Suzee Leone Grant Recipients & Projects

To learn more about the kind of work sponsored by the VCA Foundation, below are brief descriptions of all grant projects funded between 2012-2023, starting with the most recent awards.

Fall 2024 Recipients and Projects: Coming Soon

Spring 2024

Recipients and Projects: Fall (Coming Soon!)

Recipients and Projects: Spring

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Spring and Fall 2023

Fall 2023

Kuiyin Carter from Pleasants Lane Elementary School:

Many students at Pleasants Lane Elementary experience a vast array of trauma and negative life experiences, but are not receiving instruction on positive social skills and coping strategies at home. Because our students are part of a generation with technology at their fingertips, they need more engaging and interesting ways to learn. The purpose of “Self Regulation for All” is for school counselors to use interesting and engaging games to create more effective small groups aimed at helping our students learn these vital skills. The ultimate goal is for students to learn to self-regulate in times of big emotions, without needing an adult to coach them through it.

Baylee Leazer from Johnson Health Center:

“Resilience Through Movement: Creating Accessible Spaces for Mind/Body Wellness” is a project focusing on providing accessible yoga practice to members of the Lynchburg community with limited resources. This program will teach skills to Johnson Health Center patients related to regulating emotions, becoming more in tune with their body, and reducing physical and emotional pain. While yoga and meditation are evidence-based practices proven to reduce symptoms of anxiety and other mental health stressors, it is a service that is frequently inaccessible for patients with limited resources due to the cost of classes. With this program, Johnson Health Center would be able to challenge this “wellness desert” by offering no/low cost yoga and mindfulness classes with a trained Yoga Teacher/Resident in Counseling.

Spring 2023

Ashley Spanfelner from Roanoke Area Counselors Association
“Having Your Back As You Head Back to School” will show support and boost morale for the school counselors in the Roanoke area by inviting them to participate in a free hour of online continuing education, and sending them gift packages that include tools for the counseling trade.

Joan Monahan from Congregational Community Action Project
“Empowerment to Improved Employment” is a program that combines the efforts of the Congregational Community Action Project and Legacy Wellness Center. We will use assessment, education, counseling, and coaching to provide clients with the knowledge and resources to work their way out of crisis living.

Megan Ellis from Live Well Counseling and Consulting, LLC
The “Post COVID Library” will be a collection of resources for clinicians to use when providing individual and group counseling to treat anxiety and depression, two mental health challenges that have been on the rise since COVID.

Johnzelle Anderson from Panoramic Counseling, LLC
Additional grant funding was provided to continue “The Mental Health Book Club,” which provides a safe place for participants to reflect on mental health topics in a small group setting, through the medium of literature. Participants learn and grow from engagement in these book discussions, as community and communication are vital components of change and wellness.

Randal I. Queen, School Psychologist from Roanoke County Public Schools
The purpose of my project is to provide an evidenced-based treatment option, in the educational setting, to students with a history of trauma exposure. Becoming trained in EMDR therapy will allow me to do my part to increase opportunities to appropriate professional help and treatment for our youth.

Chanelle Henderson, LPC and Co-Owner of A Tree Planted Collective
My project includes a two-day collaborative, intensive workshop to provide connection, resources, and mental health support to Hispanic mothers in Roanoke, VA. The project idea grew from a need communicated by Hispanic women in a previous support group. The workshop will include topics such as: expectations for Hispanic mothers, preventing children from gang involvement, and coping with anxiety and depression. The overall purpose of the workshop is to build a strong support system in the community.

Fall 2022

Johnzelle Anderson from Panoramic Counseling, LLC
“The Mental Health Book Club” will provide a safe place for participants to reflect on mental health topics in a small group setting, through the medium of literature. Participants will learn and grow from engagement in these book discussions, as community and communication are vital components of change and wellness.

Cyrus Williams from Impact Counseling, LLC
“Treating Anxiety Using VR” is designed to reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety in children and adolescents ages 12-17. The program incorporates elements of psychoeducation on stress and anxiety, training in mindfulness techniques, and the application of mindfulness based practices using a virtual reality platform and related technology.

