The criteria for being selected into the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Counseling Program’s Hall of Fame is contained in one sentence: The award is given to an individual, associated with UAB’s Counseling Program, who has made a significant contribution to the counseling profession.
Angela Stowe, Ph.D.
Angela Stowe serves as the Director of Student Counseling Services and Wellness Promotion at UAB. She received her bachelor of arts in Religion from Birmingham-Southern and her Masters of Education in Higher Education Counseling at the University of Montevallo. While at the University of Montevallo, she worked in residence life and the Career Center and served in several leadership roles in the CSI chapter. Dr. Stowe then went on to receive her Ph.D. in Counselor Education at Auburn University. While at Auburn University, she served as president of the CSI chapter and was awarded a Top 10 Graduate Student at Auburn University as well as recognized as the top doctoral student in the college of education. She served as president of the Auburn CSI chapter and was recognized as a National Fellow for CSI International.
She began her professional career after graduating from Auburn University as a counselor in the UAB Counseling and Wellness Center and in 2005, became the Director of Disability Support Services. In 2010, Dr. Stowe took a detour from her career path and spent 4 years as an 11th grade counselor at Mountain Brook High School where she advocated for inclusive school policies to protect LGBTQ youth. She served as the first advisor of the Mountain Brook HS Gay Straight Alliance and created a Safe Space Network of faculty and staff at the high school who were committed to supporting safe spaces in the school environment.
In 2014, Dr. Stowe returned to UAB to serve in her dream position as Director of Student Counseling Services. During her 5 ½ years as director, she has advocated for increased mental health services on campus to serve, and the size of the center has increased from 5 counselors to now 15. In 2015, Dr. Stowe started the Collegiate Recovery Community at UAB, which has now grown to have its own professional staff and a newly renovated and dedicated space to serve as the home for robust programming where students in recovery can have the support they need to achieve their professional and academic goals. In 2016, Dr. Stowe launched the UAB Wellness Promotion department and served as its first director, along with her duties as director of Services.
Dr. Stowe serves as the chair of the UAB Suicide Prevention Leadership and Implementation team, a charge by the UAB President, Provost, Vice President for Student Affairs, and Chief Human Resources officer to lead a team of faculty, administrators, students and staff in developing and implementing an enterprise-side comprehensive and coordinated suicide prevention strategy for UAB. Already in the 1 ½ years under her leadership, she has helped UAB invest over $100,000 in suicide prevention and mental health awareness efforts.
During her career, Dr. Stowe has served as president of the Alabama Mental Health Counselors Association and was a charter member and leader for the Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues in Alabama, where she has also served as president. Dr. Stowe was recognized by ALCA with the Fannie Cooley Distinguished Professional Service Award and the Wibur A. Tincher Award for a Humanitarian and Caring Person. Additionally, Dr. Stowe was recognized by the Alabama School Counseling Association as the 2012 New School Counselor of the Year. In 2017, she was recognized with the Andrew J. Marsch III Award for Outstanding Student Advocacy, Leadership, Vision and Dedication to UAB by the Undergraduate Student Government Association.
Dr.’s professional service has focused largely on advocating for safe spaces in schools for LGBTQ youth and college students. She served as a member of the advisory board and training team for the UAB Safe Zone program as well as part of the training team and board for the Alabama Safe Schools Coalition. She, along with Glenda Elliott and other colleagues presented the first ever presentation at ALCA about supporting LGBTQ individuals. Through her leadership, UAB Student Health and Wellness established a multidisciplinary Gender Transition team and became the first institution in the state of Alabama to provide students with access to integrated care for gender transition services. Additionally, Dr. Stowe organized the first training conference in the state of Alabama that brought together medical, mental health and student services professionals in a higher education setting to learn about supporting the comprehensive needs of transgender and gender non-conforming students.
Dr. Stowe has a son, Liam, 11, and a daughter, Julia, 9, and is married to her husband of almost 20 years, Will Stowe. She enjoys playing her guitar, crafting, spending time with friends and family, and attending activities of her children. Her family enjoys trips to the lake and Friday night pizza and a movie night.
Anita Neuer Colburn, Ph.D.
