Dr. Rob McKinney started his career in mental health counseling by obtaining a M.Div. with an emphasis in Pastoral Care and Counseling at Lincoln, Illinois. Since then, he has obtained his M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Eastern Illinois University and his Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision at Kent State University. Rob moved to Spokane in 2018 where he is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Counselor Education at Gonzaga University and Director of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program. Rob enjoys working as a counselor educator because he gets to instill his professional passion into students, teach and foster counseling skills, and engage in both research and service opportunities. His research interests include multicultural considerations in counseling, counseling work related to LGBTGEQIAP+ individuals, and counselor development. Within these areas, Rob has published several peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and papers, as well as presented at local, state, regional, national, and international conferences. Aside from research, Rob is proud to be a member of the American Counseling Association, Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, and the Society for Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Identities. Rob also serves as a governing board member for NAMI Spokane and as the Chapter Faculty Advisor for Gonzaga’s chapter of Chi Sigma Iota (Gamma Chi Epsilon), the international honor society that values excellence in the counseling profession. In addition, he is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Washington state and a National Certified Counselor.