IARTC NEWSLETTER EDITORIAL TEAM

Dr. Charmayne Adams

Editor, IARTC Newsletter

Dr. Charmayne Adams is an assistant professor at the University of Nebraska Omaha and a licensed independent counselor in the state of Nebraska. She has worked with a variety of populations with a history of trauma or in crisis including adults in psychiatric hospitals, children and adolescents receiving services through mobile crisis, adults involved in the criminal justice system or in prison, and adolescents at a residential facility. Her research focuses on stress, teaching about trauma, and culturally specific coping skills. She embeds social justice, advocacy, and cultural humility into every aspect of her clinical and academic work.

K. Lynn Pierce

Senior Associate Newsletter Editor

Lynn Pierce, MS, CRC, NCC, is Ph.D. candidate in counselor education and supervision at The Pennsylvania State University. Pierce has clinical experience with trauma, sexual and affectional minorities, and individuals with disabilities. Much of her interest is in how intersecting identities may impact marginalized and minority individuals. Pierce identifies as a disabled academic and has work history in student disability services and universal design learning instruction. She is a frequent guest lecturer and presenter on topics such as disability identity and community, language and disability, and accessible instruction.

​

Dr. Autumn Cabell

Newsletter Editorial Team Member

Dr. Autumn Cabell is an Assistant Professor in Counseling at DePaul University. Her research agenda centers on a) developing interventions that support the mental health and career development of marginalized students particularly in STEM and healthcare and b) examining the career-related concerns of marginalized counselors. She is active in the National Career Development Association (NCDA), the American Counseling Association (ACA), and the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES). Dr. Cabell is currently a reviewer for the Journal of Employment Counseling and the Journal of Counseling and Development. Dr. Cabell has worked in career services, high schools, residential, private practice, and community agency settings. She is a licensed counselor, Certified Career Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor, and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. She has expertise in career development, depression, anxiety, and trauma.

Dr. Fariba Ehteshami

Newsletter Editorial Team Member

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.

Dr. Amy Grybush

Dr. Amy L. Grybush is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate (LCMHCA), a Licensed Clinical Addiction Specialist Associate (LCASA), and is earning her Professional School Counselor (PSC) Licensure. She was recognized as the 2020 Emerging Leader by the Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling (ACAC), a division of ACA, and currently serves as their Social Media Committee Chair. She was chosen as an Editorial Fellow for the 2021-2022 Counselor Education and Supervision Journal Fellowship Program. In a local capacity, she serves as President-elect for the North Carolina division of the Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling (2021- 2023; ACAC-NC) and Member-at-Large for the North Carolina Counseling Association (2021-2022; NCCA). Currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Wake Forest University, her primary research interest is in Trauma- Informed Practices, a philosophy for educators and care providers that involves recognizing, understanding, and responding compassionately to the effects of trauma in order to provide a safe and supportive environment for children and families who have experienced toxic stress and trauma. Additional research and teaching passions include multicultural and social justice issues.

Dr. Bagmi Das

Dr. Bagmi Das is an Assistant Professor of Counseling and Human Development at the George Washington University. Her expertise is in the fields of trauma intervention, family therapy, and multicultural and social justice development in counselors in training (CITs). Some of her additional areas of interest include multicultural counseling and support seeking behavior across cultural contexts. Her recent research projects look closely at trauma experience in populations experiencing intersectional barriers to mental health. Simultaneously, she has been conducting research into creative andragogy as it related to counselor identity development in the context of social justice and multicultural issues.

Dr. Das is licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist in California. She has counseled adolescents and families in various contexts including in-home therapy, group homes/residential treatment centers, community mental health centers, high schools, career centers, and post-secondary institutions. Her breadth of experience within different systems and in working with diverse clients and families informs her research agenda.

Dr. Lili Burciaga

Dr. Lili Burciaga is a licensed clinical professional counselor (LCPC) and certified clinical trauma professional (CCTP) with over 15 years of experience in the mental health field. She has worked in numerous settings with youth and adults as a mental health professional, counselor, training coordinator, psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, and mental health consultant.  Her background has been in community mental health, hospitals, juvenile detention, and primary care, where she has served marginalized populations in the city of Chicago and surrounding suburbs.  Presently,  she is core faculty in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program at Lewis University. She also provides bilingual, on-site critical incident response as a consultant across Illinois and surrounding states.      

​

Iris Soto

Luisairis Soto (they/them) is a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC), national certified counselor (NCC), and certified clinical trauma professional (CCTP). They earned their Master of Arts degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from a CACREP-accredited counseling program, Rollins College, in 2017. For relevant work experience, Luisairis served as the newsletter editor and social media representative for the Florida Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling in 2016-2017, as well as assisted with creating digital content related to advertising events and webinars, traumatology, and convention programming for the Florida Counseling Association in 2017, 2018, and 2021. Currently, Luisairis serves as a member of the technology committee for the Florida Counseling Association. 

Natalie Drozada, Ph.D., LPC, NCC

Natalie Drozda Ph.D., LPC, NCC is an Assistant Professor at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. She recently co-authored a chapter on complex crises in the forthcoming textbook, Trauma Counseling: Theories and Interventions for Managing Stress, Crisis, Trauma, and Disaster (Levers, 2nd ed., in press, Springer). She began her clinical work on a crisis hotline, worked for five years in an inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility, and currently sees individuals in the college setting and in private practice, with treatment focusing primarily upon trauma, relationship stressors, addiction, and sexuality concerns. Dr. Drozda's research interests include multiple facets of diversity including sexuality, neurodiversity, and gender. She also conducts forensic evaluations of sex offenders and is interested in the potential connections between trauma and offense behaviors.