NJCA Spring 2023 Election Results (April 4, 2023)

Submitted by:

Dr. Maria del Carmen Rodriguez, Nomination & Election Committee chairperson (2022-2023)

The current election concluded on 4/2/2023 at 5:00 pm. A total of 48 ballots were received and tallied. Here are the winners!

President-Elect (48 votes)

1. Carolyn Bazan (22 votes)

President-Elect-Elect (45 votes)

1. Crystal Socha (33 votes)

Member-at-large (44 votes)

1. Alrick A. Douglas  (16 votes)
2. Renee Shand-Lubbers  (16 votes)
3. Jyoti Singh  (16 votes)
4. Vanessa Woods (14 votes)

First, we congratulate the winners and express our sincere appreciation to all those who participated as candidates. Your disposition to run in this election truly enriches NJCA and inspires its leadership.

Second, we thank NJCA members for exercising their right to vote in this important election. Your voice and involvement matter in every aspect of the work conducted by this counseling professional organization.

In closing, NJCA highly commends the service provided by the members of the Nomination and Election Committee. They have worked hard since the Fall of 2022 and demonstrated commitment and integrity from beginning to end. These invaluable members are: NJAMC president Mr. Brandon Isaacson, Dr. Yumiko Ogawa, faculty of NJCU & Member at large Ms. Jenna Rodriguez. We thank Social Media chairperson Ms. Crystal Socha for her creative designs and her efforts in publicizing all election related announcements.

Note: Any member in good standing who may want to know the full election results may contact Mr. Brandon Isaacson (email: njamcdivision@gmail.com).

It is with joy that I share these final thoughts with you as my term as NJCA president comes to an end. What I have been able to accomplish has been possible because of the engagement of board members, committee chairs and generous volunteers that have worked with NJCA throughout the 2021-2022 year. Special thanks go to Kristi Capriglione (Social media chair), John Ascione (Legislative & Public Policy chair), division presidents Brandon Isaacson & Jennifer Baker, members at large Kate DeStefano, Jenna Rodriguez, Scott Shanley, and the invaluable support provided by Roberto Schiraldi, Anthony Zazzarino, Ashley Morris Dias, Callie Brown, Annette Vaccaro, Eurica Pinthieve, and gifted volunteers Amanda Parrella, Victor Perez, Joshua Rivera, Beth Fier & Nina Nechey.  My appreciation goes to NAR region chair Dr. Nellie Scanlon, ACA outgoing CEO Richard Yep, ACA government specialists Dominique Marsalek & Aprile Campbell, Mind Thrive Digital owner Kristen Nazzaro and  her digital team, NJ Business & Industry Association executive director Cheryl Buteas and coordinator Alexis Bailey for their invaluable guidance and support.

NJCA’s key mission is to promote counseling, including professional development, public awareness of counseling, as well as confidence and trust in the counseling profession (NJCA Bylaws, 2015, Article I section 2).   I am confident that under my leadership, this organization has contributed to the professional development of its members, increased public awareness of the counseling profession and solidified the trust in our profession.

During this time, we dealt with increasingly complex global & national stressors as well as challenges specific to our profession and organization. Along with board members, committee chairpersons and stellar volunteers (many of them graduate students), we were able to turn these challenges into opportunities for solidifying our identity as counselors and making a positive impact in the lives of our members and the communities we serve.

These are some of the highlights of the work we have accomplished during the current year: 
 

1. We just launched a new modern and fully interactive website that improves our communication with members and the community at large. 
2. We forged strategic/advocacy alliances with key organizations such as the NJ Business & Industry Association on behalf of our members. This collective effort spearheaded by the NJ Business & Industry Association has requested that the NJ Attorney General office examines the slow service provided to many members who pay substantial licensing fees to thirty-seven NJ licensing professional boards.
3. We coordinated a high-quality state conference back in April-2022 with an array of exciting topics and presenters. We were able to offer this 3-day conference at an affordable price.
4. We coordinated a virtual racial healing workshop (October 22, 202) which helped those in attendance to continue exploring the social injustices faced by our clients of different racial and cultural backgrounds. The goal of the workshop was to help counselors update their moral consciousness as well as their practical skills & strategies in response to the persistent racial injustices endured by clients and especially those who live in most vulnerable social conditions.
5. We promoted community awareness about counseling as a profession and the work we do. We successfully rallied the support of my town’s Mayor, Hon. Francis Womack. Mr. Womack declared “April as Counseling Awareness Month”. The council formally publicized this proclamation on April 4. 2022
6. We were able to recruit an excellent candidate for the position of treasurer, Kathleen Sherman.
7. We held a mini mental health fair jointly with West Side High in Newark (March 4, 2022). Both students and parents joined NJCA counselors & board members. Students were comfortable enough to share their suffering and insights gained from surviving the COVID-19 pandemic. This is by far my proudest moment as NJCA president. It was truly gratifying to see counselors and counseling graduate students extending their skills and solidarity to a community truly tested by the pandemic and complex social/economic barriers.

I seize this opportunity to remind you of the critical role that all counselors play especially at this moment of persistent violence inflicting so much pain and trauma to many Americans and especially our children.  Every time that a gun violence incident happens, opinions are divided in how to solve this ill. For some, it is a matter of having teachers use guns when they go to work.  For others, it is about treating the so called mentally ill perpetrators who pull the trigger. And there are those who simply say that there is nothing we can do in the face of so much destruction and evil.
 
