Dr. Matthew Fullen

Matthew Fullen, Ph.D, M.Div., LPCC (OH) is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech where he teaches in the Counselor Education program.  He has worked with older adults since 2005, first in the affordable senior housing industry, and then as a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor. He has provided counseling to older adults in diverse settings that range from long-term care facilities and an adult day center, to a community agency and private practice. Dr. Fullen has delivered over 50 peer-reviewed presentations at national, regional, and state conferences, including those sponsored by the American Counseling Association , the American Society of Aging, and the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision.  He regularly publishes in academic journals and Counseling Today on topics related to older adults' mental health & well-being.  Dr. Fullen's CV can be found here.

Connie Tomlin

Connie Tomlin, LPC, NCC, MHSP is a doctoral student in the Counselor Education program at Virginia Tech. She has several years of clinical experience working as a counselor, specializing in serving the counseling needs of clients in the early stages of dementia, as well as counseling the family members of clients with dementia. She has also provided counseling to older adults in a retirement community, working with individuals in independent and assisted living. Connie’s groundbreaking work in counseling clients with dementia has been showcased in informative videos and television interviews.

Connie’s passion to serve this particular population led her to Virginia Tech where she can pursue her Ph.D. in Counselor Education while simultaneously working to receive a Graduate Certificate in Gerontology. She hopes to share her passion for counseling older adults with future counselors so that counseling can become mainstream in retirement communities across the country.

Paul Delaughter

Paul Delaughter is a master’s student in Counselor Education at Virginia Tech. A graduate of Virginia Tech’s Psychology and Food Science & Technology undergraduate programs, his passions include mental health, physical fitness, and nutrition. Paul takes a holistic view towards wellness and looks to encourage growth and resilience throughout the lifespan. Paul has a particular interest in working with service members, first-responders, and veterans and is interested in exploring what challenges they face as they enter into older adulthood.

Nick Gowen

Nick Gowen graduated from the Counselor Education master's program at Virginia Tech in 2019. He completed his master's internship at Warm Hearth Village, a senior living community in Blacksburg, Virginia, where he offered pro-bono counseling to residents and their families.

Nick now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where he aims to tailor his counseling practice to work exclusively with older adults. He remains engaged with the AgeWell as a contributor to the lab's online and print efforts.

AgeWell Alumni

Justin Jordan

Justin Jordan, LPC (VA), CSAC (VA) is a graduate of the doctoral program at Virginia Tech in the Counselor Education and Supervision Program. He has several years of clinical experience working as an outpatient counselor at a community agency, providing mental health and substance use treatment to adolescents and adults. Having counseled clients ranging from age 13 through 75, Justin has witnessed the barriers that older adults face in accessing proper mental health and substance use services. He is interested in increasing access to counseling services for older adults through Medicare advocacy, as well as pursuing research exploring the aging population's unique addiction counseling needs. Justin believes strongly in the healing power of authentic human connection.

Jyotsana Sharma

Jyotsana Sharma, Ph.D, LCMHC (NH), NCC, ACS is engaged in various research projects connected with AgeWell. Through engagement in this project, Jyotsana hopes to spread awareness and advocate for mental health needs of aging adults. Her own research interests include trauma, trauma recovery, and post trauma growth.

Sharma is now an Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University.

Jon Wiley

Jonathan Wiley, LPC, NCC is a doctoral graduate from the Counselor Education program at Virginia Tech. He has nearly a decade of experience working with clients across the lifespan and in diverse clinical practice settings. Because of his upbringing and current residence in Southwest Virginia, Jon has a passion for enhancing the availability, accessibility, and acceptability of rural mental health care for clients throughout the lifespan. Specifically, he engages in research, scholarship, and practice focused on improving mental health policy for older adults in rural communities in Virginia and across the United States.

Wiley is now an Assistant Professor at Marietta College in Ohio.