Greg Brigman, Ph.D., is a Professor of Counselor Education at Florida Atlantic University and has been a counselor educator and researcher for 26 years. Dr. Brigman has extensive experience as a classroom teacher, school counselor, staff development trainer, and curriculum researcher and regularly consults with school districts to evaluate the impact of school counselor and teacher-led evidence-based programs to improve student performance. He is a frequent presenter at international, national, and state professional conferences and is the co-developer of the Student Success Skills program. His research has received numerous awards as has his teaching.

Elizabeth Villares, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Counselor Education and S.W.E.L.L. program director at FAU. Since 1997, Dr. Villares has been an FL educator serving in a variety of roles (e.g, secondary teacher, school counselor, counselor director, and counselor educator). Her research interests include developing school counselor-led evidence-based programs and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions to improve the academic, career, social/emotional development, and college and career readiness of K-12 students. Dr. Villares has received numerous awards for her scholarship and is a co-authored of the text, Evidence-Based School Counseling – A Student Success Approach (Routledge, 2017).

Melissa Mariani, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Counselor Education, specializing in School Counseling. Dr. Mariani’s research and scholarship focus on student success, school climate, school counseling interventions, outcome research, school safety and crisis response, and collaboration between higher education and K-12 institutions. Throughout her career, Dr. Mariani has served as a Project Manager for three Elementary and Secondary School Counseling grants, where she played a pivotal role in assisting various districts in the development, implementation, and maintenance of comprehensive school counseling programs based on the American School Counselor Association’s (ASCA) National Model. Several of these programs earned Recognized ASCA Model Program (RAMP) status. In addition to her academic and project management roles, Dr. Mariani regularly provides professional development and training to school staff on a wide range of topics. Dr. Mariani is a lead researcher and national trainer for the Student Success Skills curriculum (www.studentsuccessskills.com ) and co-developer of SSS for SEL Success. She coauthored the book Facilitating Evidence-Based, Data-Driven School Counseling: A Manual for Practice with Dr. Brett Zyromski (Ohio State University), which serves as a guide for school counselors in implementing evidence-based and data-driven practices. Her dedication to the field is reflected in her active involvement in professional organizations at the local, state, and national levels. In recognition of her contributions, Dr. Mariani was named FAU’s College of Education Researcher of the Year in 2024 and was honored as FAU’s University and College of Education’s Scholar of the Year in 2016.

Hannah Bowers, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of School Counseling at FAU. Dr. Bowers has been working with children and families for the past seven years, as both a marriage and family therapist and a school counselor. Her research thus far has focused on investigating school counseling programs and interventions that are aligned with the ASCA National Model, advocates for the school counseling profession, and engages the entirety of the school system. Dr. Bowers was recently selected as an Emerging Leader for the Association of Humanistic Counseling and was promoted to Associate Editor for the Journal of Humanistic Counseling.