Anita Neuer Colburn is a Clinical Faculty member with Counseling@Northwestern, a CACREP-accredited online clinical mental health counseling program delivered synchronously and asynchronously. She earned her Master’s in Rehabilitation Counseling at UAB in 1998 (and was a student of Dr. Pamelia Mobley) and her Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision from Old Dominion University in 2011 (and was a colleague of Dr. Sean Hall). Dr. Neuer Colburn has provided counseling services either full or part-time in private practice for over 20 years. Additionally, she has provided clinical supervision for licensure in Alabama, North Carolina, and Virginia. Anita’s research interests are in LGBT advocacy, training for clinical supervisors, best practices in distance education, and spiritual integration in counseling and supervision. She has authored or co-authored 14 peer-reviewed journal articles and 6 book chapters and serves on the editorial review board for 3 counseling journals. She has delivered over 100 conference-style presentations locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Dr. Neuer Colburn was named as AMHCA’s Mental Health Counselor of the Year in 2008, received the Outstanding Practitioner Supervisor award in 2010 from CSI International, and was the recipient of the 2017 ACES Research in Counselor Education and Supervision Award. Currently, Anita serves as a Team Chair for CACREP Site Visiting Teams, is Chair of the CSI International Task Force for Online Chapters and is Program Chair for the 2019 annual conference of the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (Colorado Springs, CO in July 2019). She and her husband Christopher enjoy living across the street from the beach in Norfolk, VA, but Anita claims Birmingham as her counseling “home.”
Jeffrey Moore, Ph.D.
Meet Dr. Jeffrey Moore, a clinical researcher and licensed professional counselor supervisor based in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Moore currently serves as the Project Director of two longitudinal research studies, Healthy Passages and CHAAMPS (Improving the Health of African American Men in a Southeastern Community), at The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Psychology. Dr. Moore is an educational researcher and external program evaluator for the Alabama State Department of Education (AMSTI) with research interests in risk and protective factors for children and adolescents related to family involvement, substance use, violence, and mental health. Dr. Moore owns and operates J. R. Moore & Associates, a full-scale community counseling and psychological service agency in the Birmingham metropolitan area which has served the local underserved population for 19 years. Since 2014, his agency has provided full-scale psychological services to more than 2,500 students on Miles College campus. He holds the distinction of being a nationally certified counselor (NCC) and nationally approved clinical supervisor (ACS) with more than 20 years of training and experience working with children and adolescents providing individual and family counseling. In addition to being nationally certified, he is also a Board Certified Tele-Mental Health Provider (BC-TMH) where he currently owns and operates one of the first-ever tele-mental health clinics in the area. Dr. Moore also serves as an adjunct professor in several departments throughout UAB which includes the School of Education’s Counselor Education Program, Department of Psychology, and The African American Studies Program where he instructs and trains masters and undergraduate level students. Dr. Moore has authored several published journal articles on adolescent risk behaviors and their impact on mental health. As an esteemed businessman with ownership in several entrepreneurial businesses throughout the southeast, Dr. Moore has been able to continuously mentor numerous counselors in training and many professionals pursuing licensure where he readily shares his insight and knowledge with anyone interested in establishing their own private practice.
As a respected community entrepreneur and mental health provider, Dr. Moore leveraged his community influence to co-create the Brother Let’s Talk™ platform in 2017. The Brother Let’s Talk™ platform offers the opportunity for males to talk about their life stressors in judgment-free zones unique to their environment and within their community. The Brother Let’s Talk™ platform reaches many men to address the stigma of mental health by increasing the emotional wellness of men of color through its blog, podcast, social media communities, and very own national therapist directory, that lists Black men, mental health providers, nationally.
Passionate about changing the stigma surrounding mental health issues and therapy which often prevents men from taking the step of seeing a therapist, Moore aims to alleviate the process of seeking relief for mental health-related issues within the Black community, by fostering a safe space to present mental health topics to Black men in a digestible way. You can reach him at
Anne LaRussa
Ms. Anne LaRussa recently authored, “The Knitter,” a story of family life and mental health awareness. “The Knitter” follows Anne’s paternal family tree, which she was able to document back to her great-grandparents in Sicily, her grandparents and early childhood years. Readers meet her parents, her father’s “mom and pop” grocery store, her sister and her future husband, Benny.
