Best Practices Roundtable:
LGBTQ
Presenter: JAKE Small, Meridith Apfelbaum & Jessica Stahl
Host: Ethan Selinger
Location: Virtual (a Zoom link will be sent to you a few days before the event, after registration)
Date: Friday, June 23rd
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET
Join JAKE Small (Director of Strategic Alliances at Leadership Brainery, Inc.), Meridith Apfelbaum (Director of Student Life & Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at William James College), and Jessica Stahl (Director, School Wide Concentration in LGBTQIA+ Studies & Associate Professor at William James College) for a Roundtable discussion on advocating and empowering LGBTQ colleagues, students, and clients. As a component of Pride Month, this Roundtable will create a space for career coaches to learn and discuss, to ensure that the needs and rights of the LGBTQ community are intertwined in their work as coaches and advocates.
About the presenters:
Meridith Apfelbaum, M.S. currently serves as the Director of Student Life and Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at William James College. In her role, she serves as both counselor and educational administrator, fostering the personal and professional development of students and alumni through a variety of career development, DEIB, and social emotional learning programming. She has also served as the staff advisor to the student Rainbow Alliance and Conference Chair for LGBTQ Youth: Magnifying the Splendor of the Rainbow, a one-day conference focused on how to support the well-being, resilience, and creativity of LGBTQ youth at home, in school, and in the community.
A Higher Education professional for over 20 years, Meridith has worked with undergraduate, graduate student, and professional adult populations at both public and private universities, including Harvard University, Brandeis University, Boston University, Lesley University, UMASS Lowell, and SUNY Purchase. She has worked in Admissions, Career Development and Internships, Summer Academic Programs, and collaborated with Alumni Relations, Intercultural Centers, and a wide range of academic departments. Meridith has a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication with a minor in Theatre Arts from SUNY Fredonia, a Master of Science degree in Counseling from Long Island University, and an Advanced Professional Certificate in Expressive Therapies Studies from Lesley University.
Jessica Stahl, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Counseling & Behavioral Health Department at William James College, and has been working as a counselor educator since she joined the department in May 2009. Within the department, she serves as the director for students pursuing the general track of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling M.A. program. In addition, she is the director of the college-wide concentration in LGBTQIA+ Studies. She earned her BA in Psychology from Middlebury College and her PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Maryland, College Park. Dr. Stahl completed her pre-doctoral internship at Counseling & Consulting Services at the University of Minnesota and her postdoctoral fellowship at Counseling & Health Services at Salem State College in Massachusetts. Her clinical interests center on career counseling, LGBT concerns, and therapists/therapists-in-training. Dr. Stahl’s research has focused on counselor training/development and psychotherapy process/outcome, and she has published a number of articles on these topics. Currently, her teaching interests include clinical skill development, diversity/difference and inclusion, career counseling, and research methods.
JAKE Small (he/him) is committed to the pursuit of educational equity and the creation of truly emancipatory practices that give every student the opportunity to achieve their fullest academic and career potentials. He serves as the inaugural Director of Strategic Alliances at Leadership Brainery where he leads a team charged with building and sustaining alliances with pipeline organizations, recruiting for our signature programs, and engaging students at every level of formal learning who aspire to the highest levels of education.
JAKE has eight years of combined professional and paraprofessional higher education experience across five universities. Most recently, he served as the Assistant Director of Career Services at the Boston University College of Communication. JAKE also serves as a Workplace Equity Consultant and has supported dozens of colleges and universities to create a more habitable and inclusive environment on their campuses for students of color, first generation students, and students with other marginalizing identities.
JAKE is an alumnus member of Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed community service organization and the largest collegiate fraternity in the United States. He received his undergraduate degree from SUNY Oswego and his Master’s of Education from the University of Vermont.
