Suzy Thomas

Dr. Suzy Thomas is a former middle and high school counselor and teacher who earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at the University of California, Davis. She is a Professor in the Counseling Department, where she teaches the foundational Counseling Skills I and II sequence, Group Theory & Practice, Alcohol & Substance Abuse, and School Counseling Issues & Interventions. She also teaches in the Collegiate Seminar Program on campus. Outside of SMC, Suzy co-teaches in-person and hybrid courses in college admissions and career planning (CACP) certificate program at UC Berkeley, Extension, for both local and international groups of students. Suzy is a credentialed school counselor (PPS) and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC). She is actively involved in numerous professional organizations, including the American School Counselor Association (ASCA), the California Association of School Counselors (CASC), the American Counseling Association (ACA), the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), and the Western Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (WACES). She is especially proud to be one of the founding members of the Action Research Network of the Americas (ARNA), an international group of educators and community activists dedicated to the use of action research as a tool for social justice and grassroots change. Suzy is an advocate for school counselors and school-based reform in local, statewide, regional, national, and international venues. She presents regularly at school counseling and counselor educator conferences and has various publications in the areas of mentoring, collaboration, LGBTQ youth, legal and ethical issues in counseling, group counseling, action research, and school counseling reform. She was inducted into the H.B. McDaniel Hall of Fame in 2013 and recognized in 2017 as the School Counselor Educator of the Year by the California Association of School Counselors.