Mentor Profiles
This group will have a triad of co-mentors facilitating the group’s work.
Kok-Mun Ng
Oregon State University
Short Bio
Kok Mun Ng is a professor of Counselor Education at Oregon State University. He is a licensed and board-certified professional counselor. He’s a Malaysian who loves to engage with students, clients, and colleagues in growth-promoting encounters. He has taught a wide range of master's and doctoral classes. His practice and research interests include relationship counseling, multicultural and cross-cultural counseling, internationalization of professional counseling, supervision, and post-modern counseling approaches. He has published extensively in different publication venues. He is a TCR Lead Collaborator.
Summer Writing Collaborative Focus
I am interested in mentoring new professionals--advanced master's students, doctoral students, and first-year assistant professors and clinicians--who are interested in improving their skills in writing academic journals. I'd like to work with a group of early professionals to develop the following skill sets:
Recognize characteristics of good academic journal writing.
Identify characteristics of good quantitative journal articles.
Develop skills in writing different sections of an academic journal article.
Develop APA writing style
Develop skills in collaborating with others in writing academic journal articles.
I am looking forward to working with a group of 6-8 early-career writers who are willing to commit on average 2 hours per week for 3 months to develop their writing skills. I will provide "writing lab" structured learning activities (Canvas modules) and unstructured, interactive learning activities for a period of 3 months (June, July, and August). The interactive learning activities will involve several group online meetings whose dates/times will be determined by the group once it is formed. The "writing lab" will also require group members to work in small groups to give and receive feedback on their writing assignments/exercises. Participants are expected to invest about 60 to 70 hours through the 3-month period.
Selected Nonprofit Organizations
International Rescue Committee
I am very concerned for people who are displaced from their homeland because of oppression and discrimination. I am also very concerned for people who are living in impoverished conditions.
John Harrichand
The University of Texas at San Antonio
Short Bio
John J. S. Harrichand, Ph.D., LPC-S, LMHC, NCC, CCMHC, ACS is a proud International Faculty in the US. He is a Canadian of Chinese and East Indian ancestry, who was born and raised in Guyana, South America. Dr. Harrichand is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Counseling at The University of Texas at San Antonio. He is actively involved in several professional counseling organizations including ACA, ACES, ASERVIC, AARC, AMCD, AADA, Chi Sigma Iota, CACREP, and NBCC. He was recognized with the AMCD Young Emerging Leader Award and the AADA President’s Outstanding Service Award.
Summer Writing Collaborative Focus
Counselor education leadership, development, and burnout
Cross-cultural counseling and minority populations (i.e., LGBTQIA+, immigrants and refugees, international students)
Counselor development, supervision, and ethics (i.e., gatekeeping)
Selected Nonprofit Organizations
Institute of International Education
As a member of the international community in the US, the first organization provides educational support to international students which is close to my heart.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas
As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and advocate, with current political tensions in Texas, it it is important that I support advocacy efforts seeking to maintain safe spaces for my community and protect those seeking to protect members of my community, and this organization does just that.
Chantrelle Varnado-Johnson
Nicholls State University
Short Bio
Chantrelle D. Varnado-Johnson, PhD., LPC-S, Registered Play Therapist, BC-TMH, NCC, is an assistant professor of counseling & coordinator of the school counseling program at Nicholls State University. She received her doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of New Orleans. She earned a master’s in Counseling and a master’s in Sociology from The University of New Orleans. Dr. Varnado-Johnson is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Licensed Professional Counselor Approved Supervisor, a Registered Play Therapist, a Board Certified Tele-Mental Health Provider, and a National Certified Counselor, as well as having Louisiana Appraisal Privilege. Her areas of clinical, scholarly, and advocacy interests include career development in k-12 settings, multicultural/diversity issues in organizational settings, mentorship, school counselor preparation, and trans-generational trauma among socially ascribed groups and communities. Dr. Varnado-Johnson has over seventeen years of clinical experience in outpatient and inpatient behavioral health treatment centers, providing clinical mental health counseling to children, adolescents, and adults with a wide range of issues, crisis intervention, and collaborations in school and private practice. Dr. Varnado-Johnson has presented at local, state, national, and international conferences. Plus, she is involved in the following professional organizations: the American Counseling Association, Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC), Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) & Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (SACES), Association for Multicultural Counselors and Development (AMCD), Association for Play Therapy (APT), Association of Counseling Sexology & Sexual Wellness, the Louisiana Counseling Association. Louisiana Association for Play Therapy, Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling in Louisiana (ACACL), European Branch of the American Counseling Association (EB-ACA), the International Association for Resilience and Trauma Counseling (IARTC), Louisiana Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (LACES), Louisiana Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development (LAMCD), Louisiana Career Development Association (LCDA), Louisiana School Counselor Association (LSCA), the Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, & Gender Expansive Identities (LA), Chi Sigma Iota Counseling Academic & Professional Honor Society International, Gamma Chapter, Golden Key International Honour Society, The University of New Orleans Chapter, and Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society UNO Circle.
Summer Writing Collaborative Focus
Mentoring is an integral part of preparing graduate students for the writing and research process. As such, the aims of mentoring new professionals includes:
Offering directive feedback.
Providing unwavering support.
Creating inclusive spaces to discuss research, coursework, and teaching.
Fostering meaningful networking opportunities.
Supporting the professional development of first-generation BIPOC and minority graduate students.
Selected Nonprofit Organization
Due to seeing the impacts of trauma and addressing stress, community and healing is very important to me. Thus, I selected Taking Back Ourselves because their mission to serve sexual abuse and assault survivors of sexual violence, incest, rape, domestic violence, racially motivated sexual abuse, assault in the workplace, military sexual assault, survivors of religious and clergy abuse, academic and sports-related abuse, those assaulted in the performing arts, disabled survivors of sexual assault whose assault is gravely underreported, survivors of war crimes including rape and trafficking, and trans survivors who often struggle to find a safe space to heal aligns with my vision of advocacy.