Newsletters
Spring 2024 Newsletter Winners!
Congratulations Dr. Benjamin Robertson and Dr. Katherine McVay for submitting the winning articles for our Spring 2024 newsletter edition! Each award recipient will be granted a $150 grant for their contribution. See our Spring 2024 Newsletter to learn more.
Learn More About The Winners
Dr. Benjamin Robertson is currently an assistant professor and core faculty member in the department of counselor education and family studies at Liberty University. He has a history of work experience in a multitude of positions, such as youth care worker, service coordinator, case manager/unit director, counselor, treatment director, and adjunct instructor. Through his different roles, he has worked with a variety of populations, including children, adolescents, adults, elderly persons, military veterans, first responders, those with severe mental health concerns, people experiencing homelessness, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and undergraduate and graduate students. He was previously recognized as an emerging leader in the Texas Association for Humanistic Education and Development (TAHEAD) as well as an honorary clinical instructor by Walden University. Dr. Robertson has presented at local and state conferences and has research interests in emotional intelligence, burnout, and compassion satisfaction. He maintains membership in professional organizations at the local, state, and national levels. He has served as a reviewer for an open journal, a newsletter coordinator/reviewer/editor, a faculty advisor mentor, and committee member in different initiatives within academia. In his personal life, he has formerly engaged in his community as a tutor for kids at a children’s home, a volunteer at a church, and a mentor for prospective professionals. Dr. Robertson is deeply grateful for the many opportunities serving clients and consumers in diverse settings, teaching students at various institutions of higher education, and providing leadership to others within administrative and clinical supervisory capacities.
Dr. Katherine McVay is an assistant professor at Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi. She has a master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a doctorate degree in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of Texas at San Antonio. She is a Nationally Certified Counselor and a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas. Katherine has specialized experience in trauma and crisis counseling, grief counseling, and working with the LGBTQIA+ community to process life and identity changes. She has been active in several counseling organizations including Chi Sigma Iota as a Leadership Fellow, and working in counseling journals in varying roles, serving as the Editorial Assistant for the AdultSpan Journal in 2022-2023, a Counselor Educator and Supervision Journal Fellow in 2020-2021, and the Editorial Assistant for the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health in 2019-2020. Katherine was awarded the 2023 Outstanding Graduate Student Award by the Texas Association for Counselor Education and Supervision and received the Outstanding Practitioner Award in 2023 from the Sigma Alpha Chi Chapter of Chi Sigma Iota for her service in responding to the Uvalde tragedy. She currently serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, serves on the Social Media committee for AARC, and helps with the SACES Webinar Series. Katherine primarily conducts research in underserved communities and populations (i.e., rural and sex trafficking survivors); leadership and advocacy efforts of counseling students; ethical considerations with minority populations; and counselor development. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and state conferences on these topics.