Department: School of Counseling

Academic Credentials

Ed.D., LPC, LCPC, BC-TMH

Biography

Dr. Samantha A.B. Knox received her doctorate in Counselor Education and Supervision from Marymount University and was awarded the Doctoral Student Leadership Award in 2017. Dr. Knox holds a master’s in Counseling/ Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Trinity Washington University and a bachelor’s in Elementary Education from Dillard University in New Orleans, LA. Dr. Knox enjoys working with clients from marginalized backgrounds and has a private practice in Washington, DC.

Other Information

Teaching Area

Assessments in Counseling, Advanced Growth and Development, Supervision, Counseling Skills, Multicultural, and Ethics

Research Interests

Counseling Marginalized Populations, Re-entry/ Returning Citizens, and Spirituality

Publications

Knox, S.A.B., (2020), Incarcerated African American mothers: When they do the time, we do the time with them. Compass Points, 13 (2), 6-7. https://www.mdcounseling.org/resources/Documents/Newsletters/fall%202020.pdf […]

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Dr. Jennifer Ha is a DC local and an alumnus of Marymount University where she received both her BA in Psychology and MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She went on to earn a Ph.D. in Counseling from The George Washington University before returning to Marymount University as a full-time professor of practice. Her clinical training and experience range from working in hospital settings to a private practice where she currently provides diverse services to individuals, couples, and families.

Teaching and Research Areas

Dr. Ha’s experience in teaching at Marymount University and other University programs includes clinical supervision, testing and assessments, as well as counseling theories and other counseling and psychology-focused courses. Additionally, she has contributed to the review of a published textbook and continues to focus her research related to counseling training in human sexuality issues.

Dr. Ha believes in fostering a cooperative and encouraging environment in the classroom where students feel challenged and supported in their professional development. Her goal in the School of Counseling is to provide students with opportunities to grow their competencies and develop their professional identity as counselors, counseling educators, and clinical supervisors.

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Stephanie Chalk, PhD, LPC, NCC is the Associate Director of the School of Counseling and Assistant Professor. She has worked in behavioral health for 15 years, and has been at faculty member at Marymount since 2020. She holds a PhD in Counseling and Supervision from James Madison University, a post-graduate certificate in Neuroscience and Trauma from Tabor College, an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from James Madison University, and a Professional Certificate in Strategic Management from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Chalk currently serves as Co-chair of the Neuroscience Task Force and Chair of the Continuing Education Committee at the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA). She is the Past-President of the Mediterranean Region Counselors Association (MR-CA) and past-Chair of the Graduate Student Committee of the Association for Humanistic Counseling (AHC). She is the recipient of the 2024 Excellence in Early Career Award at Marymount University, the 2023 Distinguished MR-CA Member Award from the Mediterranean Region Counselors Association, and the 2020 Outstanding Teaching Award from James Madison University. She also won multiple awards during her graduate studies for leadership, scholarship, and clinical work in the mental health field.

Dr. Chalk has research experience in the fields of counseling, neuroscience, and human factors spanning over 15 years.  Her current research in counseling has focused on posttraumatic growth, race-based trauma, multiculturalism, ethics in clinical practice, and innovative practices in counselor education. She is the founder and owner of Two Rivers Psychotherapy and Consulting, a private practice in Virginia that provides individual and family counseling, clinical supervision for residents working towards LPC or LMFT licensure, and continuing education workshops both nationally and internationally. In addition to outpatient private practice, her other clinical experiences include therapeutic school settings, intensive outpatient and partial hospitalization, and low-income/community mental health. She has authored peer-reviewed journal articles and proceedings, multiple newsletter articles, and has presented research at multiple local, national, and international conferences.

