Committees:
Archives Committee
- Chair: Vacant (if you are interested in heading this committee, email president@mscaonline.org)
- Overview: The Archives Committee is responsible for preserving, organizing, and maintaining the historical records, key governance documents, and historical achievements of the Maryland School Counselor Association.
- What It Accomplishes: Maintains MSCA’s organizational history, ensuring past initiatives, leadership records, and institutional knowledge are accurately documented and accessible to support the association's ongoing legacy and continuity.
By-Laws Committee
- Chair: Dr. Laura Catulle, lcatulle@mscaonline.org
- Overview: Chaired by the Immediate Past-President, the Bylaws Committee oversees the governing documents and operational policies of MSCA.
- What It Accomplishes: Reviews the association's bylaws on an annual basis and provides recommendations for updates to the Board of Directors to ensure effective organizational governance, legal compliance, and alignment with MSCA’s mission.
Conference Committee
- Chair: Dr. Maureen Ponce, president@mscaonline.org
- Overview: Chaired by the MSCA President with involvement from the President-Elect and Board of Directors leadership, the Conference Committee plans and coordinates MSCA's flagship event.
- What It Accomplishes: Directs the overall planning, logistics, programming, and execution of the annual MSCA Spring Conference, bringing together school counselors statewide for high-quality professional development, networking, and level-specific collaboration.
Emerging Leaders Committee
- Chair: Iesha Caisey, icaisey@mscaonline.org
- Overview: The Emerging Leaders Committee is dedicated to cultivating the next generation of school counseling leaders within Maryland.
- What It Accomplishes: Identifies, supports, and empowers rising school counselors and graduate students by providing leadership development, mentorship, and opportunities to actively engage in MSCA governance and initiatives.
Ethics Committee
- Chair: Vacant (if you are interested in heading this committee, email president@mscaonline.org)
- Overview: The Ethics Committee serves as a resource for professional ethical standards and practice within the Maryland school counseling community.
- What It Accomplishes: Promotes adherence to professional ethics standards, provides guidance on ethical dilemmas, and supports members in maintaining high standards of integrity and advocacy for students statewide.
Legislative and Advocacy Concerns Committee
- Chair: Holly J. Kleiderlein, hkleiderlein@mscaonline.org
- Chair Details: The Chair is responsible for sharing information on current legislation and advocacy efforts with the committee and the MSCA Board.
- Overview: The Legislative and Advocacy Concerns Committee represents school counselors and students at the state and local levels.
- What It Accomplishes: Tracks legislative developments affecting education and counseling, advocates fiercely for the needs of school counselors, and equips members with resources to effectively engage in legislative advocacy.
Mentoring Committee
- Co-Chair: Meghan Comaskey, mcomaskey@mscaonline.org
- Co-Chair: Veronica Hayes, vhayes@mscaonline.org
- Overview: The Mentoring Committee is dedicated to supporting professional growth and retention across all stages of a school counselor's career.
- What It Accomplishes: Connects new and early-career school counselors with experienced mentors to foster professional development, provide peer support, and strengthen the overall school counseling community in Maryland.
Membership Committee
- Chair: Bill Marchione, wmarchione@mscaonline.org
- Chair Details: Responsible for maintaining MSCA’s membership database while also coordinating all membership activities.
- Overview: Led by the Membership Committee Chairperson, this committee manages member relations, recruitment, and retention efforts for MSCA.
- What It Accomplishes: Maintains the statewide member database, organizes annual membership drives, supports registration for MSCA events, and continuously develops programs to enhance member benefits and engagement.
MSCA District Leaders Leadership Network (DLLN) Committee
- Chair: Kimberlie D. Richardson, krichardson@mscaonline.org
- Overview: The MSCA District Leaders Leadership Network (DLLN) Committee serves as an intentional, collaborative Professional Learning Community (PLC) designed exclusively for Maryland K–12 school counseling district instructional specialists, supervisors, and coordinators. It provides a dedicated space for peer mentorship, personal and professional leadership development, and strategic resource sharing while maintaining a structural bridge to the MSCA Board to inform statewide advocacy.
- What It Accomplishes: Navigates high-stakes administrative complexities—such as balancing state and local expectations, managing workforce retention, and addressing systemic hurdles—while serving as an advisory conduit that aligns MSCA resources, professional development, and advocacy with real-time district and regional needs.
Nominations and Elections
- Chair: Dr. Laura Catulle, lcatulle@mscaonline.org
- Overview: Chaired by the Immediate Past-President, the Nominations and Elections Committee oversees the recruitment and selection process for MSCA Board of Directors positions.
- What It Accomplishes: Solicits candidate nominations, manages transparent election procedures, and ensures a seamless transition of dedicated leaders to guide the strategic vision and governance of the association.
Professional Development Committee
- Chair: Joseph Raffa, jraffa@mscaonline.org
- Overview: The Professional Development Committee is dedicated to advancing the skills, knowledge, and expertise of Maryland school counselors throughout the school year.