Readers also are introduced to her anxiety. After having her sixth child, LaRussa writes about being diagnosed with postpartum depression, which “led to a major depressive episode.” She got treatment, and in her book writes of the friendly advice from her youngest son, David, to “get a life.” She did just that.
Ms. Anne LaRussa graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Counseling Program with a degree in Agency counseling on August 25, 1991, and obtained an Education Specialist degree in counseling on August 21, 1994. Her research project was a proposal for a women’s counseling center. This is the moment, which Anne changed the profession of counseling in the state of Alabama.
For many graduates, the next step in their professional life would be to spend their remaining professional years counseling individuals in their respective disciplines.
Ms. Anne LaRussa has certainly done that, and more. Oasis Counseling for Women and Children was founded in 1995 by Anne Bruno LaRussa as an outgrowth of her graduate work in counseling at UAB. Based on her needs assessment of underserved women in the Birmingham area, Anne’s vision was to provide mental health services and educational programs at fees that every woman could afford. With the support of a diverse group of women in the community, Oasis opened its doors on 14th Avenue and 19th Street on Birmingham’s Southside, utilizing three beautiful historic neighboring houses.
Oasis is one of the few women’s counseling centers in the state, providing services to women throughout the life span, from the very young to the very wise. Oasis provides individual, couples, group, and family counseling, as well as art therapy and play therapy.
Anne LaRussa truly embodies the criteria of one who has made a significant contribution to the counseling profession. It is with great pleasure we induct Ms. Anne LaRussa into the University of Alabama at Birmingham Counseling Program’s Hall of Fame.
Kay Knowlton, Ph.D.
Dr. Knowlton is a Licensed Professional Counselor and approved Counseling Supervisor in Alabama. She is also a National Board Certified Counselor, a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor, and an approved Clinical Supervisor through NBCC. Dr. Knowlton is also a Certified Sex Therapist.
She graduated from the University of Alabama with a Ph.D. in Counseling in 1984 and from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 1977 with a Master’s Degree in Counseling.
Dr. Knowlton’s work, which is being celebrated with this award has been as Palliative Care Counselor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health Services Foundation. Dr. Knowlton provided direct service care and supervisory oversight to patients and their families and clinic staff.
While working on the Palliative Care Unit, Dr. Knowlton provided counseling for patients and their families, participated in Interdisciplinary Team reviews, provided grief support and psychological support for physicians/nurses, and other unit staff.
Dr. Knowlton’s work in Palliative Care provided countless families with emotional support and furthered the knowledge of working with patients who are at the end of their life and with their families.
Linda Foster, Ph.D.
Dr. Foster is an Assistant Professor at Troy University Montgomery and received her undergraduate degree from Samford University, master’s and education specialist degrees in Community Counseling from the University of Alabama in Birmingham and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education at Mississippi State University in 2003.
Dr. Foster worked as a school counselor for over 10 years at the elementary, middle and high school level and is now entering her sixth year as a counselor educator. She has been actively engaged and has served on local, state, national and international counseling boards and editorial boards. Recently, Dr. Foster has accepted the position of Editor of the Alabama Counseling Journal.
Dr. Foster also serves as a Counseling Supervisor in the State of Alabama for those that are seeking post-graduate licensure supervision.
Dr. Foster’s research interests include professional identity of counselors, clinical supervision of school counselors, counselor education faculty dynamics, personal development, leadership styles, and personality types among counselor educators and the use of single-subject research methods by counselors.
Marc Grimmett, Ph.D.
Marc A. Grimmett, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and coordinator for clinical mental health counseling in the counselor education program at North Carolina State University. His courses include Foundations of Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Cross-Cultural Counseling, Gender Issues in Counseling, and Advanced Multicultural Counseling, Advocacy, and Activism. Dr. Grimmett also provides supervision for the Internship in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and supervision of supervision for doctoral students.
