Keynote speakers for the 2025 Conference have been announced.

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.

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