NBCC Awards Spotlight: Advancing Equitable Access to Counseling

NBCC honors three professionals for their impactful work through the 2024 Advancing Equitable Access to Counseling Award, all of whom are leaving legacies that have taken years of dedication, sacrifice, and selflessness to build. NBCC’s executive leadership recognizes these individuals for their commitment to mental health through practice, advocacy, and service.

“These awards are given by NBCC with the intent to honor the quiet brilliance of everyday counseling heroes,” NBCC and Affiliates’ President and CEO Dr. Kylie-Dotson Blake says.

Denauvo Robinson, EdD, NCC, ACS, LCMHC, LPCS, says “I will always be forever grateful to Kylie Dotson-Blake for allowing me to have the honor and the privilege of receiving the award.”

Dr. Robinson is on the Counseling Compact Executive Board, served as the past president of the American Association of State Counseling Boards, and works in private practice. He also served several terms as the chair of The North Carolina Board of Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors.

Throughout his work, Dr. Robinson has focused on expanding access to mental health resources and building inclusive boards and councils of leaders. One of his goals is to inspire people to get involved in mental health organizations and to make a difference in the counseling profession.

“You don’t have to have a PhD. You don't have to have been in the counseling profession for 30 or 40 years to begin to be of service and to work with and for the profession,” he says. “I’ve tried to encourage younger people to get involved and not wait to just jump in.”

“Counselors continue to fight for the opportunity to support their clients in the best way possible,” says Dr. Robinson. “Progress is happening, like the inclusion of mental health counselors in Medicare coverage. Despite this, more work needs to be done, like passing the Counseling Compact in every state. All counselors need to be a part of the work to advance counseling and mental health.”

Throughout his career, Dr. Robinson has led by example with his incredible contributions to the counseling profession.

“It's not just enough to have your work, but you also need to give back to our counseling profession,” he says.

Sandra Lopez-Baez, PhD, NCC, CMHC, does volunteer work to support mental health needs—supporting people at a senior center who are diagnosed with pre-senile dementia, volunteering at a food pantry, and supporting environmental conservation efforts. Dr. Lopez-Baez says being involved in her community allows her to interact with different people who may not know about available mental health services.

Dr. Lopez-Baez was the first chair of the NBCC Foundation Minority Fellowship Program Advisory Council. Throughout her career, she has been involved in the counseling profession as a counselor, educator, supervisor, researcher, and administrator.

“[The Minority Fellowship Program], which was funded federally to help increase the number of mental health counselors, was pivotal to getting more minorities involved,” she says. “One of my greatest privileges was to be involved in the groundwork that was done.”

She worked to identify mental health gaps in the United States and how counselors-in-training can prepare to meet those needs. The NBCC Minority Fellowship Program brings together counselors-in-training from all walks of life to serve populations that face barriers to care. With around 122 million Americans living in Mental Health Practitioner Shortage Areas, this work is essential.

“When I see the brand-new group of individuals involved, I am just so heartened because the profession keeps going,” she says.

Before Dr. Lopez-Baez got involved with the Minority Fellowship Advisory Council, she helped translate the National Counselor Examination into Spanish. She says this energized her work to support underrepresented populations and connect with other counselors who had the same vision.

NBCC celebrates Dr. Lopez-Baez's revolutionary work in our organization and the counseling profession.

“[This award] was an unexpected honor. To me it's a privilege to contribute something to a profession that has given me so much,” Dr. Lopez-Baez says.

Like Dr. Lopez-Baez and Dr. Robinson, D.C. Councilmember Robert White, Jr. is increasing accessibility to mental health care.

Councilmember White introduced the Pathways to Behavioral Health Degrees Act, which passed in 2023. The bill created free mental health programs at the University of the District of Columbia for residents and people who work in Washington, D.C. They can enroll in the Master’s in Social Work program and Master’s in Counseling degree programs at no cost.

As Chair of the Council of the District of Columbia’s Housing Committee, Councilmember White went to homeless encampments to talk to people about their experiences. He says most people he spoke with had already been approved for a housing voucher, but there weren’t enough caseworkers to help everyone.

“I kept coming back to the same problem,” he says. “We just didn’t have enough [mental health workers]. I wanted to be a part of solving this pipeline problem.”

In response, Councilmember White introduced the Pathways to Behavioral Health Degrees Act. Individuals who graduate from the free programs are required to work for a school, government agency, or health care provider organization in Washington, D.C., for at least 3 years. 

“This award means a lot to me. The issue of equity is an issue that so many of us talk about, but what it comes down to often is access, and part of access is affordability,” he says.

For anyone who wants to make a difference in their own communities, Councilmember White encourages people to call their lawmakers and testify at hearings. He says conversations surrounding mental health lead to progress.

“Change doesn’t happen unless people talk about it and take action,” he says. “There’s no solution to many of the issues that we face without addressing behavioral health needs.”

Listen to the 2024 NBCC Advancing Equitable Access to Counseling Awards winners share their inspiring stories at our 2024 Awards playlist on YouTube.