Andrew Colsky from Stop My OCD-Fall 2022
Virginia Counseling Association and Stop My OCD are co-sponsoring Virginia’s first “OCD Awareness Campaign.” The Campaign is designed to provide OCD awareness to VCA members as well as citizens with OCD and their loved ones. It will consist of a free continuing education course for VCA members, development of a cadre of OCD Awareness Speakers from those trained counselors, a series of OCD Awareness presentations to other counselors and citizens around the state, distribution of awareness materials, creation of an interactive “Ask an OCD Expert” website monitored by an OCD expert and a social media campaign.

Alicia Duhon from Counseling and Forensic Services Inc.
“One More Light: To Help Your Fight with Depression” is a 6-week, psycho-educational, strengths based counseling group, designed for adolescents who are experiencing depression. It incorporates an educational session for parents/guardians that will focus on how to recognize and address depression in teens.

Spring 2022

Hannah Ingo, Graduate Assistant, School of Education and Social Sciences, Bluefield UniversityBluefield University seeks to expand counseling and wellness services by creating a labyrinth for students. Many students are unfamiliar with what support and wellness look like for them. Bluefield University is aware that they are serving a vulnerable and at-risk population, so the labyrinth is intended to provide a new avenue of wellness for students to explore and uniquely care for their mental health.

The labyrinth on campus would serve as a place for students to stand in the center, breathe, and slowly walk back out. This can promote long-term effects such as a newfound calmness, a more profound understanding of oneself, and a deep promotion of ‘trusting the process.’ The labyrinth will open up a new avenue of wellness for all students and encourage them to navigate what support and wellness look like and how healing can come
from within themselves. We hope that this project will help students unlock perception, vulnerability, and healing.

Daria VanRavestein, DePaul Community Resources, Roanoke wrote the grant, and Amy Burns, LPC is the VCA member on the grant and program manager.DePaul Community Resources received a previous grant from the Virginia Counselors Association Foundation to address the tremendous need for therapeutic services for LGBTQ+ youth in foster care in Virginia by launching the “How to Be You” therapy group to support, empower, and create connections for LGBTQ+ youth who are in foster care or have been adopted.

This second round of grant funding allowed DePaul Community Resources to purchase books like All Out, A Guide to Gender, PRIDE, and Unashamed, and games, supplies, and other resources to guide staff and clients into meaningful conversations and discussions.

Fall 2021

Mikhal Salzberg, School Counselor, Charlottesville
“As if by Magic: An Academic Engagement Group for Middle School Boys” developed for 7th grade boys at Buford Middle School, Charlottesville City Schools, by Mikhal Salzberg. Magic tricks are tricky! They take time and practice. Each week group lessons feature perseverance, leadership, and growth mindset tied to learning and performing magic tricks. Through this group, students will have fun, laugh, get frustrated, and learn how to work through challenges for a successful outcome.

Elyse Crockett, School Counselor, Hanover County
“Tiger Pause” developed for all John Gandy Elementary School students in grades 3 – 5, Hanover County Public Schools presented by Elyse Crockett, school counselor. Thirty Tiger Pause spaces will be created in classrooms at John Gandy Elementary School where students will learn to identify feelings, employ coping strategies for uncomfortable emotions, and reintegrate into the academic environment. Direct counseling instruction will be delivered to students on feelings identification and coping strategies for uncomfortable emotions.

Chelsea Ogden, Associate Director of Counseling, Johnson Health Center, Lynchburg
“Equipped Counselors, Empowering Children” developed by Chelsea Ogden, Associate Director of Counseling, Johnson Health Center in Lynchburg, VA. The Johnson Health Center will create a robust resource and intervention library which will be used with primarily pediatric clients to include creative interventions and play-based tools. 

Sarah Tracy, School Counselor, Prince William County
“Breathe for Change Training – SEL Program” for Rockledge and King Elementary Schools in Prince William County Public Schools presented by Sarah Tracy, school counselor. The project will provide students, staff and the community with lessons in social emotional learning, wellness, yoga, meditation, and mindfulness.

