Meet Our Celebrated Faculty Leaders

The preeminent faculty who direct our on-ground education programs are the same as those who instruct and mentor students in our online graduate and certificate programs. These experienced professionals, many of whom are best-selling education authors, have demonstrated unfailing excellence in their fields, which include marriage and family counseling, spirituality and meditation, literacy, bilingual education and more. In the last decade, they have collectively garnered more than $44 million in grants and private funding for professional research, and they have jointly developed a gifted-learning curriculum that is now in use across 35 states.

Pamela Harris

Clinical Assistant Professor
Ph.D., William & Mary

Dr. Pamela N. Harris is National Board Certified Counselor, a Virginia Licensed Professional Counselor, and an Approved Clinical Supervisor. She spent seven years working as a professional middle school counselor in a small county in Virginia, and also has several years of experience providing family counseling services and working with at-risk high school students in a student assistance program.

Dr. Harris is involved in several professional organizations, such as the American Counseling Association, the American School Counselor Association, and the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. She has conducted research that involves school-family partnerships with families of color, college and career readiness for African American females and culturally responsive counselor preparation. She has presented her findings at both national and international conferences, and reviews other scholarly work as an editorial board member for Teaching and Supervision in Counseling journal.

In addition to her love of counseling, Dr. Harris has both a bachelor’s and MFA in creative writing and writes young adult fiction.

Denita Hudson

Clinical Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Ohio University

Dr. Denita N. Hudson has over 14 years of experience as a counselor educator in both online and hybrid educational settings, serving as the clinical mental health program coordinator, clinical director, and diversity and inclusion officer. Dr. Hudson is licensed as a professional counselor in Ohio and a licensed mental health counselor in Indiana. She is also certified as a National Board-Certified Counselor, a Board Certified Telemental Health Provider, and Certified Clinical Trauma Professional.

As a clinical mental health counselor, she has held positions in community mental health, university and college counseling centers, and in-state vocational and rehabilitation programs. Her current research interests are in the areas of best practice in online pedagogy, neuro-counseling focused on anxiety, generational trauma in African American families, Global Counseling, Advocacy and Leadership for Diversity Equality and Inclusion in Higher Education.

Robert C. Knoeppel

Dean of the William & Mary School of Education
Ph.D., University of Virginia

Robert C. Knoeppel is a longtime educator and noted scholar on educational finance innovation, school finance, accountability policy and leadership. He began his career in Virginia working as a school counselor, administrator and coach for the public school system. Knoeppel started in higher education full time in 2004 at the University of Kentucky. Over the course of his career, he has authored more than 100 refereed journal publications, book chapters, technical reports and conference papers and co-authored the textbook “Financing education in a climate of change.” He has served with multiple professional associations, including the National Education Finance Academy, where he was recently installed as president. That organization honored him with its Scholarly Paper of the Year Award for three consecutive years. Prior to joining William & Mary in 2020, Knoeppel served as dean of the University of South Florida’s College of Education. He holds both a master’s and doctorate from the University of Virginia.

Jessica Martin

Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Central Florida

Jessica L. Martin is the Online M.Ed in Counseling Program Coordinator and an assistant clinical professor in the Online Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at William & Mary. Dr. Martin is a certified rehabilitation counselor and has a clinical background in disability and clinical mental health counseling. She is a native of North Carolina and is a graduate of University of Central Florida’s counselor education Ph.D. program. Her primary area of research interest is in post-secondary transition services for Black youth with disabilities. Her work examines how entrepreneurial training and vocational exposure positively impacts career interest, pursuit, and retention of this population.

Coralis Solomon

Online Clinical Assistant Professor
Ph.D., University of Central Florida

Dr. Coralis Solomon is a clinical assistant professor in the online Mental Health Counseling program at William & Mary. She earned her doctorate in counselor education from the University of Central Florida. Her dissertation research explored self-compassion and emotional resilience of minority teachers working in elementary schools. Dr. Solomon is a licensed mental health counselor in the state of Florida, a National Certified Counselor, a Qualified Supervisor in Mental Health Counseling, a Gottman Seven Principles Program Educator and a Mindful Self-Compassion Trainer. She has served as a Board of Governors member for the European Branch of the American Counseling Association and for the Mental Health Counselors Association of Central Florida. Working as a consultant to prevent burnout in teachers, she developed and facilitated a curriculum on Self-Compassion for Educators in Seminole County Public Schools.