The conceptual framework for Dr. Grimmett's approach to research is titled R.A.D.I.C.A.L. scholarship, which means Research Activism to Deconstruct Institutionalized Cultures and Advocate for Liberation. This framework currently includes four areas of concentration and corresponding goals, which are: transforming contextual and systemic factors to promote the healthy development of African American males (e.g., Conducting a study on the contextual factors, diagnostic processes, and counseling outcomes associated with the diagnosis of Conduct Disorder or Oppositional Defiant Disorder in African American boys); facilitating access to mental health counseling services using a counselor education program-based community mental health clinic (e.g. developed proposal for a School-Based Mental Health Program Collaboration between the NC State University Counselor Education Program and a local High School); developing social justice counselor education teaching methods (e.g., developed Documentaries Relating Experience About Multiculturalism Project for Advanced Multicultural Counseling course); and preventing gender-based violence through education, activism, and community partnerships (e.g., executive producer, co-director, and co-writer of MY MASCULINITY HELPS, an educational documentary that explores the role of African American men and boys in the prevention of sexual violence, supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women, scheduled to be released in late Fall 2013).
Dr. Grimmett has presented nationally and internationally, as well as facilitated numerous educational and corporate trainings on cultural competence and the intersections of oppression. He earned his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Georgia and is a Licensed Psychologist. Dr. Grimmett completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of South Carolina Counseling and Human Development Center, where his training focused on culturally competent counseling, marriage and family therapy, substance abuse counseling, and sexual abuse counseling. He has over 14 years of professional mental health experience working in different settings including university counseling, community mental health, and substance abuse treatment centers, as well as in-home counseling services and private practice.
Education and Licensure
- B.S., Biology, University of Alabama at Birmingham
- M.A., Community Counseling, University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Ph.D. Counseling Psychology, University of Georgia
- Counseling Psychology Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of South Carolina
- Licensed Psychologist, North Carolina
- Health Services Provider-Psychologist
Judith Harrington, Ph.D.
Dr. Judith Harrington teaches Suicide: Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention and Introduction to Marriage and Family at UAB. Dr. Harrington is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor, National Certified Counselor, Certified Alcohol and Drug Abuse Professional Counselor, Certified Clinical Supervisor, Supervising Counselor, Alabama Board of Examiners in Counseling, trained in suicide intervention, Approved Trainer: American Association of Suicidology and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, AFSP-trained Suicide Bereavement Facilitator, and an approved PREPARE / ENRICH Couples Counseling Provider. She served as a Suicide Prevention Coordinator, which entailed serving as a state suicide prevention coordinator for the Alabama Suicide Prevention Task Force through a joint partnership with The Birmingham Crisis Center. Some of her more prestigious awards are: Mental Health Counselor of the Year, 2007, American Mental Health Counselors Association; Outstanding Practitioner of the Year, 2006, Alabama Association of Counselor Education and Supervision, Alabama Mental Health Counselors Association, Chapter IV of the Alabama Counseling Association; The Distinguished Professional Service Award, 2005 awarded by The Alabama Counseling Association (ALCA) for service that promotes the profession of counseling in the state, regionally, and nationally; The Wilbur Tincher Humanitarian and Caring Person Award, 2002, awarded by The Alabama Counseling Association.
Dr. Harrington also is an Approved Trainer for the American Association of Suicidology / Suicide Prevention Resource Center, 2006. She was one of 14 applicants nationwide (among physicians, psychologists, social workers, and other MH professionals) for a state of the art Best Practices Curriculum to become an Approved Trainer. Washington, D.C.
Dr. Harrington is best known for her work regarding suicide. She maintains a private practice while adjuncting for UAB.
Pam Mobley, Ph.D.
Dr. Pam Mobley has been an instrumental member of the UAB adjunct family during the last decade. She has been acting advisor for the Rehabilitation Concentration at UAB and has taught Assessment, Practicum, Internship, as well as each of the Rehabilitation courses. She is a proud graduate of the University of Alabama where she earned both her Master’s and Doctorate Degrees. She currently is a Surveyor for CARF International (formerly the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) and is employed as a field supervisor for the Department of Rehabilitative Services for the State of Alabama. She has presented over 300 programs nationally and internationally on topics related to counseling, human development, and rehabilitation. However, it is not these accomplishments, which were the justification for her election into the UAB Counseling Hall of Fame. Instead, her inclusion into this select group was based on her love for the UAB Counseling Program and its students, her devotion to Rehabilitation Counseling, and her genuine willingness to continually give back to her profession through her advisement and counsel to her students. Dr. Mobley is much more than an adjunct professor at UAB, she is part of this program. Her persona and qualities are etched in the in minds of her students and counselor education colleagues.