Teaching Areas

Mental Health Treatment of Trauma and Violence, Neuropsychology, Advanced Psychopathology, Theories and Techniques of Family Counseling, Counseling Children and Adolescents, Clinical Internship, Group Counseling

Research Interests

Trauma, posttraumatic growth, ethics, multiculturalism, international and comparative mental health, innovative practices

Recent Peer-Reviewed Publications

Evans, A.M., Chalk, S. C., Green, D., Hornsby, T., Ramsay-Seaner, K., & Haskins, R.  

(2024). Cyberbullying as a method of discrimination among people of color: A mixed methods study. Wisconsin Counseling Journal, 37, 26-46. 

Chalk, S. C. (2021). Disability rights: A forgotten social justice issue. ARCHER-

American Romanian Coalition for Human and Equal Rights. 

Sturm, D., & Chalk, S. C. (2020). Gardening Prescriptions.  In Trivett, J. (Ed.) Sustainability

in Prisons. Evergreen State College: Olympia, WA. 

 

Recent Peer-Reviewed Presentations

Chalk, S. C., Jackson-Cherry, L., Riggs Dermody, A., Dillman, Q., Coogan, E., & Blenman, A.  

(2024, October 31-November 2). Training mental health counseling interns to serve  

medically-underserved populations: A qualitative analysis of clinical and interdisciplinary experiences [Poster presentation]. Psych Congress, Boston, Massachusetts. 

 

Chalk, S. C., Jackson-Cherry, L., Wilhoite, S., Rodriguez, P., & Brown, L. (2024, June 9-12).  

Training Counseling Students to Serve Medically-Underserved Populations: A  

Qualitative Analysis of Student Experiences [Poster presentation. American Mental Health Counselors Association, Charlotte, North Carolina. 

 

Chalk, S. C. (2024, March 10). A Generation in Crisis: Ethical Considerations for Counseling  

Older Adults [Conference presentation]. Mediterranean Region Counselors Association, Heidelberg, Germany. 

 

Chalk, S. C. (2024, March 10). Empowering Vulnerable Clients: Ethical considerations for  

counseling youth and clients with disabilities [Conference presentation]. Mediterranean  

Region Counselors Association, Heidelberg, Germany. 

 

Chalk, S. C. (2023, June). Nature Prescriptions: Using Nature in Therapeutic Practice  

[Conference presentation]. 2023 Association for Humanistic Counseling, Denver,  

Colorado. 

 

Chalk, S. C. (2023, June). The Phoenix Hope: Research on Coping and Posttraumatic Growth

During COVID-19. [Conference presentation]. 2023 Association for Humanistic  

Counseling, Denver, Colorado. 

 

Chalk, S. C. (2023, March). A Generation in Crisis: Ethical Considerations for Counseling  

Older Adults. [Conference presentation]. 2023 Mediterranean Region Counselors  

Association Conference, Budapest, Hungary. 

 

Chalk, S. C. (2023, March). Stopping Asian Hate: A Quantitative Analysis on Trauma, Coping,  

and Posttraumatic Growth Amongst Asian-Americans [Conference presentation]. 2023

Mediterranean Region Counselors Association Conference, Budapest, Hungary. 

 

 

Chalk, S. C. (2022). Counseling considerations for COVID-19 related race-based  

trauma in Asian-Americans. [Conference presentation]. 2022 Association for Humanistic

Counseling Conference, Nashville, TN, United States. 

  

Chalk, S. C. (2022). Facilitating posttraumatic growth and coping during COVID-19.  

[Conference presentation]. 2022 Association for Humanistic Counseling 

Conference, Nashville, TN, United States. 

 

Chalk, S. C., Rachuba, A., Vigilis, A., Milligan, L., & Cano, M. (2022, March). Race-based  

trauma and posttraumatic growth in Asian-Americans during COVID-19. [Conference presentation]. 2022 Mediterranean Region Counselors Association Hybrid Conference, Naples, Italy. 

  

Chalk, S. C. (2022, March). Posttraumatic growth during COVID-19: A quantitative analysis  

of individualist and collectivist values. [Conference presentation]. 2022  

Mediterranean Region Counselors Association Hybrid Conference, Naples, Italy. 

