The Pete Warren Student Fellows scholarship recognizes outstanding graduate counseling students across Virginia who demonstrate leadership potential, academic excellence, ethical integrity and a strong commitment to the counseling profession.
Each year, student fellows are selected from counselor education programs throughout the state. Recipients receive professional development support that includes VCA membership, leadership training opportunities, recognition at the VCA Convention and resources designed to strengthen their future impact within the counseling profession.
Below are the students selected as 2026 Pete Warren Student Fellows.
Monica Brile, William & Mary
Monica Brile is an educator, community builder and musician with a background spanning education, nonprofit leadership and member associations. She serves as IDEA Administrative Coordinator for the Association of Fundraising Professionals and previously led Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility initiatives at Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital, where she developed training, expanded accessibility efforts and built conflict resolution programs.
Brile is also an experienced arts educator and former department chair and choir director. After a career-ending injury resulting in permanent disability, her work has been deeply informed by a commitment to inclusion, accessibility and advocacy. Across all roles, she is dedicated to empowering individuals and fostering communities where everyone feels seen, valued and supported.
Brile is currently enrolled in William & Mary’s School of Education online school counseling program and says she intends to serve students and families while building strong, inclusive communities in Virginia following her expected graduation in May 2028.
Leah Choe, George Mason University
Leah Choe is a graduate student at George Mason University, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in education with a concentration in school counseling. She chose this career because of her commitment to supporting the social-emotional development of all students, recognizing its vital connection to academic achievement and long-term success.
Choe has experience working with children from infancy through adolescence and currently serves as an AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) and HIT (High-Impact) tutor for Fairfax County Public Schools.
She is especially passionate about ensuring school-based programs are designed and implemented through a multicultural lens. In her free time, she enjoys reading literature and spending time with her husband and dogs.
Audra Lancaster, Virginia Commonwealth University
Audra Lancaster is an accomplished graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, where she earned her master’s degree in education with a concentration in school counseling and is currently a doctoral candidate in VCU’s counselor education and supervision Ph.D. program.
Her work is grounded in a commitment to expanding comprehensive counseling services and fostering resilience-building environments that support student and community well-being.
With more than 18 years of experience across K–12 and higher education, Lancaster has served as a counselor, educator, advocate and leader, supporting the growth and success of students, families and colleagues. She currently serves as the district leader for school counseling in Chesterfield County Public Schools, where she leads efforts to strengthen student support systems, enhance crisis response, and align practices with state and professional standards.
Lancaster is dedicated to advancing the field through partnerships with school divisions, professional organizations and higher education institutions. Her research focuses on operationalizing resilience and equipping counselors with practical, evidence-based tools. Through her leadership, scholarship and service, she remains committed to preparing reflective, ethical counselors and expanding equitable access to student support systems.
Stephanie Lemus-Ortiz, Capella University
Stephanie Lemus-Ortiz is a lead counselor and multilingual school counselor in an alternative school setting serving newcomer and multilingual student populations in Northern Virginia.
She is a second-year doctoral student pursuing a Ph.D. in counselor education and supervision at Capella University. She holds a master of arts degree in school counseling from The George Washington University and a bachelor of arts degree in international studies from Virginia Tech.
Committed to student advocacy, Lemus-Ortiz serves as the Hispanic educator representative on the Minority Student Academic Oversight Committee, demonstrating her dedication to supporting marginalized and first-generation students. She also serves as the current CES Program Representative for the Chi Upsilon Chi chapter of Chi Sigma Iota and is the vice president-elect for HEA.
Passionate about social justice and advocacy for school counselors, her professional focus includes culturally responsive counseling and advising students on post-secondary planning.
Maya Morrison, University of Virginia
Maya Morrison graduated from the University of Virginia in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in foreign affairs and Middle East studies. She worked in the U.S. civil service for nearly 20 years before deciding to pursue a new career path in counseling. Morrison began her master’s studies in Bluefield University’s hybrid program for mental health counseling in early 2025.
As a Northern Virginia resident who grew up in Lexington, Virginia, Morrison says she cherishes each opportunity to escape the rush of the D.C. suburbs to spend a few weekends in the mountains of southwest Virginia for in-person intensives at Bluefield University each semester. She lives with her high school sweetheart-turned-husband and two spirited daughters, ages 10 and 12.
