Misty M. Ginicola, PhD, is a professor in the clinical mental health counseling program in the Counseling and School Psychology Department at Southern Connecticut State University. Dr. Ginicola earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from State University of New York at Cortland. She earned a master’s in psychology from State University of New York at New Paltz, where she received training in counseling psychology. She received two additional master’s degrees (MS, MPh) from Yale University and graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy from Yale in 2006, where she completed her postdoctoral fellowship focusing on school-based mental health programming and social emotional skills in youth. Dr. Ginicola is of Cherokee and Celtic descent and identifies as two-spirited. Her personal experiences and professional interests have developed into specific research areas: working with diverse clients, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, ally, pansexual/polysexual, and two-spirited (LGBTQI+) population; teaching multicultural competence; and creative counseling strategies. Her previous and ongoing research studies address the broad definition of multicultural issues, including ethnicity, disability, women’s issues, affectional orientation and gender orientation, religion and spirituality, among others. She additionally serves as her department’s liaison for the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs and chair of the Diversity Committee. She also is currently the chair of the President’s Commission of Campus Climate and Inclusion LGBTQI+ Subcommittee. In the Connecticut Counseling Association, Dr. Ginicola is a past-president of the Connecticut Association for Counseling Education and Supervision; chair of the Special Interest Group Connecticut—Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling (ALGBTIC); and chair of the Multicultural Counseling and Development Committee. Dr. Ginicola has served on national task forces for the American Counseling Association’s ALGBTIC and is currently an editorial review board member for the Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling. In addition, she is a licensed professional counselor in the state of Connecticut and operates a private counseling practice called Walk in Balance Counseling. The name has a specific meaning attached to her cultural identity of Cherokee. Reflecting the Native saying “Walk in balance and beauty,” she works with each client on a holistic level to ensure that physically, emotionally, psychologically, cognitively, and spiritually (if desired) they are caring for themselves. She also uses a person-centered existential approach to therapy, thereby helping individuals see and maintain the beauty in their lives, even in times of trauma and stress. Cheri Smith, PhD, is a professor at Southern Connecticut State University. She earned her bachelor’s degree at the University of West Florida and her master’s in education in school counseling and Doctor of Philosophy in educational psychology/counseling at Mississippi State University. She worked in student affairs at Mississippi State University and Florida Atlantic University. Her teaching career began at the University of Montevallo. She has also taught at St. John’s University, the University of West Georgia, the New York Institute of Technology, and Troy University. In 1995, while serving as president of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC), she participated in the first Summit on Spirituality, where the initial ASERVIC competencies were developed. In the late 1980s and 1990s, her research also included HIV/AIDS education. This connection led her to combine her research in the area of spirituality in the LGBTQ+ community. She is a member of the American Counseling Association, the Connecticut and Alabama Counseling Associations, ASERVIC, ALGBTIC, the Association for Specialists in Group Work, the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, and Chi Sigma Iota. She has served on the editorial review board for the Alabama Counseling Association Journal. Also, she has served as president of the Montevallo chapter of the American Association of University Women and president of the Alabama Counseling Association. In addition, for 5 years she served on the Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling. She has served on the editorial review board for the journal Counseling and Values, and currently she is a site visitor for the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. She is a licensed professional counselor and supervising counselor in Alabama as well as a National Board Certified Counselor.Joel M. Filmore, EdD, is the founder, co-owner, and director of clinical services for the Lighthouse Professional Counseling Center; he is also an assistant professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Southern New Hampshire University. Dr. Filmore earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He earned his master’s in clinical psychology from Roosevelt University in Chicago. Dr. Filmore earned his Doctor of Education in counselor education and supervision from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois, where he also earned a graduate certificate in quantitative research methods. Prior to becoming a counselor educator, Dr. Filmore worked as an academic advisor in the university setting as well as a counselor in the community college setting. He also worked for more than 8 years in social services, predominantly with homeless, HIV-positive, drug-addicted, chronically mentally ill, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, and other disenfranchised populations. Dr. Filmore is a biracial (African American and German/Norwegian) gay man. His personal and professional interests are in the areas of LGBTQI+ populations, multicultural issues, substance abuse/addiction, sex offender issues, sex trafficking, trauma, as well as counselor competency. Dr. Filmore currently serves as a board trustee for the national ALGBTIC. He also served as the cochair of the LGBTQQIA Affirmative Counseling and Social Justice Committee 2 years running for ALGBTIC. He is past-president of the South Dakota Association for Counselor Education and Supervision as well as the cofounder and past-president of the Illinois ALGBTIC.