  

Jackson-Cherry, L., Chalk, S. C., Costlow, R., Pak, H. J., Allen, M., Dausman, K.,  

Pettaway, K., & Lara, Y. (2022, March). HRSA C-SHARP fellows. [Conference  

presentation]. 2022 Mediterranean Region Counselors Association Hybrid 

Conference, Naples, Italy. 

  

Chalk, S. C. (2022, March). Ethical considerations for trauma-informed care with diverse  

populations. [Conference presentation]. 2022 Mediterranean Region Counselors Association Hybrid Conference, Naples, Italy. 

  

Evans, A. M., Chalks, S. C., & Walker, U. (2021). Race based trauma and  

cyberbullying: A qualitative analysis [Conference presentation]. Presentation at the 2021 American Counseling Association Virtual Conference Experience, Online.  […]

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Adjunct Faculty School of Counseling […]

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Coordinator, Graduate Counseling Clinical Experiences School of Counseling […]

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Lisa R. Jackson-Cherry, Ph.D., LCPC, ACS, NCC is Professor and School Director for the Department of Counseling at Marymount University. She has been a counselor educator for 28 years; 25 years at Marymount University. She received her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision, Ed.S. in Counseling, and Master of Criminal Justice from the University of South Carolina; Her B.A./B.A/ degrees in Psychology and Sociology from the University of Notre Dame of Maryland.

She is a Fellow with the American Counseling Association (ACA) and served two terms on ACA Governing Council. She is the past- President of ASERVIC, Legislative Representative for the LCPC-M (Maryland), and appointed as Board member of the Professional Counselors and Therapists in Maryland, serving 4 years as Board Chair and Interim Executive Director. She is the recipient of the ACA Carl Perkins Government Award; Leadership, Meritorious, and Lifetime Service Awards from ASERVIC and European Brach of ACA, and Lifetime Service Award from the Military and Government in Counseling for her work with First Responders.

She is the current Primary Investigator and Project Manager of the $1.2M HRSA BHWET Grant (2021-2025) funded to the School of Counseling aimed to increase clinical mental health counselors serving medically underserved populations and settings. She has taken students for the past 13 years on short term global classes to Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, Greece, Italy, and Poland to study comparative mental health issues and interdisciplinary approaches to mental health. Her research has focused on ethical and legal issues in counseling and supervision, mental health with military and first responders, risk assessment, and religious and spiritual integration into counseling. She was in private practice in Maryland until 2022, where she worked with medically underserved populations in a rural area. Her clinical work focused on complex trauma, anxiety, and depression. She served for many years as a lead counselor with COPS Kids (Concerns of Police Survivors) during National Law Enforcement Officers Week, providing group counseling to children who experienced the death of a law enforcement officer-parent in the line of duty. Prior to her faculty appointment in 2000, her clinical experiences consisted of clinical director for mobile crisis team in Baltimore City, behavioral specialist and conflict resolution coordinator/counselor in various public and residential high schools, group co-facilitator for a women’s maximum-security correctional facility, police department youth counseling, and crisis intervention training facilitator for law enforcement basic trainees and hostage negotiators. She has written numerous articles and has participated extensively at state, national, and international conferences over the past 28 years. She is the co-author of the text Crisis Assessment, Intervention, and Prevention (4th edition) and co-author of Practicum and Internship: A handbook for competent clinical practices.

Teaching Areas

Crisis Assessment and Intervention, Clinical Supervision/Internship, Pastoral Integration, Global Approaches in Mental Health Counseling)

Research Interests

Risk Assessment; Military Service Members, First Responders and Families, Spiritual and Religious Issues in Counseling

Publications

Jackson-Cherry, L. & Erford, B. (2023). Crisis Prevention and Intervention (4th edition). Columbus, OH: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

Jackson-Cherry, L. & Sterner, W. & (2022). Practicum and Internship: A handbook for competent counseling practices. Columbus, OH: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles:

Jackson-Cherry, L.R., Sterner, W.R., Band, M., & Walker-Shelton, L., (2017). The Influence of Spirituality and Religion on Coping during Combat-Deployment: A Qualitative Study Examining Separation and Reintegration. Journal of Military and Government Counseling, 5(2), 150-170.