- What It Accomplishes: Plans and implements accessible, high-quality professional learning opportunities, webinars, and training initiatives aligned with national standards to help members best serve their students and communities.
Public Relations
- Chair: Vacant (if you are interested in heading this committee, email president@mscaonline.org)
- Committee Details: Coming Soon
Racial Justice and Social Equity Committee
- Chair: James Harris, jharris@mscaonline.org
- Chair Details: The Racial Equity & Social Justice committee chairperson is committed to anti-bias and anti-racist school counseling within their school and community. This role assists all Maryland School Counselor Association committees in upholding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in policy and practice. The chairperson also leads monthly meetings to expand the principles of social justice through professional development, self-care opportunities, website updates, advocacy and special events.
- Overview: The Racial Equity and Social Justice Committee works to uphold MSCA’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracist school counseling practices.
- What It Accomplishes: Develops resources, advocates for equitable systemic practices, and facilitates meaningful conversations to empower school counselors in creating inclusive, culturally responsive environments for all students.
Recognition Program Committee
- Chair: Doreen Hogans, dhogans@mscaonline.org
- Overview: Chaired by the President-Elect, the Recognition Committee honors excellence and outstanding achievements within the school counseling profession.
- What It Accomplishes: Oversees nominations and selection for awards—including School Counselor of the Year, Advocate of the Year, Educator of the Year, and Graduate Student of the Year—and organizes the annual National School Counseling Week (NSCW) Recognition Gala.
Social Media Committee
- Chair: Allison Downey, Adowney@mscaonline.org
- Overview: The Social Media Committee drives MSCA’s digital presence across social platforms to keep members and stakeholders connected.
- What It Accomplishes: Creates, curates, and publishes engaging content to promote MSCA events, highlight member achievements, share advocacy alerts, and build a vibrant online professional community.
Webmaster Committee
- Chair: Demarcus Crawford, dcrawford@mscaonline.org
- Overview: Led by the Website Manager, the Webmaster Committee maintains and enhances MSCA’s official digital platform.
- What It Accomplishes: Keeps the association’s website up-to-date with essential resources, event registration pages, announcements, and job postings while ensuring user-friendly navigation and accessibility for members and the public.
Representatives:
Independent/Private School Representative
- Representative: Farah Evans, fevans@mscaonline.org
- Overview: The Independent/Private School Representative serves as the liaison between MSCA and counselors working in independent and private school settings across Maryland.
- What It Accomplishes: Promotes MSCA membership to independent and private school counselors, communicates the unique needs of these institutions to the Board of Directors, and ensures representation in statewide association initiatives.
Graduate Student Representative
- Co-Representative: Jadah Watkins, jwatkins@mscaonline.org
- Co-Representative: Nellie Cooks, ncooks@@mscaonline.org
- Overview: The Graduate Student Representative gives voice to future school counselors currently enrolled in counselor education programs throughout Maryland.
- What It Accomplishes: Connects graduate students to MSCA, assists in organizing events such as the Graduate Student Seminar and Annual Conference, and promotes professional development and networking opportunities for future leaders.
Central Region Representative
- Representative: Vittoria Jackson, vjackson@mscaonline.org
- Overview: The Central Region Representative advocates for school counselors in Prince George’s, Anne Arundel, Montgomery, and Howard counties.
- What It Accomplishes: Facilitates local member outreach, gathers regional feedback, and communicates regional needs and priorities directly to the MSCA Board of Directors.
Eastern Region Representative
- Representative: Brad Plutschak, bplutschak@mscaonline.org
- Overview: The Eastern Region Representative advocates for school counselors across the Eastern Shore, covering Caroline, Cecil, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s, Somerset, Talbot, Wicomico, and Worcester counties.
- What It Accomplishes: Facilitates local member outreach, gathers regional feedback, and communicates regional needs and priorities directly to the MSCA Board of Directors.
Northern Region Representative
- Representative: Mia Beauttah, mbeauttah@mscaonline.org
- Overview: The Northern Region Representative advocates for school counselors in Baltimore City, Baltimore, Harford, and Carroll counties.
- What It Accomplishes: Facilitates local member outreach, gathers regional feedback, and communicates regional needs and priorities directly to the MSCA Board of Directors.
Southern Region Representative
- Representative: Jackie Cheaves, jcheaves@mscaonline.org
- Overview: The Southern Region Representative advocates for school counselors in Charles, St. Mary’s, and Calvert counties.
- What It Accomplishes: Facilitates local member outreach, gathers regional feedback, and communicates regional needs and priorities directly to the MSCA Board of Directors.
Western Region Representative
- Representative: Vacant (if you are interested in heading this committee, email president@mscaonline.org)
- Overview: The Western Region Representative advocates for school counselors in Garrett, Allegany, Washington, and Frederick counties.
- What It Accomplishes: Facilitates local member outreach, gathers regional feedback, and communicates regional needs and priorities directly to the MSCA Board of Directors.