Because this problem is multivariate, it will require the engagement of all Americans to effectively address it.  Our profession is more than ready for the challenge.  Our comprehensive skills, knowledge base and dispositions make us one of the best health providers in the nation.  We are committed to protect, enhance and empower all lives and especially our children. By unifying our voices, our impact will be most effective at this moment of individual and collective suffering.
 
I would like to remind you that on Wednesday 6/8/2022 (4 to 5:30 pm), we offer a virtual workshop led by gifted presenter, Prof. Marie Kinsella.  Her topic is: “Impact of health disparities, racism, social determinants & implicit biases on maternal & infant care: counseling implications”. For additional info and registration, visit our website (www.njcounseling.org).  Most important, let us all welcome Dr. Anthony Zazzarino as he formally begins his presidency on 6/11/2022.
 
In closing, it has been my honor and privilege to serve as your president. Namaste!

This violent act is the latest reminder that racism is a clear threat to public health.  During a tragedy like this caused by hate, it is important to call out and condemn racism, which plagues our nation.  It is also necessary to recognize that those impacted by racism also suffer additional trauma because of their persistent exposure to gun violence.

Communities like Buffalo will need support for the trauma resulting from these tragic events. Buffalo as well as various NJ communities are grappling with gun violence. We, NJCA Board Members,  condemn any violent act especially those motivated by racism.   We condemn all acts that cause enduring personal and collective pain and we condemn gun violence.

We call our members to provide support to any victim of racism and/or gun violence. We gently advise any member of the community impacted directly or indirectly by these events to seek mental health assistance. One key resource is provided by the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Their helpline is open Monday thru Friday from 10 am to 10 pm (ET) by calling this number: 1-800-950-6264.

We remind all counselors to listen to their physical, affective, mental & spiritual health needs.  Practicing and modeling self-care is essential to our work and well-being.   NJCA offers a mentoring program to its members. If you feel you are in need of support at this time, do not hesitate to visit the NJCA website for additional information  about our mentoring program (www.njcounseling.org)..

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” (Thich Nhat Hanh)*

Resources:

1. Valarie Kaur and The Revolutionary Love Project (11 Broad Common Road #357; Bristol, RI 02809) Follow Valarie Kaur & the Revolutionary Love Project on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
2. NJ Division of Mental Health Services helpline:  1-800-622-4357
3. NJ Division of Mental Health Services by text: Text 51684 “NJ HOPE”
4. Suicide National Helpline: 1-800-273-8255 (This service is available 24/7 every day of the year)

Beginning July 16 2022, you will only need to dial “988”

• Peace is every step: the path of mindfulness in everyday life. By Thich Nhat Hanh

By: President Dr. Maria del Carmen Rodriguez

The New Jersey Counseling Association stands in solidarity with the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) that have received bomb threats in recent days. We stand with the faculty, staff, students, and family members impacted by these acts due to racism. We also stand with members of NJCA that are alumni of HBCUs, or have family members at these universities.  In addition to these attacks against HBCU, we are also witnessing attacks to teaching true history in many public schools in the nation and attacks to affirmative action programs in predominantly White institutions of higher education. 

At least a half dozen historically Black universities in five states and the District of Columbia responded to bomb threats on January 31, 2022 with many of them locking down their campuses for a time. At Delaware State University (DSU), a bomb threat interrupted the university’s daily operations from early hours of the day until a bomb squad cleared the campus later in the day.  DSU president Tony Allen explained the significance of this threat in a letter shared with the university community: “We are safe, for which I am incredibly thankful, but the attempt to disrupt targeted our community because of who we serve and the mission we fulfill. The impetus for such a threat cannot be ascribed to anything other than the most primitive form of racism, a form which is neither new nor unique in this country”.

In addition to the bomb threats to HBCUs, we are witnessing increasing attacks across the nation against members of the Asian and Pacific Islander communities, the Latino community, the Muslim American community, the Jewish community, LGBTQ+ communities and senior citizens with many of these assaults resulting in fatalities. As counselors, we cannot remain silent in the presence of this hatred impacting invaluable institutions of higher education and the lives of so many Americans who are simply targeted because of their race, cultural origin, religious beliefs, age and/or sexual orientation. Silence is not an option in the face of blatant ignorance, racism and violence.   Let us all recommit to our fight for justice and equity for all people.

Sources:

1. https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-education-district-of-columbia-bomb-threat
2. https://www.axios.com/hbcu-bomb-threats-black-history-month-163b6c3c-5d97-4d8c-9b61-1f72e5301f92.html

S-328 “Mental health access improvement Act of 2021”

Rep Thompson

This legislation is attempting to improve access to mental health services especially for clients from marginalized communities in the US.

S-2125″CounselingNotCriminalization In schools Act”

Rep. Ayanna Presley

The S-2125 legislation is generated due to the many instances in which students in public schools in the US are treated with suspensions and other punitive measurements when what they really need is more access to mental health services.

If interested in details about these legislations should contact Prof. Asciones, Legislative & Public Policy chair (email: jaascione132@gmail.com)