The American Counseling Association and the American Counseling Association Foundation are pleased to announce the 72 winners of the annual ACA National Awards for counseling students, counselors in practice and ACA members who have made extraordinary contributions to the counseling profession.
This year, eight counselors were granted ACA Fellow status, the highest honor awarded by the American Counseling Association. In addition, the achievements of 16 professional counselors were recognized with ACA National Awards. Ten graduate-level counseling students earned high honors in the ACA essay competitions and eight graduate student teams took top spots in the ACA ethics competitions.
The award recipients will be recognized at the ACA 2019 Conference & Expo in New Orleans, March 28 – 31, 2019.
ACA thanks everyone who participated in this year’s National Awards program—our judges, reviewers, and all who were nominated or applied for the awards—and offers the warmest congratulations to the winners!
2019 ACA Fellows
Michael Brooks
Jolie Daigle
Andrew Daire
Victoria Kress
Gerard Lawson
Casey Barrio Minton
Edward Neukrug
Anneliese Singh
2019 ACA National Awards
ACA Best Practices Research, Faculty Award: K. Michelle Hunnicutt Hollenbaugh
ACA Counselor Educator Advocacy Award: Thomas Watson
ACA Extended Research Award: Richard Balkin
ACA Research Award: Bradley McKibben
ACA State Branch Advocacy Award: Ohio Counseling Association
Arthur A. Hitchcock Distinguished Professional Service Award: Sylvia Nassar
Carl D. Perkins Government Relations Award: Dodie Limberg
Courtland C. Lee Multicultural Excellence Scholarship: Michelle Mitchell
David K. Brooks, Jr. Distinguished Mentor Award: Kelly Wester
Don Dinkmeyer Social Interest Award: Sheri Pickover
Dr. Judy Lewis Counselors for Social Justice Award: Laura Boyd Farmer
Garry R. Walz Trailblazer Award: Craig S. Cashwell
Gilbert and Kathleen Wrenn Award for a Humanitarian and Caring Person: Margie Ann Neugebauer
Glen E. Hubele National Graduate Student Award: Danielle Pester
Kitty Cole Human Rights Award: Rochelle Cade
Robert Rencken Emerging Professional Leader Award: Amanda Christine DeDiego
Thomas Hohenshil National Publication Award: Spencer "Skip" Niles
2019 ACA Graduate Student Awards of Excellence
ACA Future School Counselors Awards
Grand Prize: Jessica Coalson, University of New Orleans (LA)
First Prize: Rachel Corso, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania (PA)
Second Prize: Meghan Bradley, Monmouth University (NJ)
Honorable Mention:
Kami Blakeman, Walden University (MN)
Feixia Wang, Carson-Newman University (TN)
ACA Tomorrow’s Counselors Awards
Grand Prize: Anabel Mifsud, University of New Orleans (LA)
First Prize: Jim Minthorne, California State University, Fullerton (CA)
Second Prize: Leslie Preveaux, Mercer University (GA)
Honorable Mention:
Jennifer Toof, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (IL)
Madelfia Abb, Wake Forest University (NC)
ACA Graduate Student Ethics Awards for Master’s Degree Students
First Place: Augusta University
Second Place: Townsend Institute at Concordia University Irvine
Third Place: Lindsey Wilson College
Honorable Mention: Northwestern University
ACA Graduate Student Ethics Awards for Doctoral Degree Students
First Place: Lindsey Wilson College
Second Place: William & Mary
Third Place: The University of Toledo
Honorable Mention: Texas A&M University, Commerce