Laura Waller, KS Services, LLC, Springfield
“Project CONNECT: Helping families understand the use of Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) in order to mitigate the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)”, created by Laura Waller at KS Services, LLC in Springfield, VA, for teen girls and caregivers. Through Project CONNECT teens and their caregivers will receive support as they transition from virtual to in-person learning. Parents will learn applicable strategies to support students as they return to school. Teens will learn to navigate ACE exposure and implement acts of self-compassion in order to cope with present stressors regarding relationships and expectations.

Christina Alga, Holly Toombs, and Karen Cole, school counselors, Hanover County
“Addressing Anxiety Through Art” developed by Christina Alga, Holly Toombs, and Karen Cole, school counselors at Mechanicsville High School in Hanover County Public Schools. This project will incorporate creative activities to help students struggling with mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression. Students will be introduced to art projects such as visual journaling, positive self talk portraits, and stress mobiles to help them to identify and express feelings that are difficult to discuss in conversation. They will learn to identify potential triggers in their lives that increase anxiety and be able to recognize the physical effects of stress and anxiety in their bodies.

Spring 2021

Johnzelle Anderson, LPC, Panorama Counseling, Glen Allen

Anderson’s project, “Perfectly Imperfect: A Podcast on Mental Health for Folx of Color,” received an $800.00 grant. The purpose of this project is to provide information about mental health issues impacting communities of color and point listeners to resources available — psychotherapy, primary care, psychiatry, etc.  The podcast available at https://linktr.ee/counselor4rva.

Daria VanRavestein, DePaul Community Resources, Roanoke wrote the grant, and Amy Burns, LPC is the VCA member on the grant and program manager.  The project is “How to Be You: DePaul’s Therapy Group for LGBTQ+ Youth ( Youth in foster care or adopted).  This is a virtual support group, and DePaul Community Resources received $1000.00 for the grant.

Fall 2020 

Megan Ellis, LPC, CSAC, Outpatient Therapist, Live Well Counseling & Consulting, LLC, Roanoke
Received $1000.00 to provide resources and support for mental health workers to give the life changing tele-health services that are so desperately needed right now.  Funding provided will be used to help “PLANT SEEDS OF HOPE” for individuals, groups, and specifically frontline healthcare workers in need of support during this global coronavirus pandemic. 

Briana Gaines, MA, LAC, NCC, Ph.D. Student, JMU, THRIVE Coordinator, Harrisonburg
Received $400.00 to provide a one-year outreach project focused on race-based trauma in three counties and one city.  Racism is defined as both the prejudiced beliefs and actions and the systemic oppression of racial and ethnic groups based solely on membership to those groups (Delgado & Stefancic, 2017; Bryant-Davis & Ocampo, 2006). As a chronic stressor, racism impacts may lead to the psychological distress associated with race-based trauma for People of Color (POC; Bryant- Davis & Ocampo, 2006; Carter, 2007; Comas-Diaz et al., 2019). Despite its impact, research suggests that counselors have received insufficient training in identifying and treating race-based trauma (Hemmings & Evans, 2018). Lack of training in this area perpetuates the cycle of inadequate preparation, suggesting that racial disparities in access to treatment and quality of treatment are likely to continue. Furthermore, counselors are called by professional ethics and multicultural and social justice competencies to support marginalized communities (ACA, 2014; Ratts et al., 2016). Thus, it is imperative that counselor educators and the counseling profession create evidence-based methods for identifying and addressing race-based trauma.  Leveraging relationships with the CACREP accredited counseling programs at James Madison University (JMU), this program intends to create evidence-based methods for identifying and addressing race-based trauma in clinical and classroom settings. This project intends to 1) disseminate a racial climate needs assessment (n=50); 2) develop a race-based trauma treatment model based on data regarding the provision of counseling services to POC (n=50); and 3) facilitate a race-based trauma symposium (n=100) for counselors to enhance the delivery of race- based trauma services for rural and medically underserved POC.

