I hold a Ph.D. in Counselor Education from the University of South Carolina Columbia (May 1997), a Master in Student Development (1984) and a Bachelor of Science in Art Education from Appalachian State University (1980). I am a North Carolina Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor-Supervisor and was licensed as a School Counselor with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI). Currently, I am a member of the North Carolina Counseling Association and the North Carolina School Counseling Association.
I have worked in the counseling profession since 1984 as an assistant professor of counseling at Appalachian State University and as a full-tenured professor at Gardner-Webb University as a student affairs officer (ASU). I served in the dual role of Counselor and Coordinator of the Alcohol and Drug Education Program at the University of South Carolina-Spartanburg, and middle and high school “at-risk” student retention, Columbia SC. I retired as the Chief Diversity Officer at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, on June 1, 2021. I am also the pastor of Perfecting Christian Faith Fellowship, an inner-city ministry. I am the President and CEO of Agape Counseling Services of the Carolinas. My therapeutic approach to counseling is a combination of several models (Transcendent Counseling, Transactional Analysis, and Motivational Interviewing).
I served as an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Psychological Counseling at Appalachian State University. I have worked extensively with public school students in such programs as Upward Bound, Performance-Based Learning, Male Mentoring, Race Relations, the NAACP Entrepreneurial Advisory Board and National Dropout Prevention. I am published in professional journals and several in-house publications, while at Appalachian State University. During my tenure as a tenured full professor at Gardner-Webb University, I co-authored with my students an article published for a winter 2004 edition of Resources In Education entitled Trait Aggression Predicts School Aggression Among Middle School Boys.
Earlier in my career I served as Director of Multicultural Student Development at Appalachian State University for ten years. During that same time, I was pastor of Broomefield Christian Methodist Espicopal Church (CME Church) and was appointed to the World Methodist Council, a five-year appointment and represented the CME Church in meetings in Kenya, England, Belgium and Germany. In addition, the Seventh Episcopal Bishop, appointed to CORA (Commission on Religion in Appalachia), as a commissioned member, I served on the Multicultural Committee and anti-racism training project. I am a member of several professional organizations and conduct workshops at local and national conferences. In the Fall of 2011, I was honored as the namesake of the Dr. Willie C. Fleming Endowed Scholarship at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC. Since that time over 30 underrepresented students have graduated with full tuition and fees paid for their four year tenure. These students are currently in various graduate programs and working as educators, attorneys and in the medical field.