Letter to NARACES Community: Welcome Back, NARACES Family – A Fall Full of Purpose

Dear NARACES Colleagues,

As the leaves begin to turn and a new academic year takes hold, I want to take a moment to welcome you all back — whether you’re stepping into a new semester with students, supervisees, clients, or all of the above. It is truly an honor to greet you for the first time as your NARACES President, and I am filled with gratitude for the opportunity to serve this community.

This year, I’m guided by three themes that I hope will shape our work together: Root & Reconnect, Raise the Standard, and Rise Together. These aren’t just words — they reflect a genuine commitment to strengthening our roots as counselor educators and supervisors, elevating the rigor and integrity of our profession, and rising together as a community that supports one another through mentorship, collaboration, and shared purpose.

What We Hope to Accomplish This Year

With these themes as our foundation, here’s where I’ll be focusing our collective energy in the year ahead:

• Launching the Emerging Leaders Program — a pipeline designed to identify, mentor, and prepare the next generation of counselor educators and supervisors for leadership within our field and organization.
• Advancing advocacy priorities — amplifying our voice on issues that affect counselor educators, supervisors, and the clients and communities we ultimately serve.
• Strengthening our conference and professional development offerings — ensuring NARACES continues to be a place where members can grow, learn, and stay at the forefront of the profession.
• Deepening member engagement and mentorship — building more consistent, meaningful ways for our members to connect with one another across career stages and specialties.

I’ll be sharing more details on each of these initiatives as the year unfolds, and I hope many of you will find ways to get involved — this work is strongest when it’s built together.

Mark Your Calendars: 2026 NARACES Conference

I am especially excited to highlight our upcoming regional conference, held every even year, this time in Manchester, New Hampshire. Registration and check-in open Wednesday, September 23rd, with the conference officially beginning Thursday, September 24th and running through Sunday, September 27th, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown. This year’s theme, “Advancing the Profession: Innovation, Advocacy, and Excellence in Mental Health Counseling,” speaks directly to who we are and where we’re headed as a field.

Whether you’re a seasoned counselor educator, clinical supervisor, researcher, early-career professional, or graduate student, this conference is built for you. It’s a space to engage with cutting-edge scholarship, connect with colleagues who share your passion, and contribute to the ongoing advancement of our profession — all within the collegial, mentorship-driven spirit that defines NARACES.

We’re also thrilled to announce our 2026 keynote speaker: Dr. Tiphanie Gonzalez, NCC. Dr. Gonzalez is an Associate Professor of Mental Health Counseling at SUNY Oswego and holds a doctorate in Counselor Education from the University of Central Florida. With a career spanning school, mental health, and college counseling, she brings a rich, cross-setting perspective on advocacy and the counseling role. She currently serves as Past-President of the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (AMCD) and has held leadership roles with ACA-NY and the National Association of Holmes Scholar Alumni (NAHSA). We can’t wait for our members to learn from her insight this September!

A few important notes:

• Register and view the full agenda/schedule here: NARACES 2026 Conference Agenda
• The DoubleTree conference hotel room block is fully booked, though rooms remain available at the prevailing rate: Book at the DoubleTree
• The overflow room block at the TRU by Hilton Manchester Downtown has also been fully booked, but rooms are still available at the prevailing rate: Overflow Booking Link
• General conference questions: Dr. Joe Charette, Conference Coordinator, at naracesconf@gmail.com
• Accessibility/accommodation questions: Dr. Lynn Pierce at pierce_k03@mercer.edu
• Questions about NARACES: zoyamccants@gmil.com

I hope to see so many of you in Manchester this September. It’s shaping up to be a meaningful gathering, and I can’t wait to celebrate this community in person.

Wishing you all a fall semester full of energy, connection, and purpose.

Warmly,
Dr. Zoya McCants, Ed.D., LMHC, LPC-ACS, CCE
President, NARACES