Gil Perez awarded "Counselor of the Year" by the American College Counseling Association

Department of Counseling Lecturer Faculty and alum Gil Perez was honored with the Counselor of the Year award at the 2025 American College Counseling Association Conference (ACCA) for his dedication and exemplary service to the field of college counseling. The Counselor of the Year award honors a College Counselor who has made a significant impact on the national, state, and local level. The ACCA is made up of diverse mental health professionals from the fields of counseling, psychology, and social work. Our common theme is working within higher education settings. The ACCA is a division of the American Counseling Association (ACA).

“I have served as a counselor for more than a decade now in the California Community College system, other colleges and universities, community mental health agencies, private practice, and other mental health settings. I am incredibly proud of helping lead the transformation of mental health counseling in the field over the years. Mental health is a shared responsibility of the system and people in it. I have helped shift the mental health paradigm on college campuses by reconceptualizing how we meet the demand for mental health support and create the conditions that lead to positive mental health for all students that promote well-being, safety, and success.”