Profile

Chanel S. Rodriguez (she/ella/her/suya), PhD, NCC, is a Visiting Professor at the University of Central Florida in the Department of Counselor Education and School Psychology. Dr. Rodriguez is a counselor educator and advocate who works predominantly with children, adolescents, & their families that are asylum seekers, refugees, immigrants, & first-generation born in the United States (providing English & Spanish services). As a Cuban Iranian American and child of immigrants, much of her own & her family’s lived experiences & culture have led her to the work she does currently. As a scholar, her interests involve multiculturalism in counseling, intersectionality, complex trauma, acculturation, and the mental health of immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seeking youth & their families. Cultural humility, equity, diversity, inclusion, empowerment, and a multicultural lens are essential to positive and effective learning through her strong commitment to teaching. Her pedagogy is engaged, adapted, and intersectional to meet the needs of all students. Dr. Rodriguez also enjoys being a mentor to her students inside & outside the classroom.

• Clinical Mental Health Counseling with children, adolescents, and their families
• Immigration, Asylum Seeking, and Refugee mental health
• Intersectionality Theoretical Framework
• Latine linguistic and cultural considerations in counseling, research, and clinical supervision

• PhD in Counseling and Counselor Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Georgia State University
• BS in Psychology, University of Central Florida
• AA in Psychology, Valencia College
• National Certified Counselor (NCC)

SACES Research Committee Member (2025 - 2028)

• 2026 American Counseling Association (ACA) recipient of the Gilbert and Kathleen Wrenn Award for a Humanitarian and Caring Person ($1,000)
• Michele Dowdy Award - 2025 VCA and VCAF BIPOC Sponsorship Recipient