outstanding Scholar Award for Quantitative or Qualitative Research for their article “Teaching Suicide Assessment and Intervention Online: A Model of Practice.”
Ashley Ascherl Pechek (she/her), PhD, NCC, ACS, LPC (CO), currently works as an associate professor at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania in the clinical mental health counseling graduate program. She has been a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado since 2010 and has worked with a variety of clientele, including children and adolescents, military families, and at-risk youth. Dr. Pechek earned her PhD in counselor education and supervision from Adams State University in 2018 and has been teaching in online CACREP-accredited programs for the last 10 years. Her research interests include online learning, creativity in counselor education, military families and veterans, self-care, and suicide assessment and intervention.
Kristin A. Vincenzes (she/her), PhD, NCC, ACS, BC-TMH, LPC, is a counselor educator and full Professor at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania in the clinical mental health counseling graduate program. She has over 13 years of experience teaching in graduate counseling programs, including 10 years during which she served as a program director developing and growing a new program. Dr. Vincenzes has fully written two CACREP self-studies and has led her program through both initial accreditation and preparation for re-accreditation. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Pennsylvania as well as an Approved Clinical Supervisor, National Certified Counselor, and a Board Certified TeleMental Health Provider. She has 29 peer-reviewed publications, including both journal articles and book chapters, and has presented 53 times across different local, state, regional, and national venues. Her scholarship interests focus on trauma, the military, wellness for service professionals and leaders, and online education.
Kellie Forziat-Pytel (she/her), PhD, NCC, ACS, LPC (PA), currently works as an Assistant Professor at the Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania–Lock Haven. She is a part-time research support for the Clearinghouse for Military Readiness at Pennsylvania State University. Her specialty areas consist of prevention work, military, trauma, and grief and loss, and their impact on individuals, families, and the community.
Stephen Nowakowski (not pictured), is a former graduate student of clinical mental health counseling at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania.
Leandrea Romero-Lucero (she, her, hers), PhD, ACS, LPCC, CSOTS, is an Associate Professor and Program Director for the 100% online clinical mental health counseling program at Commonwealth University of Pennsylvania–Lock Haven. Dr. Romero-Lucero holds a PhD in counselor education and supervision, has been licensed in the state of New Mexico as a mental health counselor since 2008, holds the Approved Clinical Supervisor and Certified Sex Offender Treatment Specialist certifications, and is an approved supervisor in New Mexico. Dr. Romero-Lucero’s research interests are grief and loss for kinship caregivers, supervisor training and development, and burnout among providers who work with adult and juvenile sex offenders.
Read more about the TPC scholarship awards here.
Sep 5, 2025 | TPC Outstanding Scholar
Taylor J. Irvine and Adriana C. Labarta received the 2024 Outstanding Scholar Award for Concept/Theory for their article, “Enhancing Counselor Trainee Preparedness for Treating Eating Disorders: Recommendations for Counselor Educators.”
Taylor J. Irvine (she/her), PhD, NCC, ACS, LMHC, is an Assistant Professor of clinical mental health counseling at Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Irvine has clinical experience working in community mental health and residential eating disorder treatment settings. Her main clinical and research interests include couples and infidelity, eating disorders, and body image concerns. Dr. Irvine has presented and published on these topics nationally and internationally, spotlighting culturally responsive and evidence-based methods across counseling research, training, and practice domains. Currently, Dr. Irvine serves as the Chair of Chi Sigma Iota (CSI) International’s Counselor Community Engagement Committee, in addition to several professional counseling committees and editorial boards. She is also a past CSI Leadership Fellow and Emerging Leader for both the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors and the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling.
Adriana C. Labarta (she/her), PhD, NCC, ACS, LMHC, is an Assistant Professor of clinical mental health counseling at Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Labarta has clinical experience working with diverse clients in residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, outpatient, and university counseling settings. Her primary clinical and research interests include eating disorders, body image concerns, multicultural counseling, and self-compassion. Dr. Labarta is an actively engaged member of several counseling organizations and serves as an editorial board member for Teaching and Supervision in Counseling and Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation. She was previously selected as an Emerging Leader by the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision and the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling.
Read more about the TPC scholarship awards here.
Jul 19, 2023 | TPC Outstanding Scholar
Michael T. Kalkbrenner received the 2022 Outstanding Scholar Award for Concept/Theory for his article, “Guidelines and Recommendations for Writing a Rigorous Quantitative Methods Section in Counseling and Related Fields.”
Kalkbrenner (he, him, his), PhD, NCC, is an associate professor of counseling and educational psychology at New Mexico State University. He received his doctorate in counselor education and supervision from Old Dominion University and his MS in mental health counseling from The College at Brockport, State University of New York. Dr. Kalkbrenner’s research agenda is centered on two major themes—psychometrics and college student mental health, and measurement and evaluation of dimensions of integrated mental and physical wellness. He has utilized quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods research paradigms, with an emphasis on quantitative methodology in psychometrics and other multivariate statistical analyses. Dr. Kalkbrenner’s teaching pedagogy is based on John Dewey’s theory of experiential learning and the flipped classroom in which the instructor is responsible for the learning environment and students are responsible for their own learning. Dr. Kalkbrenner has clinical experience providing counseling to a variety of populations in an array of different settings, including medical residents, veterans, college students, and children.
Read more about the TPC scholarship awards here.
Jul 19, 2023 | TPC Outstanding Scholar
Eric M. Brown, Kristy L. Carlisle, Melanie Burgess, Jacob Clark, and Ariel Hutcheon received the 2022 Outstanding Scholar Award for Quantitative or Qualitative Research for their article, “Adverse and Positive Childhood Experiences of Clinical Mental Health Counselors as Predictors of Compassion Satisfaction, Burnout, and Secondary Traumatic Stress.”
