We look forward to seeing you in

Hutchinson Island, Florida on

September 24-26

for the Fall 2026 Convention! 

The FCA Room Block is now Open!

Bio

Dr. Victoria Kress is the elected 75th president of the American Counseling Association (ACA), taking office July 2026. She has been a counselor for 3 decades and a counselor educator for over 2 decades.  She is the director of the clinical mental health and addictions counseling programs at Youngstown State University. 

She served two terms on Ohio’s counselor licensing board and was instrumental in updating Ohio’s counselor practice act. She has been the recipient of over 50 professional and community service awards, most of which for her advocacy, leadership, scholarship, community service, and mentorship initiatives. She has also received awards for her work with people who have intellectual disabilities, for empowering girls in her community, for her sexual assault prevention efforts, and for her child abuse advocacy work. 

 She is a past president of Chi Sigma Iota International, the Association for Humanistic Counseling, the Ohio Counseling Association, and the North Central Association for Counselor Education and Supervision; she is a past ACA Midwest Region Chair; she is a past member of the American Counseling Association’s governing council; and she has chaired or served on 100+ counseling committees. 

Dr. Kress has engaged in legislative advocacy on behalf of the profession and those we serve for over two decades. She is also passionate about child advocacy, trauma-informed practices, growing counseling leaders, mentorship of developing counselors, and legislative advocacy. 

Session Description and Learning Objectives coming soon

Bio

Ali Cunningham Abbott, PhD, LMHC, QS has worked in higher education and mental health settings for the last 18 years. She is the Program Director & a Professor in the CACREP-accredited Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. Prior to academia, she worked at Florida Atlantic University as the Assistant Director for the Center for Autism & Related Disabilities (CARD) where she provided individual, couples, and family with direct support and consultative services to the community for nearly 10 years. She has been in counseling & consultation private practice for the past 9 years and serving as the Senior Clinical Advisor to the Neurodivergent Empowerment & Support Transformational (NEST) program at Family First Adolescent Services. Cunningham has presented on and published a book, book chapters and academic articles related to various topics including autism treatment & advocacy, mental health first aid, counselor career preparation, and on advocacy for BIPOC, queer & trans communities.

Session Description and Learning Objectives coming soon

We invite members to submit original artwork that reflects themes of creativity, healing, advocacy, meaning, and connection within our professional community. The selected artwork will be featured during the convention, and the winning artist will receive complimentary convention registration.

Submission Requirements:

• A digital image/photo of the artwork

• Title of the artwork

• A brief description or meaning behind the piece (optional)

Important Information:

• Submission Deadline: June 5, 2026

• Submit entries and questions to: anrondon@barry.edu

• The selected artist must bring a physical version of the artwork to the convention, where it will be raffled in support of The Inner Truth Project.

All submissions will be reviewed by the convention committee, and the winning artwork will be announced prior to the convention.

We encourage all artists and creatives within our community to participate and share their work. We look forward to seeing your incredible submissions and celebrating the talent within our profession!