Election Time

As we near the time for elections, NARACES would like to provide everyone the list of people running to include their CV’s and personal statements. CV’s can be clicked on as you scroll across each name in green. Ballots will be completed later this month via survey monkey.

President	Secretary	GSR
Sherritta Hughes	Diane Walsh	Carolyn Bazan
	Candice Crawford	Fatma Salem-Pease
		Lauren Joyce

Sheritta Hughes – Hello, my name is Sherritta Hughes and I would like to express interest for being of service in the officer role of President Elect-Elect 2021-2022. Presently, I am an active member of ACA, ACES, NARACES, and NJCA. In terms of being a practitioner, I am an Approved Clinical Supervisor, practicing mental health counselor, and Assistant Professor in a CACREP accredited Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Georgian Court University. 

Over the span of 15 years as a licensed professional counselor supervisor and entering into the CES discipline five years ago, I look to further advance with continued advocacy within and service to the profession. As a joint goal, this has been to actively support my local branch, the New Jersey Counseling Association (NJCA) among other participatory efforts on behalf of colleagues, counseling students, new professionals, and clients. Moreover, serving as past president of two Multicultural state divisions and now, as Immediate Past President of a state branch, it is furthermore a demonstration of my service and advocacy efforts. Relative to continuity in reaching these goals and in these roles, I have learned much about myself as a leader, being a vocal member of a team, and how necessary it is to be inclusive, compassionate, transparent, and to seek support from mentors. 

During this term, I would hope to accomplish the following: 

1. Execute a successful bi-annual conference with a team of CES colleagues and future colleagues. To do this, an idea is to apply what I have learned from being an active participant in planning division, state, and regional conferences. Also, I will work transparently and collaboratively with all NARACES members involved in this function, hopefully forming a team of new and seasoned members. 
2. Maintain the integrity of NARACES as a progressive and stable regional branch of ACES. To do this, an idea is to maintain the programs already in play, especially those that have been deemed successful and staples of NARACES, and that members look forward to. 
3. Increase active engagement among the members of each state in NARACES, inclusive of the regions: Puerto Rico, Europe, the Virgin Islands, and Washington D.C. To do this, an idea is to formulate an Active Engagement Among the Territories Taskforce (AEATT) in each of these locations. At least begin the process of continuity for subsequent administrations to practice (e.g., one of several foci for diversity and inclusion within NARACES and ACES). 

Diane Walsh is a faculty member new to the NARACES region. She is interested in increasing her involvement in NARACES through service to the community. She initially joined NARACES in July 2019, and served as a conference proposal reviewer in Spring 2020. She has significant experience in record keeping and writing effective meeting minutes, and experience in working with membership organizations.

Dr. Candice Crawford is an Assistant Professor and Clinical Coordinator in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Molloy College. Dr. Crawford’s research interests include multicultural competency in counseling and supervision. She recently defended her dissertation that focused on cross-racial experiences of Black supervisors in supervision. NARACES has been influential in Dr. Crawford’s professional development as she has presented at several NARACES conferences and was a 2016 NARACES Emerging Leader. Dr. Crawford is committed to promoting quality education and supervision to professional counselors, which is why she is eager to serve as a secretary-elect for the NARACES board. 

I, Carolyn Bazan, would love to be considered for the Graduate Student Representative position. I am currently a doctoral student at Rutgers University, School of Health Professions in the Counselor Education and Supervision Program. My path is unique as I started off studying Marketing and Communication. However, after years of not being satisfied with the path my career was taking me, I knew I had to make a change. I was very nervous my first day in class because I was comparing myself to students with years of experience in the counseling field. Yet, the professors made it so comfortable for me, and really helped me get over my insecurities quickly. Within the first year, I was asked to work on a project helping individuals with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I thought to myself, this is my chance to make a difference. I applied and quickly adapted to the role of researcher, educator, and clinician. I am so grateful for the opportunity because it led me to the path I am on today. I currently work as a trainer at the Mental Health Association, spreading awareness about mental health conditions, trauma, and helping individuals look for employment. I feel so blessed that I have the chance to help people and give them hope that they can recover from mental health challenges. I know that with pursuing my PhD at Rutgers University, the doors will continue to open and my chance at spreading awareness about mental health will increase. I am so excited about this journey I am on and what the future holds for me. It would be a blessing to represent my passion on your committee and continue to serve my purpose as a counselor educator.

I, Fatma Salem-Pease, hereby express my earnest interest in the NARACES Graduate Student Representative position. As a student in a Counselor Education and Supervision Doctoral program, I am well aware of graduate students’ needs for guidance, support, mentorship, and connections. I have always been very passionate about social justice and advocacy and believe that this is a great opportunity for me to use my voice, knowledge, and skills to benefit my community of CES graduate students. As a NARACES graduate student representative, I would like to work on expanding member students’ knowledge and use of existing resources and increase advertisement of our platform to reach more students and provide more equitable opportunities of networking and support to all graduate students in the North Atlantic region.  

Lauren Joyce is interested in the NARACES Graduate Student Representative position for the 2022-2024 term. Throughout her academic career, she has worked to gain experience and demonstrate leadership abilities. She is currently the student president for the William Glasser Choice Theory Student Leadership Committee, and has engaged in collaborative presentations to undergraduate classes on the effects of trauma. Over the past year, she developed a passion for supporting fellow students and providing guidance that will help them on their journeys in becoming professional counselors. She is creative as well as organized and feels that these qualities would help her excel in the role of the graduate student representative. If appointed to this position, she would do her utmost to advocate for the graduate community and would encourage them to expand their own communities and experience in the counseling field. She has seen first-hand how beneficial these memberships can be and is highly motivated to share these experiences with others and contribute to the organization’s development and long- term success.