Aiesha Lee, Doctoral Student W&M, Williamsburg
Received $350.00 for The Melanin Scholars Retreat.  Mentoring Black Women in Research (Melanin Scholars Retreat) aims to support BW faculty and doctoral students in Counselor Education and cultivate their writing and research initiatives. Participation in a writing retreat may help to mitigate some of the barriers for BW students and faculty. In addition, understanding the experiences of those participating in the retreat is critical in expanding what we currently know about writing support groups for BW in the academy. Consequently, in this study, the researchers will use an autoethnographic self-collaboration study to address the following research questions: What are the collaborative experiences of BW who participate in the Melanin Scholars Retreat and how do these experiences influence the participants’ professional journeys? The full retreat will take place during the summer of 2021, however the pilot phase will encompass a 2-day virtual event in January of 2021. During the pilot phase participants will engage in a structured writing retreat with checkpoints in the morning, early afternoon, and a wrap-up at the end of the day. With this structure, the participants will be given a timeline to work through and prompts to support their writing goals. At the end of the two-day event, participants will provide formative feedback to the researchers which will enhance the structure for the full writing retreat scheduled to follow in the summer.

Nathaniel Mason, M.Ed., NCC, Ph.D. student W&M
Received $400.00 for a program located in Hampton Roads.  Grant funds will be used to start a new project to address the unique needs of LGBTQ+ young adults struggling with the effects of minority stressors (Meyer, 2003), including loneliness and isolation that has been compounded since COVID (Katz-Wise, 2020).  The six-week group will include an introduction to the benefits of social connectedness as well as therapeutically-appropriate ice breakers to build group cohesion and trust. The following weeks will include empirically-supported interventions including processing the role of minority stressors, the use of CBT in facilitating connectedness and reaching out to others, mindfulness as a way to gauge current feelings, practicing new skills learned outside of session, and a final group session for summarizing what was learned. The project will then transition into the data analysis phase which will likely include interviews from participants and quantitative evaluation summaries to support what went well in the group as well as considerations for future groups. These findings will then be disseminated to local clinicians in presentation and publication format. These findings and recommendations will contribute to the continued professional development of Virginia clinicians to increase their competence and sense of self-efficacy in working with LGBTQ+ adults in light of the current pandemic.

Dr. Shekila Melchior, Assistant Professor, GMU, Fairfax, the Fourth Annual Esther Pincus Grantee
Received $500.00 to expand on an existing project with a group called The Amigas. The original project explored the social and living conditions of undocumented Central American immigrant mothers and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic. A gap emerged in the findings of the study, the experiences of their school-aged children. As a result, the researchers seek to expand on that existing project and address the needs of the children in the home. More specifically, their transition to online learning and their perspectives on the impact COVID-19 has had on them and their family as well as how it could potentially impact their future. As a result, a Youth Community Advisory Board committee will be formed to give voice to the students directly experiencing these barriers and to provide knowledge and strategies to the community and schools that serve them.

Charity Thompson, Clinical Director of Outpatient Services, Trinity Care, LLC, North Chesterfield
Received $850.00 for the Harvesting ROSES (Resilient Opportunities for Social & Emotional Support) program dedicated to supporting the social and emotional growth and development of adolescents ages 12-17 years old.  During adolescence, children face many challenges, including physiological changes that can interfere with daily functioning.  While adolescents will experience normal changes during this period, we strive to support the changes that adolescents struggle to understand or manage.  The program seeks to enhance social and emotional well-being that will positively improve daily functioning.  The goal of the Harvesting ROSES program is to provide counseling and support in the areas of social and emotional well-being.  With supporting adolescents’ social and emotional development, the program strives to ultimately create positive change and improvement in all areas of life.

Spring 2020

Dr. Christa A. Benton, LPC, NCC-Counselor, Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School, a faith-based school serving, tuition free, 4th-8th grade students of limited economic resources. Many students have been exposed to unfortunate events and hardship placing them at risk for engaging in disruptive and distractive behaviors having limited self-regulation skills to cope with external and internal triggers and unresolved trauma they have experienced. In an effort to provide the students a safe, positive, and successful school learning environment, a social-emotional mental health program was established to support them with combating the challenges that impede their academic and social growth. A $1000.00 grant was awarded to supplement and enhance the 2020-2021 school year curriculum for the weekly social-emotional development group that all enrolled students participate in during the school day. Grant funds will be used to enhance the curriculum by providing experiences to enhance their learning of life skills, social skills, and independent coping skills. The project also expects to enhance the learning environment for teachers and students by increasing both academic and behavioral successes across content areas.

