Branch Committee

Dr. Yoon Suh Moh

LPC, CRC, NCC--Chair

Dr. Yoon Suh Moh is an assistant professor in the Community and Trauma Counseling program at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dr. Moh has earned a doctorate degree in the CACREP-accredited counseling program from the George Washington University in 2018. She is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania, certified rehabilitation counselor (CRC), national certified counselor (NCC), and board certified telemental health counselor with professional proficiency in English, Japanese, and Korean. Her love for communication motivated her to learn American Sign Language and about the deaf culture in the United States. She is also currently working toward a certification in neurofeedback (e.g., electroencephalogram [EEG] and qEEG) through the Biofeedback Certification International Alliance and practicing in the Greater Philadelphia area. Dr. Moh’s selective research interests involve effects of chronic or toxic stress on mental illness, non-death loss and grief in mental health caregivers, and culturally responsive research mentoring relationships in counselor education. 

Dr. Moh is a tireless advocate for minoritized groups of individuals and families such as those who have a disability and accordant functional impairment. Dr. Moh’s leadership and service includes the Association for Adult Development and Aging’s newsletter editor, one of the emerging reviewers for the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, American Mental Health Counselors Association’s Neuroscience Science Task Force’s member, the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development’s state division formation committee’s chair, North Atlantic Region Association for Counselor Education and Supervision’s co-editor of the newsletter, and the member of Data and Evaluation Action Team in Healing-Empowerment-Advocacy-Learning-Prevention-Action (HEAL-PA) through the Office of Advocacy and Reform of Pennsylvania Government. 

Mr. Jerry Pierson--Vice-Chair

Jerry Pierson is a graduate student pursuing his master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Capella University. He has a bachelor’s in Psychology from Capella and an associate in Human Resources. Jerry is currently a member of the United States Air Force with 21 years of service. He has 9 total combat tours to both Iraq and Afghanistan. He has been stationed in South Korea, Italy, and Germany, as well as various locations within the United States. In addition to his position as an evaluator and instructor onboard the E-8C, Jerry has served in various other roles that include individual counseling and care for service members. He is a certified 4 Lenses trainer and Integrated Resiliency Training Assistant. His goal is to become an LPC and continue to serve military veterans and first responders.

Debra Ainbinder, PhD, LPC, BCPC, NCC, ACS

IARTC Treasurer-- Board Liaison

Dr. Ainbinder is Professor of Counseling and Associate Dean at Lynn University in Florida with a specialization in Marriage and Family Counseling, using a scientist/practitioner model of professional development.  She served as Co-Principle Investigator for two prevention-focused research studies. She has been active in the field of counseling since 1985, including private practice and agency settings.  Her research interests include parent interventions to decrease alcohol use and related consequences, and community programs in narcotics overdose prevention.  She is currently working on a Quality Enhacement Plan at Lynn University to integrate local and global research related to the functions of wellness, specifically resiliency.

Yahyah Smadi, M.D.

Yahyah Smadi is a psychiatrist with rich and eventful 17 years of international experience in psychiatry in five countries and clinical mental health counseling. He is a poet and interested in international literature and how speech could have standard physical and biological principles like other human rhythms to enhance communication and empathy between different cultures and races. He is an active coordinator and participant in Community Engagement teams, public awareness-raising campaigns, and many initiatives in those fields.

Dr. Smadi received many awards and accomplishments. For example, from Taif literary club for the initiative of medicine and its relationship with literature (2019), General Directorate of Narcotic Control in Makkah for active participation in training programs in (2018), Taif University, College of Medicine for the outstanding participation in the training of medical students (2017), and Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia for making pilgrimage season successful (2009).

He is a member of many professional societies such as The Syrian Arab Psychiatric Association, The Saudi Commission of Health Specialties, and the American Counseling Association.

Dr. Fariba Ehteshami

My name is Fariba Ehteshami. I was born, studied, and worked as counselor in my birth country Iran. I earned my Ph.D. in the field of Counselor Education and Supervision (CACREP Accredited) from Texas A&M University-Commerce in Summer 2021. Now I am working as an Adjunct Faculty at Adler University and Texas A&M University-Commerce. I have a Ph.D. in the field of Clinical Counseling Psychology (Family and Marriage Therapy) from Science & Research Tehran Azad University. I established my own private counseling Center and provided counseling services for Families, Couples, Children, and Adolescents Trauma with diverse population. I had an incredible opportunity to research in different areas of Trauma especially research on women who were in prison, research on couples in Divorce Court, research on LGBTQ population in Islamic Countries, and research on Individuals’ Love Languages. As the results of these research, I wrote several books and national articles. I have been awarded International Association for Marriage and Family Counseling (IAMFC) 2021 for the Excellence Research in Marriage and Family in Counselor Educator Training. I have also been awarded 2020 Outstanding Doctoral Student Member of the European Branch of the American Counseling Association (EB_ACA). I received Texas A&M University-Commerce Medal of Excellent Counselor Education and Supervision Student in 2017. Currently, I have been honored to work as IAC’s Global Assistant (International Association of Counseling). I have privilege to be member of many American Counseling Association (ACA) divisions and International American Psychology Association (APA).

My personal priorities and goals include the further development of society and human life. I believe that research study will enable us to support growth and improvements in our society, and in the world. It is also important to me to continue teaching and research in the areas of Neuropsychology, Trauma, Mental Issues, and apply this knowledge in the field of Counseling Education and Supervision. In my lifetime, I believe it is possible to achieve a reduction in occurrences of Trauma and Violence on an international scale.