Leadership Team

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IAAOC Leaders posing for a photo at the ACA 2023 Conference in Toronto, Ontario

President

Rochelle Cade, Ph.D., LPC-S
Dr. Rochelle Cade is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor (LPC-S) whose clinical work is predominately in correctional settings. She is an active member of the American Counseling Association (ACA) with service on the Editorial Advisory Board. Dr. Cade is also active in two ACA divisions, the International Association of Addictions and Offender Counselors (IAAOC) and the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC). In IAAOC, Dr. Cade currently serves as President-Elect and Associate Editor of the Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling. In AARC, she has served as Treasurer and is currently a member of the editorial board for one of the division journals, Counseling Outcome and Research Evaluation. At the state level, Dr. Cade serves as Past-President and Director of the Texas Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (TAARC). She is also the Executive Editor of the Journal of Professional Counseling: Practice, Theory & Research, a publication of the Texas Counseling Association. 

President-Elect

Dilani Perera, Ph.D., LPC, LADC, NCC, MAC, BC-TMH

Dr. Dilani M. Perera is the Department Chair and a Professor of Counselor Education at Fairfield University. Dr. Perera is licensed as a Professional Counselor and an Alcohol and Drug Use Counselor and certified as a National Certified Counselor, a Master Addiction Counselor, and a Board Certified TeleMental Health provider. Her clinical work was mainly with substance using clients with co-occurring disorders in correctional, in-patient, and outpatient settings. She has been a long standing member of IAAOC. She is currently serving as the Assistant Editor for the Journal of Addiction and Offender Counseling and the Annual Review. Outside of IAAOC, Dr. Perera has served in many state, regional, and national level counseling organizations and currently serves as the past-President of the Connecticut Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. Dr. Perera has 45+ publications in the areas of addiction, assessment, multicultural issues, and training of professional counselors and counselor educators.

Past-President

Melanie Iarussi, Ph.D., LMHC (FL), NCC

Dr. Melanie Iarussi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling at Nova Southeastern University. She is a long-time member of IAAOC and previously served as IAAOC Secretary. As a clinician, she has provided substance use and addiction counseling in a variety of settings, including a substance use agency, college counseling centers, private practice, and a domestic violence shelter. She is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) and routinely provides MI training and consultation services to a range of professionals working in counseling, higher education, and offender rehabilitation settings. Her research interests include effectiveness of MI training and the integration of MI and CBT in counseling practice.

Treasurer

Nedeljko Golubovic, Ph.D.

Nedeljko Golubovic, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program in the Department of Counseling & Marital and Family Therapy at the University of San Diego. The primary goal of Dr. Golubovic’s research is assessing the intersection between addiction and trauma and examining the consequences of stigmatization and bias related to both areas. He has published numerous peer-reviewed articles, has co-authored an addiction counseling textbook, and has received over $3 million in federal grant funding as the lead investigator/program director. Regarding his teaching experiences, Dr. Golubovic has been dedicated to training master’s level professional counselors. He has experience teaching a variety of core counseling classes, but his primary focus has been on preparing future counselor to work with addiction and trauma related issues. Dr. Golubovic’s service involvement includes the editorial board of the Journal of Counseling Leadership and Advocacy, Committee Co-Chair of the Emerging Leaders Program for the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, Leadership Committee for the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, and a Grant Reviewer for the Chi Sigma Iota International, as well as involvement in several ACA divisions.

Secretary

Reginald W. Holt, Ph.D., LPC (CT & MO), LCPC (IL), NCC, MAC, ICAADC

Dr. Dr. Reginald W. Holt is a tenured Associate Professor, Department Chair, and Clinical Professional Counseling Program Coordinator in the Department of Counselor Education and Family Therapy at Central Connecticut State University. He completed a Ph.D. in counseling/counselor education (University of Missouri-St. Louis), a M.A. in clinical psychology (East Tennessee State University), and a two-year post-graduate training program in advanced psychodynamic psychotherapy (St. Louis Psychoanalytic Institute). He is an active member of several national and state professional associations, which includes holding various leadership positions. His clinical career involves work conducted in behavioral healthcare hospitals, the correctional system, a top-tier Fortune 500 managed care organization, as well as his own private practice. Prior to his appointment at Central Connecticut State University, he held academic positions at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Webster University. Dr. Holt provides graduate level instruction with a special emphasis on mindfulness-based strategies for mental health and addictions counseling, which coincides with his research interests and published works. He, along with Dr. Regina Moro, published a counselor education textbook in 2023—Counseling Individuals with Co-Occurring Substance Use and Mental Disorders: A Comprehensive Approach—that is now available through Springer Publishing in New York.

Governing Council Representative

Angie Cartwright, Ph.D., LPC

Dr. Angie D. Cartwright earned a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice, Master of Arts in counseling, and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision, all from Sam Houston State University. She is currently an associate professor of counseling at the University of North Texas and the clinical director/owner of North Texas Counseling and Wellness – A training and clinical services organization. Dr. Cartwright’s research agenda addresses the success of children from absent-father homes, offender and addictions counseling issues, and issues related to culture and diversity within counseling and counselor education. She has published in numerous peer-reviewed publications, over $1.6 million dollars in grant funding as the lead investigator, and has over 10 years of clinical experience as a Licensed Professional Counselor–Supervisor (Texas) and a Licensed Sex Offender Treatment Provider (Texas). Dr. Cartwright’s clinical background includes work with incarcerated adults, civilly committed sexual offenders, mandated clients, and youth. She is currently the President-Elect of the International Association of Addiction and Offender Counseling. 