Megan A. Ellis, LPC, CSAC
Outpatient Therapist, Thriving Families Counseling CenterReceived $1000.00 to address the need for basic, hands-on tools for students in the foster care system to use to help cope with the anxiety they often suffer with in silence. The project will also look at the impact basic stress reduction tools can have on the overall mental health and well-being of this underserved population. Most importantly, this project intends to provide lifelong tools for this traumatized population to use when anxiety and stress inevitably arise throughout their lifespan. A secondary goal is to introduce resident counseling staff to ongoing relaxation and mindfulness opportunities to help them prevent counselor burnout, improve counselor efficacy, and provide tools to create a more balanced and mentally healthy workplace that can in turn create better treatment outcomes for the populations they serve.

Marisa Jones, M.Ed., School Counseling Student, Linkhorne Middle School and University of Lynchburg

Received a $500.00 grant to establish the ReSet Room to provide a supportive therapeutic environment to assist students with self-calming and emotional regulation through an environment that promotes relaxation. It is a designated safe place to settle down when things become overwhelming and upsetting through calming visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli.

Short term goals are to reduce in-class incidents, decrease number of students wandering the hallways, in the office, and skill building for long term emotional regulation through mindfulness and de-stressing activities. Long term outcomes are to decrease referrals, therefore decrease in-school suspensions, leading to a decrease in out-of-school suspensions related to behavior. Students will learn skills to benefit their well-being, self-awareness, resiliency, and self-care. This will encourage growth within the community, beyond the school, giving students skills to succeed in life.

Autumn Randell, M.A., NCC, Resident in Counseling (LPC-R), Ph.D. Candidate, VCU School of Education & Graduate Assistant, VCU College of Engineering Career Center
Received $400.00 to examine school counselors’ perspectives surrounding the role they play in supporting underrepresented high school students who are interested in STEM careers. The short-term outcome of this study is to collect more information and give voice to school counselors’ perspectives on how they support underrepresented students’ pursuit of STEM careers. Long-term outcomes include disseminating the results of this study to Virginia School Counselors and Counselor Educators through VCA and VACES conferences, adding to the literature on the role and impact of school counselors by submitting a manuscript for publication in counseling journals, and using the results of this project to advocate for school counselors as key stakeholders in underrepresented students’ career development and choice, especially in regards to STEM Careers. As a result of participating in this study, participants will be helping to bridge a gap in the school counseling literature and bring light to the important work that school counselors do for marginalized students.

Charles Shepard, LPC, NCC, Clinical Director, Couple & Family Counselor, The ARROW Project. Received $600.00 for a project for audio-visual equipment to provide supervision for residents in counseling that extends the standard of supervision set by CACREP for graduate counseling programs. This will be accomplished by providing Video-Review (VR) supervision to at least five residents in counseling providing services through The ARROW Project clinic and community-based programs. Anticipated short-term outcomes are that the Staunton, Augusta, Waynesboro (SAW) Region will have more mental health providers, residents in counseling will have improved comfort with the VR supervision format, and will gain a deeper level of self-and professional-awareness as a result of the VR supervision format. Long-term goals are that the area will have (a) more licensed mental health care providers and (b) more clinical supervisors who are likely to use VR supervision.

Fall 2019

Alan Smith, Clinical Counseling Intern, Bluefield College
Received a $700.00 grant to provide a Mindfulness Room where students can practice mindfulness techniques while also helping them to engage in other wellness practices and provide opportunities to learn techniques to help students manage stress in more constructive ways. Resources will also be provided so students can guide themselves through mindfulness practices in addition to scheduled programming to teach these techniques within groups.

Melissa Deaton Cook, LPC, Spiral Roots LLC
Received a $750.00 grant to help youth and their caregivers/parents to learn new ways to communicate from a bottom up approach using different percussive instruments. Participants will increase their self-confidence, strengthen self-expression, learn the importance of listening, and of speaking clearly and respectfully, and will develop a sense of connectedness within their dyad and with other community participants. They will also learn take-away techniques to reduce anxiety and stress in order to facilitate communication during difficult times.

