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2025 Board of Directors Election

Deadline to vote: Monday, October 13 | 11:59 PM PST

This year, we have an election of the President-Elect and four Governing Board members (each serving a three-year term). The newly elected individuals will assume their roles on Tuesday, October 14th with a meeting of introductions to the Board and discussions of committee interests.

SUBMIT YOUR VOTE

Candidates

President-Elect Position

  1. Eric Wood, Ph.D., LPC, Texas Christian University - Candidate Statement

General Board Position

  1. Calvin Chin, Ph.D., Princeton University - Candidate Statement
  2. Cindy Danzell, MS, LCPC, NCC, PEL-SC, Joliet Junior College - Candidate Statement
  3. Jennifer Jones-Damis, Psy.D., LPC, Rutgers University - Candidate Statement
  4. LaToscha LyNise Sherman, MS, NCC, LPC, Collin College - Candidate Statement

Calvin Chin, Ph.D.
Director, Princeton University

I am honored to submit my candidacy for election to the AUCCCD Board. With over a decade of experience as a counseling center director, I have had the privilege of serving first at John Jay College and then at Princeton University since 2013. Throughout my career, AUCCCD has been an invaluable source of support and wisdom. I vividly recall my first AUCCCD conference, where I was amazed to find a community of professionals navigating the same challenges I faced as a new Director. This experience made me feel significantly less alone and deeply connected to a network of peers.

In 2018, driven by a desire to give back to this incredible community, I volunteered as a champion of two strategic plan goals. By 2020, I had joined both the Survey Team and the Elements of Enrichment (E of E) Committee, where I contributed to initiatives aimed at enhancing our collective knowledge and professional development.  I became co-chair of E of E in 2023.

My commitment to AUCCCD deepened further when I was elected to the Board in 2022. Since then, I have actively served on the Membership Committee and co-chaired the Inclusive Excellence Committee. In these roles, I have worked tirelessly to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organization, ensuring that our community remains welcoming and supportive for all members.

I am also proud to have been recognized with the Leighton Whitaker Memorial Award for Excellence in Counseling Center Scholarship twice. In 2021, I received the award for an article I co-authored on leadership as a counseling director of color. More recently, in 2023, I was honored for a book chapter on psychoanalytic treatment with Asian Americans. These accolades reflect my ongoing commitment to advancing the field of counseling through scholarship and research.

I am passionate about continuing to serve on the AUCCCD Board, where I can leverage my experience and dedication to advance our collective goals. Together, we can build a stronger, more resilient community that prioritizes mental health and well-being. Thank you for considering my candidacy.

Cindy Danzell, LCPC, LMHC, LPCC
Director, Center for Student Wellness and Support, Joliet Junior College

I currently serve as the Director of the Center for Student Wellness and Support at Joliet Junior College, where I lead the development and implementation of a new counseling center. Before this role, I served as the inaugural Director of Counseling and Wellness at National Louis University. I helped launch the mental health and wellness center, recruited and supervised staff, and led a neuropsychological assessment pilot program to serve diverse student needs better.

I am running for this position because I want to be a part of shaping the future of student mental health at the national level. As someone who has navigated the work with limited resources and high demands, I want to be a voice for directors navigating similar paths. I'm passionate about increasing representation from community colleges and urban campuses in national conversations. I believe AUCCCD is stronger when its leadership reflects the full range of institutions and lived experiences within higher education.

My work is grounded in decolonizing mental health, trauma-informed care, and a commitment to equity. I may be new to AUCCCD, but I strongly desire to co-create solutions that reflect the realities and hopes of our profession.

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Jennifer Jones-Damis, Psy.D., LPC
Director, Rutgers University

My name is Dr. Jennifer Jones-Damis and I am a licensed Psychologist in New York and New Jersey, a Licensed Professional Counselor in New Jersey and a Nationally Board Certified School Counselor. I would love the opportunity to serve on AUCCCD's Governing Board. Being a member of this organization has assisted me in my growth as a director and I would like to pay it forward. I was an acting director for a year at Rutgers University and during that time I attended my very first conference with AUCCCD in Philly. It was there that I attended the first-time directors' all-day workshop, and it was a game changer for me. I felt like it actually belonged where I had been placed, and I knew that serving as Director of Rutgers University was the right place for me. I want to ensure that AUCCCD stays strong and that I am also able to help others the way this organization helped me. If I am able to be on the Governing Board, I look forward to joining many committees that align with my interests and my skills to help further support this great organization.