Dr. Mobley consistently demonstrates the earmarks of professionalism and professional identity. She is always approachable, demonstrates a genuine willingness to meet her students where they are; and each is a better student and counselor for their interactions with her. We are pleased to invite her into this Hall of Fame.
Glenda Elliott, Ph.D.
Glenda R. Elliott, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, is Associate Professor Emerita of the UAB Counseling program. She served on the faculty from 1973 to 1994 and continued to teach as an adjunct until 2000. A charter member of Zeta Chapter, she also served as a faculty advisor. She is a licensed professional counselor, certified counselor supervisor, national certified counselor, and educational consultant. The former Coordinator of Training for the UAB Safe Zone program (2001-2012) and co-founder of the Association for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in Counseling of Alabama (2005), Dr. Elliott currently serves on the Coordinating Committee of the Alabama Safe Schools Coalition and is a member of the board of Friends of Jung-South. She received both the UAB Ingalls Award for Excellence in Teaching and the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching as well as numerous awards from the Alabama Counseling Association; namely, the Professional Development Award, the Professional Service Award, the Wilbur A. Tincher Humanitarian and Caring Person Award (twice), the Fannie R. Cooley Award for Professional Development, and the Individual Publication Award for her work, When Values and Ethics Conflict: The Counselor’s Role and Responsibility, 2011. Her other recognitions include the Chi Sigma Iota International Outstanding Counseling Supervisor Practitioner Award, the Equality Alabama Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Billy Jack Gaither Humanitarian Award.
Paul Pederson, Ph.D.
Pedersen came to UAB from Syracuse University where he was awarded Professor Emeritus status. Dr. Pedersen taught several courses while Pederson was at UAB (1996-2001), but is most known for his work in the multi-cultural discipline. Dr. Pedersen's extensive expertise in this area has granted him national and international recognition. He is the author of countless articles, monographs, and books. Dr. Pedersen's is also known for his professionalism and his mentorship. He has mentored literally hundreds of counselor education students and professors. He has readily given of his time and knowledge. His influence has been felt throughout the counseling and counselor educator community.
Samuel T. Gladding, Ph.D.
Samuel T. Gladding is a professor in the Department of Counseling at Wake Forest University. He is a fellow in the American Counseling Association (ACA) and its former president. He has also served as president of the American Association of State Counseling Boards, Chi Sigma Iota (international counseling honor society), and three ACA divisions: the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES), the Association for Specialists in Group Work (ASGW), and the International Association of Marriage and Family Counselors (IAMFC). He is an ASGW fellow and the former editor of the Journal for Specialists in Group Work.
Dr. Gladding has authored numerous books (N=52 with revisions), scholarly articles (N=92), book chapters (N=32), teaching videos (N=7), and poems (N=45). His writings have been translated into half a dozen languages including Korean, Indonesian, Chinese, Polish, and Russian He was a mental health first responder to the 9/11 attack in New York and has twice been a Fulbright Specialist (Turkey & China). He is the recipient of ACA’s Gilbert and Kathleen Wrenn Award for a Humanitarian and Caring Person, the David K. Brooks, Jr. Distinguished Mentor Award, and the Arthur A. Hitchcock Distinguished Professional Service Award. The Association for Creativity in Counseling (ACC) and ACA have each named awards in his honor.
Dr. Gladding received his degrees from Wake Forest (B.A., M.A. Ed.), Yale (M. A.), and UNC-Greensboro (Ph.D.). He is a National Certified Counselor (NCC), a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor (CCMHC), and a practicing Licensed Professional Counselor (North Carolina). He has taught counseling and worked with counselors and universities in Estonia, Austria, Malaysia, Sweden, Ireland, Germany, Qatar, South Africa, Australia, Singapore, the Philippines, Mexico, and Canada. Before becoming a counselor educator, he worked full-time as a clinician in a rural mental health center and was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Prior to coming to Wake Forest University, he taught at Fairfield University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Dr. Gladding is married to Claire Tillson Gladding and the father of three grown children. For fun, he enjoys playing with his therapy dog, Lexie, as well as traveling, reading humor and biographies, and interacting with friends and family.