Faculty & Staff Directory

Areas of Specialization
Trauma & Resilience, Multicultural Issues in Counseling, Counselor Education and Supervision

Education
Ph.D., Counselor Education and Supervision, University of Central Florida

M.Ed., Mental Health Counseling, Duquesne University

B.S, Public Health, Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania 

Professional Information

Dr. Michelle Ellis holds licenses as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (FL), a Licensed Professional Counselor (PA), and is also a Qualified Supervisor (QS) and NBCC Board Certified Counselor (NCC). Her professional journey encompasses diverse counseling experiences across residential, outpatient, school-based, and in-home settings. This breadth of experience has fueled her passion for working with a wide-ranging clientele. Drawing from her extensive clinical background, Dr. Ellis incorporates these practical encounters into her teaching methodology. She employs experiential activities to aid students in deriving personal significance from their learning process. 

In addition, Dr. Ellis's research pursuits center around the integration of cultural considerations in counseling and the cultivation of multicultural counseling proficiency among students. For these reasons, Dr. Ellis is also a mental health columnist for www.duvalsports.com and most recently co-authored a book chapter on Sports Counseling Techniques. 

Her contributions to these fields have been acknowledged and celebrated through accolades from a variety of counseling organizations. Notably, she has received awards like the 2019 Courtland Lee Excellence Scholarship Award from the American Counseling Association, the 2020 Young Emerging Leader Award from the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development, and the 2017 Minority Fellow award from the National Board of Certified Counselors. Most recently, Dr. Ellis was named as one of Jacksonville Business Journal’s 40 under 40 for 2024.