Brown (he, him, his), PhD, MDiv, LPC, is a counselor educator, mental health counselor, and researcher. He is an assistant professor in the Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine program at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, where he teaches classes on trauma counseling, addiction counseling, and group therapy. His research is focused on issues related to the prevention of burnout in helping professionals. Currently, Dr. Brown researches burnout and the resilience of counselors, teachers, and pastors.
Carlisle (she, her, hers), PhD, is an associate professor in Old Dominion University’s Counseling and Human Services Department, where she is the Human Services Program director. She also serves as the university’s addictions education coordinator, as well as the chief editor of the Journal of Human Services Scholarship and Interprofessional Collaboration. She has work experience as a PK–12 teacher, school counselor, mental health counselor, and case manager/supervisor, and she has served child, adolescent, and adult populations in school, inpatient residential, and community mental health settings. Dr. Carlisle’s research interests include addictions and addictions education, crisis and trauma education, and interprofessional collaboration and education (IPC/IPE).
Burgess (she, her, hers), PhD, is an assistant professor and the co-coordinator of the Counselor Education and Supervision PhD Program in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Research at the University of Memphis. She earned both her PhD in counselor education and supervision and her MSEd in counseling with a concentration in school counseling from Old Dominion University. Dr. Burgess’s research interests include school counselor preparation and clinical supervision; data-driven, evidence-based practices in PK–12 settings; and assessment. She has presented at national and state conferences, received federal and regional grant funding, and published qualitative and quantitative articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Clark (not pictured), BS, is a graduate student at Old Dominion University. Hutcheon (not pictured), MA, is a doctoral student at Old Dominion University.
Read more about the TPC scholarship awards here.
Jun 13, 2022 | TPC Outstanding Scholar
Shaywanna Harris-Pierre, Christopher T. Belser, Naomi J. Wheeler, and Andrea Dennison received the 2021 Outstanding Scholar Award for Concept/Theory for their article, “A Review of Adverse Childhood Experiences as Factors Influential to Biopsychosocial Development for Young Males of Color.”
Shaywanna Harris-Pierre, PhD, LPC, is an assistant professor of professional counseling at Texas State University. Her research centers on the psychological and physiological impact of trauma and race-based traumatic stress. Dr. Harris-Pierre serves her community through facilitating free workshops for couples where she provides psychoeducation on communication skills. Dr. Harris-Pierre also serves the counseling profession through her position as secretary for the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling, and her role as an editorial board member for the Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling, Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation, and the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development.
Christopher T. Belser, PhD, NCC, is an assistant professor in the counselor education program at the University of New Orleans. He earned his PhD in counselor education and supervision at the University of Central Florida and his MEd in school counseling at Louisiana State University. Dr. Belser has experience in Louisiana public and charter schools as a middle school counselor and a high school career coach. His research interests include school counselor preparation/practice and interdisciplinary P–16 STEM career development initiatives. Dr. Belser has delivered dozens of presentations at local, state, national, and international conferences and has published numerous articles and book chapters on counseling and career-related topics. He is the current associate editor of the Journal of Child & Adolescent Counseling, served as Chi Sigma Iota’s 2020–2021 Edwin Herr Fellow, and previously won The Professional Counselor’s 2018 Dissertation Excellence Award.
Naomi J. Wheeler, PhD, NCC, LPC, LMHC, is an assistant professor in counselor education and supervision at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her research builds on her professional and clinical experiences to examine relationship health across the life span, including the role of early life family adversity (such as ACEs) and couple stress as contributors to health disparities. Dr. Wheeler is also the co-director for the Urban Education and Family Center at VCU, which serves as a hub for community-engaged research and program services that address educational attainment, economic mobility, and individual and family well-being for historically marginalized populations living in poverty from a two-generational approach. The Center strives to harness research to improve the quality of life for Black and Latinx families in the greater Richmond area through community-based work.
Andrea Dennison, PhD, is an assistant professor at Texas State University.
Read more about the TPC scholarship awards here.
Jun 13, 2022 | TPC Outstanding Scholar
Fei Shen, Yanhong Liu, and Mansi Brat received the 2021 Outstanding Scholar Award for Quantitative or Qualitative Research for their article, “Attachment, Self-Esteem, and Psychological Distress: A Multiple-Mediator Model.”
Fei Shen, PhD, is a staff therapist at the Barnes Center at the Arch – Counseling at Syracuse University. Her clinical and research interests include attachment and trauma healing. She specifically focuses on understanding the impact and prevention of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in marginalized communities, as well as identifying mediating and moderating factors that can protect survivors from the negative effects of trauma.
Yanhong Liu, PhD, NCC, is an associate professor in the Counseling & Human Services Department at Syracuse University. She also serves as the MS in School Counseling P–12 Program Coordinator. Her scholarship centers around marginalized youth and supporting systems. She has published widely and consistently in counseling as well as interdisciplinary journals on the topics of adopted youth, school bullying, school-based programs, and counselor training.
Mansi Brat, PhD, LPC, LMHC, is an adjunct professor at Syracuse University. Dr. Brat’s scholarship focuses on mindfulness-based programs (MBP), social justice, counselor professional identity and advocacy, contemplative sciences, and humanistic psychology. She has published across interdisciplinary journals and is extremely passionate about furthering her research in highlighting the many layers of implicit bias that remain critical in dismantling racism and oppression amongst dominant groups.
Read more about the TPC scholarship awards here.
