The NBCC Foundation, an affiliate of the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC), recently selected University of New Mexico student Dèsa Karye Daniel for the NBCC Minority Fellowship Program for Doctoral Counselors (NBCC MFP).

As an NBCC MFP Doctoral Fellow, Daniel will receive funding and training to support her education and facilitate her service to underserved populations.

Daniel Desa PR

The NBCC MFP is made possible by a grant awarded to the NBCC Foundation by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The NBCC Foundation administers the MFP, including training and collaboration activities, including webinars, that are open to all board certified counselors. The goal of the program is to strengthen the infrastructure that engages diverse individuals in counseling and increases the number of professional counselors providing effective, culturally competent services to underserved populations.

The NBCC Foundation will distribute $20,000 to Daniel and 19 other doctoral counseling students selected to receive the fellowship award. Daniel is currently a doctoral student in the Counselor Education and supervision program at UNM. Daniel’s research interest focuses on supervision relationships for racial/ethnic minority populations, the lived experiences of racial/ethnic college students and the lived experiences of Black/African American women in academic spaces. Daniel works with diverse clients at a community mental health clinic and a college counseling center where her work focuses on the Black student populations.

Daniel continues to advocate for inclusive spaces for racial/ethnic minority students within academia and within organizations to increase graduate student resources. She received her dual master’s degrees in clinical mental health counseling and higher education administration. She is a UNM Center for Social Policy Fellow and currently serves as the chair for the American Education Research Association 2020 Graduate Student Council.

This fellowship will assist Daniel in expanding her work addressing the mental health needs disparities of Black populations by increasing her opportunities to be involved in national organizations, professional development training and the development of scholarly publications.