Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling in Illinois
Helping Children and Adolescents Thrive
2019-21 ACACI Board
Leslie Contos, President
Leslie Contos, LCPC, NCC, CCMHC is counselor and counselor educator who looks forward to providing service to ACACI members and support for her amazing fellow board members.
Greta Nielsen, President-Elect
Greta Nielsen, LCPC, NCC, MBSR, is clinical director at Clinical Care Consultants in Inverness, with over 25 years’ experience working with youth in a variety of settings.
Karolina Hogueisson, President Elect-elect
Karolina Hoguiesson, LCPC, NCC, CCATP, has over 15 years of experience providing services from Early Interventions to Correctional Facilities and is now in private practice.
Christine Vinci, Secretary, Newsletter Editor
Christine Vinci, LCPC, NCC, CCTP, a therapist at Pillars Community Health, has experience working with children, adolescents, adults, families, couples, and groups in a variety of settings.
Melissa Paluck, Treasurer
Melissa Paluck, LCPC, NCC is a bilingual (Spanish) therapist at Dynamic Direction Counseling where she works with children and adolescents and their families.
Christine Brown, Social Justice Committee Chair
Christine Brown, LCPC, NCC, EdD, is an assistant professor at National Louis University who brings over a decade of experience counseling and supervising at Metropolitan Family Services into her classrooms.
Sarah Silva, Literature Committee Chair
Sarah Silva, LCPC, NCC owns is founder and CEO of a group practice in Chicago where she works collaboratively with clients, and she is also a PhD candidate at Walden University.
Karina Breezer, Grad Student Committee Chair
Karina Breezer is a graduate student in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Concordia University who expects to work with children and adolescents in her career and hopes to seek a PhD.
Elizabeth House, Membership Committee Chair
Elizabeth House is a Master of Science in Counseling student at National Louis University. Her experiencs as an English Language Learning teacher led her to want to work with refugee and immigrant families.
Marcia James, Social Media Committee Chair
Marcia James, LPC, NCC has over a decade of experience as a school counselor in District 215 and a doctoral canditate in counselor education at Governors State University.
Megan Sandos, Emerging Leader
Megan Sandos attends Adler University pursuing her Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling focusing on working with immigrant and refugee children, adolescents, and their families.
Ammarah Hussain, Emerging Leader
Ammarah Hussain attends Adler Univeristy's clinical mental health counseling program. She anticipates working with children and adolescents and is grateful to be part of ACACI emerging leaders.
Cindy Danzell Emerging Leader
Kris Wheatley, ICA Advisor 2019-20
Kris Wheatley serves on the ICA Past President's Committee and is serving as an advisor to ACACI in 2019-20.
ACACI Leadership History
Peggy Mayfield, Past President 2017-19
Peggy Mayfield, LCPC, NCC, CCMHC, DCMHS, works with at-risk youth and families. As ACACI president she created the Emerging Leaders program and the first ACACI conference.
Roseanne Oppmann, Past President 2015-2017
Roseanne Oppmann, LCPC, NCC, CCJTS specializes in work with special needs youth and created a fundraising event for ACACI and provided funding for Listening to Youth training.
Julianna Robinson, Past President 2013-15
Julianna Robinson, counselor and counselor educator was the founding board president of ACACI.