Week 7 Discussion

My name is Dr. Christie Jenkins. I have been equally devoted to counseling membership

and professional service. I have held various counseling service positions at the local,

district, state, and national levels. I am committed to increasing the awareness of the

counselor identity. I currently hold the position of President of the Ohio Counseling

Association’s Political Action Committee.

I started working with survivors of abuse and their families in underground safe houses

23 years ago. I found this work very rewarding and professionally enriching. I thought

that if I were to make a bigger impact with this population, I needed to get a Master’s

degree. I wanted to help survivors and their families clinically. Once I achieved this goal,

I figured in order to make an even bigger impact, I should get my PhD. I wanted to be

able to teach other counselors how to help abuse survivors and their families.

As part of my commitment to social change, I join other leaders from around the country

every June in Washington D.C. We speak with our legislators regarding continued

funding for child abuse issues and counseling services. We have been successful the past

nine years in securing this valuable resource for our survivors. In June of 2018, I will

celebrate my 10

th

year marching on the hill! For this anniversary, I will have two Walden

students joining my march on the hill! Social change is not a tagline at Walden; it is a

way of life.