Keynote speakers for the 2025 Conference have been announced.
LCA is pleased to announce the keynote speakers for the 2025 Conference
(October 5-7, 2025 in Baton Rouge)
Sunday, October 5, 2025 11:00-1:00
Presenter: Elsa Soto Leggett, Ph.D., LPC-S, RPTS, CSC, 2025-2026 ACA President
Elsa Soto Leggett is an associate professor and practicum/internship coordinator at Truman State University Sole Proprietor, Shelter Counseling and Supervision. Leggett is a Mexican-American counselor whose unique perspective of service has been influenced by the voices of her past.
EDUCATION:
PhD, Counselor Education, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi MS, School Counseling, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi BS, Elementary Education, Texas Southern University
CERTIFICATION(s) and or LICENSES:
LPC-Supervisor (Texas) LPC (Missouri) RPT-S™ Certified School Counselor (Texas)
CURRENT POSITION:
Associate Professor and Practicum/Internship Coordinator, Truman State University Sole Proprietor, Shelter Counseling & Supervision
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
Associate Professor, Practicum/Internship Coordinator - Truman State University 2021–present Professor, Department Chair - Houston Baptist University 2017–2020 Professor, Program Coordinator - University of Houston-Victoria 2008–2017 Assistant Professor - Texas Southern University 2004–2008 Shelter Counseling & Supervision since 2006 Certified School Counselor 2001-2005
Dr. Leggett will also present a content session Monday, October 5, 2025 8:00-9:30.
Monday, October 6, 2025 9:45-11:45
Presenter: Rick Balkin, Ph.D., LPC, NCC
Rick Balkin, Ph.D., LPC, NCC is a Distinquished Professor and Department Chair of Leadership and Counselor Education, and Coordinator of Educational Research and Design in the School of Education at the University of Mississippi. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief for the International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling. Dr. Balkin was the editor for the Journal of Counseling & Development, the flagship journal for the American Counseling Association; an ACA Fellow; and past-president for the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling.
Rick began practice as a professional counselor in 1993 and has worked in academe since 2003. Rick has over 100 publications, which include textbooks on assessment in counseling, research, and the counseling relationship, published tests and technical manuals, peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters, and conference proceedings. His counseling experience with at-risk youth was formative to his research agenda, which includes understanding the role of counseling and relevant goals for adolescents in crisis and counseling outcomes. This led to initiatives in providing counseling services to underserved youth in Mississippi, culminating in a tele-mental health delivery system that provides free counseling services to youth in high-need areas of Mississippi.
He has published in the area of religious diversity and forgiveness and developed a model and measure for counseling clients through issues of conflict and forgiveness, The Forgiveness Reconciliation Inventory. He is the author of Practicing Forgiveness: A Path Toward Healing, published by Oxford University Press.
Dr. Balkin will present "The Role of Forgiveness in Counseling and Beyond"
Dr. Balkin will also present "Working Through Conflict and Forgiveness with your Client…and Yourself" on Monday, October 6, 2025 1:45-3:15 as a content session
Tuesday, October 7, 2025 9:45-11:45
Presenter: Heather Olivier, Ph.D., LPC-S, NCC
Dr. Heather Olivier is a licensed professional counselor and supervisor specializing in neurodiversity, perinatal loss, and psychosomatic presentations of traumatic loss. She is an assistant professor of counseling at Southeastern Louisiana University with a focus on creating inclusive curriculum design as well as bridging perinatal loss research and neurodiversity research. Dr. Olivier is a co-founder of the Southeastern Neurodiversity Initiative, which will cultivate campus-wide efforts to better serve neurodivergent individuals within the Southeastern community through research and inclusive design.
Dr. Olivier’s research regarding perinatal loss has received state and national recognition, and she is the first person in her field to ever receive the two highest national research awards given by the National Board for Certified Counselors and the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. Heather is an editorial review board member for The Professional Counselor and an ad-hoc reviewer for Counselor Education and Supervision. Dr. Olivier served the state of Louisiana as a member of the Louisiana Pregnancy Associated Mortality Review board within the department of health, and regularly presents to interdisciplinary audiences on reproductive health, patient and practitioner wellness, and cultural stigma impacting trauma. Heather’s love for counselor education was acknowledged by receiving the 2024 Rising Counselor Educator award by the Louisiana Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. Dr. Olivier is also the owner of Olivier Counseling and Consulting, a private practice serving clients who have experienced perinatal loss and other traumatic losses.
What Heather is most proud of, however, is her role as a mother to her three sons: Owen, Briggs, and Barley. The inspiration for all her research and professional work began while she was a counseling student at Southeastern in 2017, when she experienced the loss of her first son, Owen. Her advocacy efforts are not only fueled by her desire to help bereaved parents; they are also fueled by keeping Owen’s memory alive. In collaboration with Southeastern’s Lions Connected program, Dr. Olivier established the Owen Olivier Lions Connected Endowment to fund the opportunity for young adults with specific needs like Owen to have a college experience.
Dr. Olivier will present the Tuesday Keynote presentation.
Dr. Olivier is also Chair of the new Neurodivergent Room.
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