Harriett Copher Haynes Leadership Mentoring Award

The Harriett Copher Haynes Leadership Mentoring Award supports the leadership development of talented mental health professionals who aspire to become counseling center directors and who belong to identity groups that experience systemic barriers.

Through conference participation, professional mentorship, and opportunities to share their expertise, the program helps develop and support future leaders in college and university counseling.

Jump to: About the Award | Qualifications | Scholarship & Mentoring | Application Process | About Harriett | Past Recipients

About the Award

AUCCCD recognizes that historical and current systemic barriers can affect access to counseling center leadership opportunities for members of marginalized and underrepresented groups. The Harriett Copher Haynes Leadership Mentoring Award supports individuals from historically and currently marginalized groups as they pursue professional growth and future leadership roles.

The program provides scholarship support for attendance at the AUCCCD Annual Conference, where recipients have opportunities to build professional connections, share their expertise, and develop a mentoring relationship with an experienced counseling center director.

The program was established in 2003 and renamed in 2014 in honor of Dr. Harriett Copher Haynes and her leadership in establishing this important AUCCCD initiative.

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Qualifications

Applicants should meet the following qualifications:

• No prior experience as a counseling center director.
• Interest in becoming a counseling center director and providing leadership in a higher education setting.
• Completion of at least five years of experience in a clinical position, including some experience in a staff position at a counseling center.
• Leadership on an initiative or project related to inclusive excellence.
• Belong to an identity group that experiences systemic barriers.
• Experience advancing inclusive excellence.
• Experience as a supervisor is preferred.

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Scholarship & Mentoring

AUCCCD looks to award three scholarships of up to $2,500 each to help cover the cost of attending the 2026 AUCCCD Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In addition to scholarship support:

• Recipients will co-present a program at the conference on a topic of their choice and expertise.
• Each recipient will be matched with a current counseling center director who will serve as a mentor.

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Application Process

For the 2026 award cycle, application materials included:

• The applicant's curriculum vitae.
• Two letters of support, including one letter from the applicant's home institution director.
• A statement of interest addressing:
  • How diversity, equity, and inclusion have influenced the applicant's career.
  • The applicant's experience taking leadership on an initiative or project.
  • How issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion have been implemented in the applicant's work.
  • How receiving the Harriett Copher Haynes Award would impact the applicant's professional development.

Annual Application Timeline

• Applications: April 1–30
• Review Period: May 1–15
• Notifications: After May 16

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About Harriett Copher Haynes

Dr. Harriett Copher Haynes has spent her professional lifetime serving both the profession of psychology and the greater community. She received her B.S. in Nursing from the University of Missouri in 1963, an M.S. in Public Health from the University of Minnesota in 1966, and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1979.

Dr. Haynes was employed at the University of Minnesota Counseling & Consulting Services for 40 years, from 1971–2011, and served as Director for 15 of those years, from 1992–2007. In addition to providing strong center leadership, she served as a leader, mentor, role model, and consultant for the university community. Her work addressed diversity, sexism, racism, students in crisis, sexual violence and ending rape culture, mediation, crisis response, women's issues, multicultural curriculum development, and organizational change.

Beyond the university, Dr. Haynes served as President of the Minnesota Psychological Association and also held positions as Treasurer, Ombudsperson, and Chair of the Women's Division. She was active in advocacy efforts with state legislators and served as a voice for psychology and diversity on the Governor's Mental Health Council.

Her additional volunteer commitments included Save Our Hungry Children, the Board of Dakota Communities for the Developmentally Disabled, and service as a volunteer presenter for the Association for Citizens with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

In recognition of her outstanding professional and community contributions, the Minnesota Psychological Association honored Dr. Haynes with both the Diversity in Leadership Award and the Community Involvement Award.

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Past Recipients

2025

• Kourtney Bennett, Loyola University Maryland
• Wenjui Maggie Hsu, Johns Hopkins University
• Markie Silverman, University of Michigan

2024

• Rachel Bahadar, MSC, LPC, Arizona State University
• Tzu-An Hu, Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Phil Hughes, MA, LPCC-S, Bowling Green State University
• Natalia Martínez Muñoz Potter, LCSW, Vassar College

2023

• Kisha Bazelais, University of Miami
• Mariesa Cruz-Tillery, Pace University Westchester Campuses
• Johanna Malaga, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Amy Walker, Georgetown University in Qatar

2022

• Denisha Champion, Wake Forest University
• Jennifer Moulton, University of Wisconsin Madison
• Meghana Suchak, University of Louisville
• Qianhui Zhang, Northwestern University

2021

• Tenille Gains, Michigan State University
• Sheila Graham, Loyola University Maryland
• Simone Collins, University of Wisconsin - Madison

2019

• Sarah Godoy, The Catholic University of America
• Veronica Orozco, University of California, Berkeley
• Lynette Sparkman-Barnes, University of Kansas Medical Center

2018

• Deirdre Weathersby, University of Illinois
• Michael Anthony Juan, San Diego State University
• Elizabeth Rodriguez, SUNY Buffalo

2017

• Meladee Garst, Wichita State University
• Monique Marsh-Bell, Baylor University
• Shantha Stokes, Sam Houston State University

2016

• Jonathan Pastor, Princeton University
• Shonali Raney, The Ohio State University
• Erica Lennon, UNC - Charlotte

2015

• Amber Cargill, Psy.D., The George Washington University
• Jason Vasquez, Ph.D., Illinois State University
• Eric Wood, Ph.D., LPC, Texas Christian University

2014

• Julie M. AhnAllen, Ph.D., Boston College
• Lonette S. Belizaire, Ph.D., Pratt
• Gene R. Edwards, Ph.D., UNC, Charlotte
• Carolyn A. O'Keefe, Psy.D., University of California, Irvine

2013

• Dianne Aguero-Trotter, Ph.D., Seton Hall University
• Adriana DiPasquale, Psy.D., Holy Cross University
• Xuhua Qin, Ph.D., Tufts University

2012

• Christine Asidao, University of Michigan
• Amanda Ngola, University of Wisconsin- Madison
• John A. Ward, Miami University
• Vivian Yamada, University of Central Florida

2011

• Natasha Maynard, Pemba, University of Florida
• Rene Monteagudo, University of Illinois
• Karen Nakayama, Fort Lewis College

2010

• Melissa Bartsch, University of Tennessee
• Sheri Clark, Appalachian State University
• Anshan Moore, Cornell University

2009

• Tow Yee Yau, Cornell University
• Lynelle Ragland, College of William and Mary
• Angela Lee, North Carolina Central University

2008

• Arnold (Arnie) Abels, University of Missouri at Kansas City
• Ellen Lin, San Jose State University
• Liz Snider, University of Buffalo

2007

• Kendra Smith, University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill
• Shari Robinson, University of Florida
• Paul Castelino, Ohio University

2006

• Jo-Ann Cohn, Penn State University
• Sharon Kirkland-Gordon, University of Maryland

2005

• Bruce Menapace, Cleveland State University

2004

• Micky Sharma, Wright State University
• Selia Servín-Guerrero López, St. Edward's University

2003

• Cyndy Boyd, University of Illinois at Chicago
• Gweneth Lloyd, State University of New York at New Paltz
• Carla McCowan Alston, University of Illinois Urbana Campaign
• Barry Schreier, Purdue University

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Questions? Contact the AUCCCD Office.