Tennessee School Counselor Association

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TSCA Committees

Professional Development Committee

Melissa Amadio

Melissa Amadio is a Professional School Counselor in Middle TN. Originally from Omaha, NE, she earned her Master of Science Degree from Creighton University. She has experience serving students in the Austin, TX and Nashville, TN areas. When she is not bettering the lives of her students, she is devoting her time to her family and friends. A solution-oriented mother of three, Melissa is proud to represent the TSCA organization and all first-year School Counselors.

Sara Cottrill

Sara had the privilege of serving as a school counselor at elementary schools in a major urban district in the south for seven years. She is particularly passionate about engaging and effective classroom lessons, curriculum mapping, MTSS-B, and working with EL students.

Sara has masters degrees in both counseling (clinical mental health and school tracks) and community action research. The latter drives her to be data-driven and focused on evidence-based practices.

She is equal parts Northerner and Southerner. Her family includes an incredibly supportive husband and two sweet little boys. You might also know her The Responsive Counselor.

Sara is also an integral part of our Communications Committee.

Tabitha Cude

Tabitha Cude, Ph.D. is currently an Assistant Professor within the counseling department at the University of Tennessee at Martin. She also serve as the School Counseling Practicum and Internship Coordinator for the department. She received her master's degree in school counseling from UT Martin and worked as a school counselor for 5 years before taking the position at UTM. She received her Ph.D. in Professional Counseling from Amridge University.

Colleen Weems

After working as a community mental health therapist and mobile crisis therapist for a decade, Colleen Weems saw the light and transitioned to the field of school counseling in 2014. Colleen, her husband Ken, and two children Tradd and Quinn enjoy the great outdoors and can often be found exploring with their rescue pup, Percy. Colleen is currently a school counselor in Kingsport City Schools and a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at ETSU. Her profesional experience and interests include The Leader in Me, suicide prevention and awareness education, and embedded socio-emotional learning.

Communications and Social Media Committee

Amy Holloway

Amy is a Professional School Counselor in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she has served for eight years. She is currently the school counselor at both Shannondale Elementary and Fountain City Elementary and has been a leader on the Advisory Team for Elementary Counselors in Knox County since 2017. She and a colleague presented on bibliocounseling at the ASCA National Conference in 2016, and she has earned the Bullying Prevention Specialist certification from ASCA.

Amy completed her Bachelor's degree in Applied Psychology from Carson-Newman University in 2008 and went on to complete her Master's degree in Counseling from Carson-Newman University in 2012. When she isn't at work, she loves spending time with her husband and dog, watching superhero movies, and playing with her niece and nephew!

Janie Trenthem

Janie Trenthem currently serves as a Professional School Counselor in Germantown, TN.

Janie recently graduated with her Master of Science degree in School Counseling from the University of Memphis. She also earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a minor in French from the UofM. In addition to her job as a school counselor, Janie also serves as a part-time instructor for a General Psychology class at the University of Memphis.

When Janie is not working with her students, she can be found exploring the local Memphis food scene and taking her dog to the Shelby Farms dog park. You can follow her on Instagram @schoolcounselingrox.

Laura Oathout

Laura is a graduate of Vanderbilt University’s Human Development Counseling Masters program and was a bilingual elementary school counselor in Metro Nashville Public Schools for 8 years. She discovered her passion serving a population of mostly immigrant and refugee students living in poverty, and felt privileged to work with these sweet babies each day. Laura was awarded the Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence for building meaningful relationships with students.

Laura is a wife and mommy to two little boys and cares for them full-time while creating meaningful and engaging curriculum and resources for school counselors to use from home. She loves collaborating with and mentoring counselors to help them become the best educators they can be.

Laura is affectionately known as the Music City School Counselor.

Laura Ressor

Laura Reasor currently serves as an elementary school counselor in Elizabethton, TN.

Laura has been a school counselor since 2015. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in child and family studies from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She also earned her Master’s degree in School Counseling from UT.

When Laura is not working with her students she can be found crafting and playing with her dog.

You can follow her on Instagram @bigheartcounseling.

Awards and Scholarships

Emerging Leaders and Contributers

Tiffany Nix

Tiffany is currently the school counselor at Dandridge Elementary in Jefferson County.

She completed Bachelor's Degree in Child Psychology at East Tennessee State University and her Masters in Mental Health Counseling and an EdS in Professional School Counseling from Carson-Newman University.

When she is not wearing my counselor hat, she spending time with my husband, enjoying being a new mom, and hiking/enjoying the mountains! She loves helping students and professionals grow, and I cannot wait to learn from everyone involved with TSCA.

TSCA is a state division of the American School Counselor Association.