Matthew Fullen
Matthew Fullen, Ph.D, M.Div., LPCC (OH) is an Associate 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 (OH). 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 written over 40 peer-reviewed publications and delivered over 170 presentations on aging and mental health, including keynotes, conference presentations, and continuing education webinars. Dr. Fullen has received over $6.7 million in research grant funding from federal, state, and private entities to develop programs that support older adult mental health. Fullen contributed regularly to ACA’s Medicare advocacy strategy leading up to passage of the Mental Health Access Improvement Act, which went into effect in 2024. In recognition of his research and professional leadership on Medicare inclusion, Dr. Fullen received the 2023 Virginia Tech Land Grant Scholar Award, as well as three national awards from the American Counseling Association, including the Carl D. Perkins Government Relations Award (2020), the ACA Research Award (2021), and the ACA Counselor Educator Advocacy Award (2023).
Alexis Isaac
Alexis Isaac is a 2nd year doctoral student of Counselor Education at Virginia Tech. Her research interests lie at the intersection of trauma and substance use. Specifically, Alexis focuses on revitalizing counseling interventions, pedagogy, and health policy to promote wellness for clients impacted by trauma and substance use across the lifespan. Alexis was selected as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholar.
Paul Delaughter
Paul Delaughter is a doctoral student in Counselor Education at Virginia Tech. An LPC and graduate of Virginia Tech’s counselor education program, 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. Now in full-time clinical practice, Nick aims to tailor his counseling practice to work with older adults.
AgeWell Alumni
Jordan Westcott
Jordan Westcott (Ph.D., 2023, Virginia Tech) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, where her research focuses on structural and individual factors that impact mental health and mental healthcare access for marginalized populations, especially LGBTQIA+ people, older adults, and LGBTQIA+ older people. Dr. Westcott and Dr. Fullen recently collaborated as co-editors of a special issue on Medicare inclusion for counselors. More about Dr. Westcott’s research can be found at https://www.counselingcarelab.org.
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 and currently an Assistant Professor at Longwood University in Virginia. Having counseled clients from ages 13 to 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, as well as pursuing research exploring the aging population's unique addiction counseling needs.
Jyotsana Sharma
Jyotsana Sharma, Ph.D, LCMHC (NH), NCC, ACS is an Assistant Professor at Oklahoma State University. 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.
Jon Wiley
Jonathan Wiley, LPC, NCC is a doctoral graduate from the Counselor Education program at Virginia Tech and currently an Assistant Professor at Tennessee Tech. He has nearly a decade of experience working with clients across the lifespan and in diverse clinical practice settings. 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 across the United States.