Auburn College of Education counselor educators expand their impact across Alabama communities

The work of Auburn University College of Education faculty members Margie Taylor, Sarah Flint and Lindsay Portela does not stop when class ends.

Whether training health care professionals to prevent burnout, supporting communities in crisis, equipping first responders with mental wellness resources or mentoring future counselors through service learning opportunities, the three counselor educators are extending Auburn’s land-grant mission far beyond campus while preparing the next generation of counseling professionals to do the same.

Together, Taylor, Flint and Portela have built a culture of service that blends classroom instruction, community engagement and professional mentorship. Their efforts not only strengthen the communities they serve today but also help ensure future counselors are equipped to meet the growing mental health needs of tomorrow.

“We are committed to preparing the next generation of counselors to serve ethically, compassionately, and competently,” Taylor said. “Through our intentional teaching, supervision, and community partnerships, our impact extends well beyond our own work as our graduates continue serving individuals, families, schools, and agencies throughout Alabama and beyond.”

That commitment is evident in the intentional ways the faculty mentor students through community-centered experiences. Doctoral students are encouraged to co-develop and facilitate community trainings, gaining leadership experience while expanding access to counseling education and resources. Carefully cultivated partnerships with schools, hospitals, agencies and community organizations provide practicum, internship and doctoral placement opportunities that allow students to serve while developing critical clinical, advocacy and consultation skills.

The faculty also employ a developmental model of supervision that prepares future supervisors and counselor educators. Doctoral students receive advanced supervision training before providing supervised clinical supervision to master’s students, creating a layered mentorship approach that strengthens learning at multiple levels.

Equally important, the professors remain actively engaged in clinical practice, consultation, crisis response and professional training. Those experiences enrich the classroom by connecting theory with real-world application.

“Our work in the community directly informs our teaching, supervision, and mentorship,” Flint said. “Because we remain actively engaged in clinical practice, consultation, crisis response, and professional training, our students learn from current, real-world experiences that bridge theory and practice and prepare them to confidently meet the evolving mental health needs of the communities they will serve.”

Their collective outreach efforts have touched countless individuals and organizations across Alabama and beyond.

The trio regularly educates medical professionals, paraprofessionals and counselors on wellness, burnout prevention and reducing vicarious trauma. They have delivered presentations at East Alabama Health in Opelika and Russell Medical Center in Alexander City, as well as at state, regional and national conferences.

Several years ago, Taylor also developed a mental wellness program designed specifically for law enforcement and first responders. Taylor, Flint and Portela have continued to contribute to the program by training other counselors during presentations. The program has since been used by agencies across Alabama and throughout the nation. While Taylor, Flint and Portela have provided counseling services to first responders, their current focus centers on training other counselors to support those populations, multiplying their impact across communities.

Flint and Taylor also serve as nationally certified trainers for Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training, commonly known as ASIST, a two-day interactive workshop focused on suicide first aid. Through biannual trainings offered to undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students, faculty members and site supervisors, they have trained more than 150 individuals in suicide intervention skills.

Among their most significant community efforts was the response following the 2023 shooting in Dadeville, Alabama. The three faculty members helped coordinate an extensive crisis-response effort, providing counseling support to students affected by the tragedy and to first responders who worked the event. They also mobilized a network of volunteer counselors and helped organize ongoing support services to ensure those impacted received timely care.

While those accomplishments have earned recognition throughout the profession, the faculty point to their relationships with students and each other as among their greatest rewards.

“Our doctoral students recently referred to Drs. Flint, Portela and myself as ‘The Trifecta,’” Taylor said. “We all laughed at this but also felt proud to know they see us as a united, supportive, and an impactful front in the counselor education world.”

Portela said the nickname reflects the collaborative spirit that drives their work and the shared commitment they have to serving others.

“I am incredibly grateful to work with both Drs. Flint and Taylor,” Portela said. “I am fortunate to consider them both colleagues and, most importantly, friends.”

For Taylor, Flint and Portela, community engagement is not an extracurricular activity—it is central to how they educate, mentor and serve. By combining professional expertise with a commitment to outreach, they are helping improve lives across Alabama while preparing Auburn graduates to carry that mission forward.

As those future counselors enter schools, hospitals, agencies and communities throughout the state and beyond, the impact of their work will continue to grow—one relationship, one community and one act of service at a time.