Dr. Tameka Grimes, Assistant Professor, Virginia Tech
Received a $550.00 grant to provide support to Roanoke City Professional School Counselors in the development, implementation, and evaluation of a comprehensive school counseling program (CSCP) using the Virginia Department of Education and Curry School of Education “AdVAntage” cohort model. CSCP has been associated with a number of positive student outcomes, including higher student attendance and graduation rates, higher math and reading scores, and more positive school cultures.

Spring 2019

Angela LePeter, M.Ed., Director of School Counseling, Oak Knoll Middle School, Hanover County Public Schools
Received the Esther Pincus Grant for $600.00 funding to obtain materials to utilize in a variety of small counseling groups that foster creativity; develop the whole self, including a healthy balance of mental, social/emotional and physical well-being; and results in students who demonstrate effective coping skills when faced with problems, and sense of belonging in the school setting.

Loren Watson, M.Ed., Professional School Counselor Beaverdam Elementary School, Hanover Public Schools
Received $600.00 funding to develop “Cluster Tubs” for all grade levels at her school. The purpose of the project is to provide instruction and exposure to the concept of a Career Cluster, help individual students identify their career interests and goals, introduce students to the sixteen career clusters, and assist students in understanding how what they are learning in school will translate to skills needed for future postsecondary success. These counseling activities will teach and expose students to all sixteen of the Virginia Career Clusters.

Angela Anderson, LPC, NCC, MA, Director of Services, Serenity Counseling Center & Wellness, Blue Ridge, Virginia
Received $650.00 to create and build a free, local meditation garden for the residents of Botetourt County and surroundings. The goal is to provide a serene space to enhance mindfulness awareness in the Blue Ridge area. Serenity Meditation Garden will also provide clients with depression and/or anxiety issues an additional space to gather before and after counseling sessions.

Ruthe Laurore, QDDP, LPC, NCC, Executive Director, Welcome Home Community Services, LLC, Prince George, Virginia
Received $650.00 funding to provide a therapeutic “Skilled Space” as cognitively challenged participants engage in the agency’s Skills System Program. The purpose of the program is to increase positive thinking skills that will help them to decrease maladaptive behaviors. “Skilled Space” is where individuals will have time to meditate privately and/or in a group setting as they implement supports as taught to them through the System Skills Program.

Fall 2018

Matthew V. Bukowski, Private Practice Therapist, Secure Child In-Home Program (SCIHP), Charlottesville and Albemarle Counties (SCIHP is an attachment-based in-home and outpatient counseling provider agency in central Virginia that provides services for ages 3 – adults of all ages.)
Received The Esther Pincus Grant for $500.00 to fund the Nature Based Therapy Room, an innovative nature-based outpatient counseling room that can be utilized as a therapeutic setting for parents and children, as well as a psychoeducational and developmental resource. Grant funds will be used to turn a typical therapy room into a virtual outdoor setting, where clients can learn to experience the mental health and developmental benefits of nature in a controlled, confidential therapeutic setting.

Elizabeth Beatley Professional School Counselor, The Georgetown School (TGS), Hanover County Public Schools
The Georgetown School (TGS) is a specialty school that serves students in grades 6-12 who are not successful in the comprehensive school setting due to behavioral, academic, and/or truancy concerns. The VCAF funded Art Show Project ($500.00) is to offer an innovative and relevant learning experience that is desirable to some of the most challenging students. The primary objectives include providing an opportunity for students to positively direct their creativity by making an art project of their choice, providing an opportunity for students to expand their knowledge base by visiting the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), providing an opportunity to expand their community exposure by dining in an upscale setting, and providing an opportunity for students to develop their leadership skills by planning and organizing an art show.

Susan P. Cook, Student Behavioral Health Specialist/Licensed Professional Counselor, John M. Gandy Elementary School, Hanover County Public Schools
The VCAF Grant funded Canvas Painting Art Project ($500.00) is to provide third -fifth grade Tier III at-risk students with developmental delays, behavioral difficulties, and fine motor skill deficits the opportunity to develop and strengthen executive functioning through planning an art project from start to finish by using art supplies appropriately and by following directions and skills modeled by a local artist and by using a problem solving approach taught by the Counselor/Student Behavioral Health Specialist that includes: Define the problem, Brainstorm alternatives, Predict consequences, Make a choice, Take action, Evaluate-Did it work? The goals are for students to feel valued, accepted, and important while using art as a form of creative expression.

