Ph.D., Counselor Education, Virginia Tech
Graduate Certificate, Educational Research and Evaluation, Virginia Tech
M.S., Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Northeastern State University
B.S., Psychology, Northeastern State University

The aim of my research is to create a world where all people have access to effectively, high-quality, and culturally sustaining mental healthcare when and where they need it. My research primarily focuses on mental health needs and mental healthcare access among LGBTQ+ communities, older adults, and intersections therein. These populations have unmet mental health needs that could be effectively addressed through intervention like counseling, and individuals and families within these communities face unique barriers to accessing and benefiting from services. Using a community-engaged approach, I hope to address unequal access to mental healthcare for these populations by addressing barriers to services and enhancing availability of culturally responsive, effective mental healthcare in the eastern Tennessee area and beyond. I also research counselor advocacy as an avenue for addressing structural factors that negatively impact mental health outcomes and mental healthcare access for these and other marginalized populations. My active research at present focuses on LGBTQ+ older adults’ healthcare needs in Knox county and surrounding areas, counselor enrollment in the Medicare program, and interdisciplinary and intergenerational approaches to serving older adults in Knoxville and surrounding areas.

LGBTQIA+ mental health
Older adulthood
LGBTQIA+ aging
Mental healthcare access

My leadership and service in the counseling profession advance the aims of my scholarship. Presently, I am the Trustee of Research and Scholarship for the Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities (SAIGE), where I have a long history of service related to educational content, conference planning, and related leadership. I also Chair the Older Adult Task Force for the Association for Adult Development and Aging (AADA). My past leadership engagements include additional service for other national and regional organizations, including the American Counseling Association, Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling, and Chi Sigma Iota. In Knoxville, I serve as a member of the Aging Rainbow Coalition (ARC), a community advisory board focused on the needs of LGBTQ+ older people in our community. I also have a community partnership with the Wesley Community House focused on providing group wellness counseling with older women in our community.