Gene Dockery, PhD, LPC-MH (SD), LPCC (OH), LMHC (WA), CCMHC, NCC

Candidate Statement:

I am running for this board position to ensure that counselor identity and values are at the core of ACA’s work and the sustainability of the counseling profession. I am an award-winning advocate with nationally recognized expertise in counseling public policy and legislation. I have experience with legislative tracking, policy analysis, lobbying, testifying at the statehouse, drafting official statements for organizations, and collaborating with community stakeholders. At the center of this advocacy are counseling values, ethics, and scope of practice. This is an invaluable skill set in the current political environment, constantly evolving nature of technological aides to mental health care professionals, and recent implementation of the Counseling Compact. I have a history of meaningful and actionable service to the profession through leadership positions within SAIGE as the Public Policy Committee Chairperson, the Ohio Counseling Association through SAIGEO and the Government Relations Committee, and as the Research Committee Co-Chair of ASGW. This work has provided me with important insights into ACA’s organizational structure and the needs of divisions and members. As a counselor educator and private practice owner, I also understand current issues in the field and higher education that shape counseling practice. I am inspired to serve by diversity in leadership. One of the things that drew me to the counseling profession was the emphasis on diversity, multiculturalism, and social justice. I have seen ACA divisions thrive when leadership holds those values. Even then, leadership often fails to reflect the diversity of membership, and marginalized voices are not heard. The reason I want to be on the board is to represent my communities as a queer, trans, and disabled counselor who primarily works with clients who share those identities. I am committed to ensuring all members’ voices are represented, and my dedication will drive positive, lasting change for counseling.

Candidate Biography:

Dr. Gene Dockery is an Assistant Professor of Counseling at South Dakota State University. They earned their MA in Counseling at East Tennessee State University and their PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision at Ohio University. Gene’s research focuses on queer and trans liberation, disability justice, and advocacy. They are an independently licensed counselor in three states and own a small telehealth private practice where their clinical specialty is queer neurodivergence. Gene was previously the SAIGE Public Policy Committee Chairperson, a member of the Counselors for Social Justice Supervision Task Force, on the SAIGE Ohio executive board in multiple positions, a member of the Ohio Counseling Associations’ Government Relations Committee, and an AHC Legislation Committee Member. They are currently the Past-President of WA-SAIGE, Research Committee Co-Chair for ACES’ Disability Justice and Accessibility in Counseling Interest Network, and the Co-Chairperson of the Association of Specialists in Group Work Research Committee.