Spring 2018 

Jodi Myers, Victim/Family Advocate, Counselor for Valley Children’s Advocacy Center
Awarded $750.00 for a project to provide more appropriate play therapy tools and options for working with clients who have suffered trauma as a result of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect that range from the age of 3 years old to adult. Clients referred by law enforcement and social services are provided with free services. The center is located in a rural area where it can take weeks to get appointments with counselors so the center serves as a bridge of short- and medium-term services until other resources are available.

Donna Dockery, Associate Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University & Lauren Wynne Assistant Professor, Longwood University
Were awarded $750.00 for their Longwood/VCU AdVAntage project to support school counselors’ efforts to move counseling programs forward using recommended best practices. Students will learn to design, implement, and evaluate comprehensive school counseling programs, and may apply for RAMP and VDOE “adVAntage” designations after participating. Before 2017, only one school counseling program in Central Virginia had received national recognition.

Fall 2017

Ari Laoch, MS, CBIST, Therapist Health Brigade (formerly Fan Free Clinic)
Received a $600.00 grant to provide a therapeutic group for trans people. This group will provide trans people a safer place to gather and utilize counseling interventions without the weight of pathologizing gender and identity/expression. The Trans Therapy Group offers a communal opportunity to process and share our stories and history. Group will center on Transgender support, understanding of commonality, community building, and affirming interactions and will work with participants to facilitate knowledge of personal strength, courage, and temperance. The Trans Therapy Group is a closed eight-week group that offers participants the opportunity to repeat a cycle as a sponsor or mentor. Increased well-being and increased self-efficacy leads to improved mental health and wellness.

LaConda Fanning PsyD, LPC, RN, Therapist with Psychological Services of Virginia and Christian Psychological Services
Received The Esther Pincus Grant for $500.00. The M.A.P.P.I.N.G. project will provide real time supportive learning groups (SLGS) that promote positive choices and behavioral competence in school age children, age 5 to 18 years old, who have a mental health diagnosis related to social learning deficits. The use of play will help students to Manage anger effectively, Acquire love of life learning, Progress toward happy futures, Profess purpose in life, Insulate through skill building, Navigate behavioral growth, and Gain communication proficiency.

Chi Li, Doctoral Student in Counselor Education and Supervision, Old Dominion University
Received a grant for $400.00 for a study to develop and validate an instrument to measure counselor/supervisee disclosure in supervision. Most relevant studies in this area were done more than 20 years ago and no relevant psychometrically sound measures were found in a search of the literature. The goals of this project include development and validation of a psychometrically sound measure for counselor/supervisee disclosure in supervision, as well as to help counselor/supervisees learn what to disclose in supervision and how their disclosure in supervision will contribute to their professional and personal growth, which will eventually benefit the clients.

Spring 2017

Melissa Deaton Cook, LPC Lead Counselor at Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Center
Received $1000.00 VCAF Grant to provide music and rhythm activities using drumming techniques with at risk youth to create a safe, nonjudgmental and fun space in which youth can express themselves safely in a non-verbal or verbal manner. A short-term goal is that participants find an immediate sense of calming and increased ability to self-regulate. A long-term goal is for the client to learn a minimum of three techniques for their emotional tool box to reduce anxiety and stress in the future. Additionally youth will develop a stronger understanding of the need for positive community and connectedness in their community.

Melanie Burgess, MS.ED. Doctoral Student, Old Dominion University
Received a $500.00 grant to research and determine the experiences and needs of new school counselors and make preparation and training recommendations for counselor educators, district level supervisors, and professional organizations, such as VCA. Currently research is lacking in-depth accounts of novice school counselors’ process acclimating to the field. A better understanding of novice school counselors’ experiences transitioning from their graduate program to becoming a professional school counselor will assist in guiding school counselor preparation and training, thus resulting in school counselors’ increased job performance: meeting students’ academic, career, and social/emotional needs.