Membership Chair

Latasha Y. Hicks Becton, Ph.D., NCC, LCMHC, LCAS, CCS

Dr. Becton is an Assistant Professor of Counselor Education at North Carolina Central University.  She has over a decade of clinical experience including work with mandated/criminal justice populations, abstinence-based treatment, opioid maintenance treatment, emergency department psychiatric care, and with university students in a campus counseling center. Dr. Becton specializes in the treatment of substance use and other addictive disorders from initial experiences with abstinence to long-term recovery management. She provides supervision for both addictions professional and clinical mental health counselors in North Carolina.  Dr. Becton is passionate about addictions and offenders counseling and advocacy for the profession; she has been an active member of IAAOC since 2014.

Graduate Student Representatives

Madison Hollar, LPC, LICDC

Madison Hollar is a doctoral student in the Counselor Education and Supervision Program at the University of Cincinnati. Madison received both her BS in Substance Abuse Counseling and MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Cincinnati. She works as a Licensed Professional Counselor in Cincinnati, Ohio working with justice-involved individuals with co-occurring disorders. Madison’s research interests focus on the offender population in mental health and substance use counseling contexts including counseling interventions with the offender population, addressing recidivism related to mental health and substance use, and advocating for treatment services during and post-incarceration.

Jordan McCoy, MA, LPC

Jordan McCoy is a current doctoral student in the Counselor Education & Supervision program. She received her master's degree in mental health counseling from the University of Cincinnati and is a licensed professional counselor in the state of Ohio. She is originally from the Chicagoland area but has lived in Cincinnati/ NKY for 4 years. Previous clinical experience includes agencies, jail-based therapy, halfway house, and private practice. She has conducted assessments and provided individual and group counseling. She has worked with clients surrounding addiction, jail/prison-based issues, anger management and others. Her research interest includes inmate and offender populations struggling with mental health, substance abuse and suicide.

Journal of Addictions and Offender Counseling Editorial Team

JAOC Editor

John Laux, Ph.D., PCC-s, LICDC

Dr. Laux is the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, College of Health and Human Services, at The University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio. Dr. Laux’s areas of clinical and research interest include dual-diagnosis, personality disorders, and personality assessment. He has clinical experience in a variety of treatment settings including the Cincinnati VAMC, a community mental health center, a campus counseling center, and an inpatient chemical dependence treatment center.

JAOC Assistant Editor

Tyler Oberheim, Ph.D., LPC-MHSP(TN), LMHC(FL), NCC

Bio coming soon!

JAOC Associate Editor

Rochelle Cade, Ph.D., LPC-S

Rochelle an Associate Professor in the Professional Counseling Program at Stephen F. Austin State University. Dr. Cade is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor (LPC-S) whose clinical work is predominately in correctional settings. Dr. Cade is an active member of the American Counseling Association (ACA) with service on the Editorial Advisory Board and Research Taskforce. Dr. Cade is also active in two ACA divisions, the International Association of Addiction and Offender Counselors (IAAOC) and the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC). In IAAOC, Dr. Cade serves as Secretary, on the Legislation and Advocacy Committee, and on the Offender Competencies Taskforce, and is the newly appointed Associate Editor of JAOC. In AARC, she serves as Treasurer and is a member of the editorial board for one of the division journals, Counseling Outcome and Research Evaluation. At the state level, Dr. Cade serves as Past-President and Director of the Texas Association of Assessment in Counseling and Education (TAACE). 

Newsletter Editor

Kervins Clement, LCMHC, LCASA, CSAT, CRT-IT, NCC, CFLE

Kervins Clement is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Counseling and Counselor Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences at the University of Florida. While pursuing his bachelor’s degree, he minored in Business Administration and received a certification in Certified Family Life Educator. Kervins’ research agenda explores supervision in addiction counseling, culturally sensitive interventions, and advocating for clients struggling with an addiction. He specializes in Sex and Love Addiction. He is currently seeing individuals, couples, and families within a private practice setting. He loves clinical work and that is one way he serves people who are struggling with an addiction.

Professional Development Coordinator

Afroze Shaikh, MA, NCC

Afroze Shaikh is a doctoral candidate in the Counselor Education and Practice program at Georgia State University. She earned her master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Behavioral Medicine from Boston University School of Medicine. Her primary research interests include identifying and addressing barriers to mental health service use and suicide risk factors. She has worked in various clinical settings, including a level-1 trauma center, an inpatient forensics unit, and a university counseling center. She is an active member of IAAOC and has previously served as Co-Chair to IAAOC's Graduate Student Committee and an Emerging Editorial Board Member with JAOC.

Webmaster

Frances Ellmo, Ph.D., NCC, LPC-MHSP

Dr. Frances Ellmo is an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Addiction Counseling program at the University of Memphis in Memphis, TN. She has worked in a variety of clinical settings including providing intensive outpatient treatment to drug court clients, assessing domestic violence offenders, working with incarcerated adults and with adolescents mandated to residential treatment. Her primary research interests include trauma-informed care for addiction and justice-involved client populations, as well as training and preparation of counseling students in these areas.