Sah Ara Sanu-t, Liberty University
Sah Ara Sanu-t is a clinical mental health counseling graduate student at Liberty University and a QMHP-T serving as an intern-clinical therapist in an intensive outpatient program in Richmond, Virginia, and is the newly elected VCCA secretary.
His clinical work centers on a neuro-informed approach to serious mental illness, personality disorders, and sexology, integrating neuroscience, trauma-informed care, and comprehensive clinical assessment to serve diverse populations across Virginia.
Sanu-t approaches treatment and research through a holistic, biologically grounded lens, incorporating natural integrative strategies alongside evidence-based psychotherapy. His academic and clinical interests include sexual health and sexology, with a focus on how neurobiology and culture shape identity, attachment and relational functioning.
As an Ọbàtálá Babaòòṣà (Indigenous Yorùbá healer), Sah’s understanding of precolonial African frameworks of sexuality and mental illness informs his broader perspective on human development, dignity, and communal healing. He maintains clear ethical boundaries between spiritual practice and clinical care while advocating for culturally informed, neuroscience-aligned models of counseling.
Alyssa Smith, University of Lynchburg
Alyssa Smith is a master’s student at the University of Lynchburg specializing in school counseling, where she maintains a 4.0 GPA and serves as a counselor education graduate assistant.
With a foundational bachelor’s degree in psychology from James Madison University, her professional experience spans diverse roles, including serving as an elementary school counselor intern and a student field placement intern at the Commonwealth Center for Children and Adolescents.
Smith’s leadership philosophy is rooted in the belief that leadership and counseling are synonymous, requiring a commitment to advocacy, continuous growth and the pursuit of every possible path to support client success. Her counseling approach is guided by the understanding that human knowledge is a fluid, “upward spiral process” shaped by intersectionality and lived experience.
She says she strives to enter every therapeutic relationship with congruency, unconditional positive regard, and empathy, standing firmly on the ethical principles of autonomy, fidelity, and veracity to empower clients — particularly children and adolescents — to navigate their own unique circumstances.
Holly Wescott, Virginia Commonwealth University
Holly Wescott is a graduate student in school counseling at Virginia Commonwealth University, currently completing her internship at Clover Hill High School.
She says she is passionate about supporting students’ academic, social and emotional development, with a focus on creating inclusive and supportive school environments.
Wescott has experience working with adolescents through individual counseling, group facilitation and school-wide programming.
In addition to her counseling work, she is actively involved in student mentorship and extracurricular activities, including coaching junior varsity soccer.
Wescott says she is committed to fostering resilience, confidence and growth in the students she serves. She will begin her professional career as a school counselor at O.B. Gates Elementary School.
As a recipient of the Pete Warren Fellowship Scholarship, Wescott says she is honored to continue developing her skills and making a positive impact in the field of school counseling.
Samara Williams, Old Dominion University
Samara Williams is a National Certified Counselor and holds a master’s degree in education and an MBA. She is also a doctoral student in counselor education and supervision at Old Dominion University and a resident in counseling in Virginia.
She says she is deeply committed to leadership, advocacy and service within the counseling profession. Her work centers on advancing equitable, culturally responsive practices in counseling, supervision and counselor education, with particular interest in strengthening leadership pipelines for future counselors and counselor educators.
In addition to her academic and clinical work, Williams serves as a board member for Aid Another, a nonprofit organization that supports neurodivergent individuals and their families. Through her scholarship, service and professional engagement, she is dedicated to contributing to the growth of the counseling profession and promoting meaningful change across clinical, educational and community settings.
Syreeta Wright, Virginia Commonwealth University
Syreeta Wright is a licensed professional counselor in Virginia, Georgia and Washington, DC; a Virginia Board–approved supervisor; a certified substance abuse counselor; and a National Certified Counselor. She is also a Ph.D. student in counselor education and supervision at Virginia Commonwealth University and serves in a supervisory role for the federal government, providing policy and technical oversight for substance abuse programs.
Wright has 20 years of experience delivering trauma and violence informed, culturally responsive counseling to clients of all ages across multiple settings. She reactivated the Rappahannock Chapter of the Virginia Counselors Association after a decade of inactivity, serving as president from 2025–26 and past president from 2026–27.
She centers her work on healing for women who have survived intimate partner violence and on the thoughtful integration of technology and artificial intelligence in counseling and counselor education. Outside of her professional life, she says she enjoys time with loved ones, writing, karaoke, line dancing and traveling.