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Dr. Sandra Lopez-Baez was elected to the NBCC International Board in 2007. Dr. Lopez-Baez is a past Chair of the NBCC Board of Directors (1998-1999) and has participated in the development of the Mental Health Facilitator program. She is a National Certified Counselor (NCC), a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC), and Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS). She holds counselor licensure in Ohio (with endorsement as a supervisor), Puerto Rico, and Virginia.
Dr. Lopez-Baez is an Associate Professor in the Counselor Education Program in the Human Services Division of the Curry School in the University of Virginia at Charlottesville (UVA). She is the Coordinator of the Mental Health Counseling track at UVA and Faculty Director of the Personal and Career Development Center, a counselor training site. She serves on the NBCC International Board as one of two members who are past directors on the NBCC Board of Directors.
She has been an active member in various professional organizations promoting counselors and their work. She is a past president of Counselors for Social Justice, serves on the American Counseling Association’s Governing Council, and has held leadership positions in other national, regional, and state associations as well. Dr. Lopez-Baez has been inducted into the Chi Sigma Iota Counseling Academic and Professional Honor Society International (CSI) and the Phi Delta Kappa Educational Honorary Society. She is a lifetime member of the former and serves as the faculty advisor for UVA’s Rho Beta chapter of CSI. Her professional interests include, but are not limited to, counselor education and supervision; assessment; diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders; Gestalt therapy; hypnosis/hypnotherapy; biofeedback; and work with diverse and bilingual minorities. Her most recent scholarly publications have focused on social justice issues, measuring growth following meaningful life events, counselor professional identity, and counseling Latinas. She has been a visiting scholar at universities in the United States and abroad. Dr. Lopez-Baez has been honored with the American Mental Health Counselors Association President’s Award and twice with the O’Hana Award from Counselors for Social Justice for her exemplary practices in multicultural and social justice causes.
Dr. Lopez-Baez was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Puerto Rico and then completed a master’s degree at Marshall University. She completed her doctoral studies at Kent State University and a three-year post-graduate program in Gestalt therapy at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. She is proficient in Spanish and English and speaks French, Italian, and Portuguese. |
