Greetings from Dr. Simone Lambert

2007-2008 IAAOC President

President’s Message

With the passing of the gavel in Honolulu, many emotions came over me, predominantly gratitude. Our IAAOC leaders donated so many hours of service this past year. The culmination of this work was celebrated during the ACA convention. During IAAOC meetings, sponsored-sessions, and the reception, members shared their research and innovative practices, connected with old and new friends, and even enjoyed the local festivities with hula demonstrations. The joint reception co-sponsored by IAAOC, ASERVIC, AACE, and C-AHEAD was extremely well attended, opening doors for potential members and cross-collaboration to ensue.

The highlight of the convention for me was presenting the Addictions/Offender Educator Excellence Award to Dr. Gerald Juhnke at the membership meeting. Dr. Juhnke’s colleagues filled the room in honor of his accomplishments as a counselor educator (and an incredible human being). It was by and large the best attended IAAOC membership meeting that I can remember, standing room only. As a Past-President of IAAOC, a prominent researcher, and an inspiring educator, Dr. Juhnke is a role model for us all.

Other award recipients were honored at the IAAOC breakfast, including Paul Radkowski from Waterloo, Ontario, Canada who received the Outstanding Addictions/Offender Professional Award. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte received the IAAOC Outstanding Program award. The research grant was awarded to Lisa Pleszkoch from the University of Virginia and was accepted on her behalf by her professor Dr. Sandra Lopez-Baez. Two IAAOC students received scholarships: Patrick Mullen from the University of Florida and Jamie Powell from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Both of the scholarship recipients shared their research at the IAAOC Graduate Student Carousel. Thank you to our keynote speaker, Dr. Michael Taleff, who provided a thought-provoking presentation and to Dr. Todd Lewis for organizing the breakfast.

In closing, thank you members for your help in establishing new avenues for networking, including the online scholar platform and the graduate student committee. Much appreciation goes to the IAAOC executive council for all of their efforts this year, especially Dr. Cynthia Osborn who served an extra year as IAAOC governing council representative and Dr. Bryce Hagedorn who is coming to the end of his term as journal editor. I would also like to thank Dr. Joseph Cooper who did a phenomenal job as membership chair this year and gave a remarkable presentation on Motivational Interviewing at a professional development workshop in Northern Virginia co-sponsored by IAAOC and Tau Epsilon Kappa Chapter of Chi Sigma Iota. These are just three examples of IAAOC leaders who have gone above and beyond the call of duty. In looking ahead at our upcoming slate of leaders, we are in fantastic hands. I encourage you to inform incoming president Dr. Todd Lewis about your interests in serving on committees in the upcoming year and any ideas that you may have to strengthen our association. Finally, thank you for the opportunity to serve as your president this year; it has been a true pleasure.  

Best wishes, 
Simone Lambert, Ph.D., LPC 
IAAOC President (2007-2008)

International Association of Addiction and Offender Counselors, a division of the American Counseling Association