Sterner, W. R., Jackson-Cherry, L. R., & Doll, J. F. (2015). Faculty and student perceptions of incivility behaviors in the counselor education classroom. Journal of Counselor Practice, 6(2), 94-114.

Sterner, W. & Jackson-Cherry (2015). The Influence of Spirituality and Religion on Coping for Combat-Deployed military personnel. Journal of Counseling and Values, 60 (1), 48-66.

Hayden, S.C.W., Jackson-Cherry, L., & Sterner, W. (2015). Integrated treatment of mental health and spiritual concerns of deployed military. Journal of Military and Government Counseling, 2(3), 168-182.

Peer Reviewed Presentations (most recent):

Jackson-Cherry, L., & Chalk, S. C. (accepted 2025, July 11-13).  Going Global: The Use of Study Abroad Programs in Counselor Education. International Association for Counseling Conference, St. Julians, Malta.

Jackson-Cherry, L. & Frothingham, B. (2024). Stressors and trauma experienced by military and first responders: Best practices for effective interventions. Mediterranean Region Counselors Association (MR-CA) Annual Conference, Annual Conference, Wiesloch, Germany 14 March 2024

Jackson-Cherry, L. (2023). Building the bridge to mental health: Marymount C-Sharp fellow serving underrepresented populations. Mediterranean Region Counselors Association (MR-CA) Annual Conference. Wiesloch, Germany 14 March 2024.

Jackson-Cherry, L., Perron, Nathan, Noah, B. (2023). Best Practices in Counseling First Responders Populations. 2023 American Counseling Association Annual Conference, Toronto Canada, March 31, 2023.

Jackson-Cherry, L. (2023). Stressors of first responders and best practices in counseling first responder populations. Mediterranean Region Counselors Association Conference, Budapest, Hungary, March 9, 2022. […]

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Academic Credentials

B.A., M.Ed., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Ed.D., Virginia Tech
Other study: Western Carolina University

Biography

Dr. Davis started her career with Marymount as an adjunct in 1998. Before coming to Marymount full-time in 1999, Dr. Davis was an elementary and high school counselor for nine years in Manassas, Virginia. Her professional positions have included being Past President of the Virginia Association for Counselor Education & Supervision and of the Virginia School Counselor Association. She was on the Board of Directors of the American School Counselor Association (2010-2013) and served on the Virginia School Counselor Association Board for 20 years. Dr. Davis has presented over 150 workshops locally, regionally, and nationally on topics  including developing resilience and positive thinking in students.

Her publications include books and articles in school counseling as well as book chapters on counseling suicidal children, group counseling in schools, and counseling students at risk of dropping out of school. She was named the 2007 Counselor Educator of the Year by the American School Counselor Association. Each Fall,  the Tamara E. Davis Outstanding School Counseling Graduate Student Award (named in her honor for her service to school counselors in Virginia) is presented to a school counseling graduate student in a Virginia university.  She teaches courses  in the school and clinical mental health graduate programs, although her current passion is Positive Psychology and how it can be used successfully in counseling. Dr. Davis is an active member of the Northern Virginia School Counseling Leadership Team and provides supervision training for school counselors in the DMV. She resides in Manassas with her husband, Ken, and their Siberian Husky, Phoenix.

Teaching Area

• Theories of Counseling
• Foundations, Ethics, and Professional Issues in School Counseling
• Practicum in School Counseling
• Positive Psychology in Counseling

Research Interests

• Resilience in children and adolescence
• Resilient parenting
• Strengths-based counseling
• School counselor preparation and training
• Theories of counseling
• Perfectionism in students

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