I have focused my career on understanding and addressing traumatic stress and racial trauma in individuals and systems. I facilitate trainings and workshops for schools, organizations, and companies to increase knowledge about the impact stress and racial trauma has on mental health while offering tangible ways to promote resilience. As an African American woman and the first Black director of Rutgers University Counseling Center, it is not only a privilege and honor to serve but a calling to leadership to help ensure that there is representation in the field of college counseling directors' leadership.

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LaToscha LyNise Sherman, MS, NCC, LPC
Director, Collin College

It is with great enthusiasm that I submit my candidacy for the AUCCCD Board of Directors. As a licensed professional counselor and higher education administrator, I am deeply committed to supporting the mental health and holistic development of college students. Though relatively new to the higher education space, I bring a fresh, creative perspective and a long-term commitment to this work. I see my role not just as a job, but as the beginning of a career dedicated to elevating mental health services within colleges and universities across the country.

From my early work in trauma-informed care with children to my current role as Associate Dean of Counseling Services at Collin College, my passion has remained the same: to design systems that are responsive, equitable, and impactful. I lead a multi-campus counseling team serving over 55,000 students and have launched innovative programming—like the Connect4 Suicide Prevention initiative—that reflect my belief in the power of creativity and student-centered design.

One of my first acts as Associate Dean was joining AUCCCD, and that decision changed the trajectory of my leadership. The guidance I received from the Directors on Duty program, my mentorship hour, and the meaningful connection I made with my liaison, Karen Hoffman, created an immediate sense of community. That foundation inspired me to become more involved—first as an Elements of Excellence guest, then as a conference planner and presenter alongside a team of extraordinary colleagues. In AUCCCD, I found not just a professional home, but a platform to grow, give back, and be challenged.

If elected to the Board, I would bring with me a dedication to innovation, a collaborative spirit, and a heart for building bridges—between new and seasoned directors, between big ideas and practical implementation, and between institutional needs and community-based care. I hope to contribute fresh ideas that strengthen the support and connectivity within AUCCCD, and to help ensure that directors—especially those new to their roles—never feel like they are navigating this work alone.

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Eric Wood, Ph.D., LPC
Director of Counseling and Mental Health, Texas Christian University

Now more than ever is a time in which counseling center directors need to capture the narrative about the purpose and value of campus counseling, address how political challenges are impacting our work, support one another, and build stronger collectives - both within our organization and with partnering associations. I've dedicated years of my career in doing such work, including serving as a president for the Texas University and College Counseling Center Directors Association (TUCCDA), working with governmental officials to propose legislation granting medical exemptions in established DEI bans, and writing a weekly column for Forbes.com on college mental health and emerging adults. I firmly believe that counseling directors are prime mental health experts on campus and that our voice should be amplified throughout higher education and across other domains. My hope is to help improve the appeal and access of all counseling directors to join our organization, expand membership support during these crucial times, and to find ways to use our strong collective to promote and defend the value of our profession.

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Nominee General Information

  • President-Elect: In accordance with AUCCCD bylaws, nominees for President-Elect must have previously served on the AUCCCD Board of Directors.

  • Governing Board Members: Open to all AUCCCD members. No prior board experience is required. 

The election outcome will be announced during the Second Business Meeting at the 2025 Conference in Orange County. The newly elected leaders will officially begin their roles on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, with an introductory Board meeting and discussion of committee engagement.

Why Serve?

Serving on the AUCCCD Board is a meaningful opportunity to help lead the future of college student mental health. Board members:

  • Attend two full days of meetings prior to the annual conference
  • Participate in a mid-year meeting in the spring (often alongside other national events)
  • Join periodic virtual board meetings
  • Serve on 2–3 committees
  • Have all Board-related travel expenses fully covered by AUCCCD

Questions? Contact the AUCCCD Office.