In her private practice, Dr. Solomon implements mind and body contemplative approaches including restorative yoga, laughter yoga, trauma-sensitive yoga and mindful self-compassion training. She also specializes in trauma-focused interventions including advanced training in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Dr. Solomon’s commitment to mental health counseling goes beyond private practice as a nationally and internationally recognized speaker, with over 70 presentations including keynote speaker for the 2021 American Mental Health Counselor Association conference and featured wellness presenter for the 2016 American Counseling Association conference.

Outside of her professional life, Dr. Solomon is a passionate fitness instructor. She holds a certification with the Athletics and Fitness Association of America and teaches spinning, Pilates, and yoga for the YMCA. She lives in Orlando, FL with her partner Antonio and their incredible fluffy Goldendoodle Sofia.

Noelle St. Germain-Sehr

Assistant Professor
Ph.D., St. Mary's University, San Antonio, 2003

Noelle R. St. Germain-Sehr is a clinical assistant professor and counseling clinical experience director for the Online Counseling Program at William & Mary. She received her doctorate from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio in 2003 and has over 25 years of clinical experience working with diverse client populations in a variety of settings including community mental health clinics, employee assistance programs, and private practice. She has extensive experience overseeing the clinical field placement aspects of counselor training having served as the director of training for the CMHC Program at Argosy University in Dallas for eight-and-a-half years. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor in Texas, a National Certified Counselor, and an ACISTE Certified Mental Health Professional (ACMHP) trained to assist individuals with integration of spiritually transformative experiences. Her clinical and research interests include transpersonal perspectives in counseling, mindfulness meditation, LGBTQ+ affirmative counseling, gender socialization and women’s issues, and bioenergetic analysis.

Jaimie Stickl Haugen

Dr. Jaimie Stickl Haugen is a clinical assistant professor in the Counselor Education program at William & Mary. She is a licensed professional school counselor in New York and Colorado, a licensed professional counselor (Colorado), a national certified counselor, and an approved clinical supervisor.

Dr. Stickl Haugen is passionate about bridging the research-to-practice gap through community-engaged research and intentional research dissemination. Her research interests connect with the common thread of school counselor development as it relates to (a) anti-racism and equity in education, (b) cultural considerations in student belonging, and (c) youth suicide. Dr. Stickl Haugen also focuses on integrating best practices in instrument development to support the creation and refinement of high-quality, culturally responsive assessments and counseling outcome research. She has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Professional School Counselor, Journal of Counseling & Development, Counselor Education and Supervision, and the Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation.

Dr. Stickl Haugen is actively involved and holds leadership roles in a number of state and national professional counseling organizations including the American School Counselor Association, the Colorado School Counselor Association, and the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling. She has also served on the editorial board for the Counseling Outcome Research and Evaluation journal and the official journal of the Southern Association for Counselor Education and Supervision.
Uncover Answers to Your Admissions Questions
Ready to begin your studies in counseling alongside some of the field’s leading professional minds? Take a few moments to review our frequently asked admissions questions and ensure that you have all the materials and insight needed to launch your application. Our School of Education staff have pooled their collective knowledge to anticipate and address all of your questions but, in case we missed something, Admissions Outreach Advisors are always available to assist you. Speak to one today at 866-870-6966.
A Legacy of Excellence in Counseling Education
Small. Historic. Smart. William & Mary emphasizes a critical alignment of superior academic quality with an intimate and supportive community. This means our students receive not only an unrivaled education but also attentive mentorship from dedicated faculty who want nothing more than to see them succeed. Take a look back at our history and discover what has set us apart since 1693.

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