Fall 2016 

Josephine Olson, MA, LPC, NCC, CCMHC, RPT, Abigail’s House (a safe house for women in rescue).
Trauma Sensitive Self-Compassionate Yoga (TSSCY) is an 8-week psycho-educational program designed to promote the mind-body connection while addressing the physiological implications of trauma.

Mikhal Salzberg, M.Ed., Counseling Coordinator,  Wilson Memorial High School in Fisherville, Virginia.
Wilson Success Academy – a special academic intervention program for “at risk” ninth and tenth graders. The purpose of the project is to provide academy students the tools necessary to assist with their achievement both academically, and on a personal/social level.

Spring 2016 

Nadine Hartig, Ph.D., LPC, Radford University
Pathways Mentoring Program with middle school students in an underserved area, interested in the counseling profession. Will provide an opportunity for students in an underserved mental health catchment area with an opportunity to gain knowledge about careers in mental health and provide a career exploration experience that will benefit the community with an increased focus on mental health in the area.

Christian Chan, Doctoral Student in Counseling, The George Washington University
Joint Counselor Training and Development Program between the organizations of Virginia Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development and Virginia Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling. The project aims at expanding the training and increasing the quality of services among ethnic, sexual, and gender diverse populations to intentionally merge the mission, vision, and identity of both organizations.

Fall 2015 

Joshua Hurley, Director Patrick Henry High School in Ashland
Karla Allen Coordinator School Counseling, Hanover County Schools
Kindness Crew Project to Build Character and Overall Kindness

Laura Farmer, Ph.D., and Gerard Lawson, Ph.D., Virginia Tech 
Mindfulness and Anxiety Reduction Training with High School Juniors at Southwest Virginia Governor’s School.

Spring 2015 

Jackie Robinson, Oak Grove ES, Richmond Public Schools
Women’s Empowerment Program to provide psycho-educational counseling and formal community support to low-income females with the goal of increasing academic support and mental health well being resulting in improved academic performance of their children.

Josephine M. Olson, LPC Light Counseling, Lynchburg
Annie’s Tree House – Parenting Program for parents of foster/adoptive children of cross-culture backgrounds. Sessions are intended to foster attachments, improve problem-solving skills, and stimulate effective communications.

Fall 2014 

Dr. Kevin Glavin, Old Dominion University
Career Awareness Project – Funds provided to develop a program to provide undergraduate students with an understanding of how the world of work is organized and to help them explore their vocational self-concept and to identify options.

Richelle Joe, College of William & Mary
Training for School Counselors in School Community Collaboration – Funds provided training for professional school counselors with information regarding family processes that can be beneficial in efforts to partner with parents and families for student success.

Spring 2014 

Josephine M. Olson, LPC Lighthouse Counseling in Lynchburg.
Annie’s Tree House 
Filial Therapy: Funds provided for a project to foster attachments and to enhance relationships within the new family structure of families who have chosen to adopt or provide foster care for children cross-culturally.

Barbara Lavine, Camelot ES, Fairfax County Schools
Parent Resources in English and Spanish: Funds were used to implement a program to increase parental involvement and parenting skills by providing information in English and Spanish through materials, DVD’s, and parent programs.

Spring 2013

Paul C. Harris, Ph.D., Jackson Via Elementary School, Charlottesville City Schools
“Bully Nots” Program: Funds used for evaluating the effectiveness of a bullying prevention program and determining means for improving the impact on school climate and expanding the program to other schools.

Hilary Press, Groveton Elementary School, Fairfax County Schools
Peer Mediation Training: Funds enabled students from the school to attend, for the first time, system-wide training peer mediation enabling the counselor to implement a school-wide peer mediation program.

Spring 2012 

Elizabeth Beatley, Pole Green ES, Hanover County Schools
The Village Project – Funds used to develop a program that fosters a sense of community in the school through service projects and mentoring relationships of upper level and lower level classes collaboration

Jessica Lloyd-Hazelett, College of William & Mary
Family-School Intervention Data Collection Project – Funds used for data collection from school counselors using focus groups to improve collaboration between school counselors and family counseling agencies.