BUFFALO, N.Y. – Canisius University Associate Professor of Counseling and Human Services Ashley Luedke, PhD, was honored with the 2025 Marijane Fall Counselor Educator of the Year Award by the North Atlantic Region Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (NARACES). The award is named for the late Marijane Fall, a national leader in play therapy and counselor education. The award recognizes counselor educators who have made significant contributions in areas such as school counseling, play therapy and clinical supervision and who exhibit compassion, creativity and professional excellence; demonstrate leadership in professional counseling organizations; and uplift others through kindness, empathy and generosity.
“Receiving an award that celebrates the spirit and values of Marijane Fall is truly humbling,” said Luedke. “She inspired so many through her creativity and humanity, and I’m honored to carry that spirit forward in my work with students and colleagues.”
Luedke joined the Canisius faculty in fall 2024 and brings more than a decade of experience as a counselor educator.
A licensed mental health counselor in New York and Florida, she teaches courses in crisis and trauma counseling, psychopathology, counseling theories, and clinical practicum and internship. Her work centers on adolescents and trauma-informed care, and her research explores clinical supervision, self-care and wellness, the therapeutic relationship, and online program development and gatekeeping. Luedke also serves the profession through her leadership with NARACES and the New York Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (NYACES) and as a CACREP site team chair and member.
Luedke accepted the award while attending the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision (ACES) Conference, where she and Assistant Professor David Moran, PhD, also presented peer-reviewed sessions highlighting their research in counselor education.
Luedke, along with Heidi Henry, PhD, of St. Bonaventure University, presented “Are You In or Out? A Relational-Cultural Approach to Gatekeeping.” The session examined the emotional and ethical complexities of gatekeeping in counselor education and encouraged participants to consider how empathy, connection and mutual growth can enhance the integrity and humanity of the gatekeeping process.
Moran presented “Challenges in Maintaining CACREP Accreditation: An Analysis of Commonly Cited Standards.” His session explored recurring challenges that counseling programs face in meeting CACREP standards, offering insights into how programs can strengthen compliance and improve quality through a better understanding of frequently cited issues.
“The ACES Conference offers an invaluable opportunity to collaborate with colleagues from across the country and to engage in conversations that advance the quality of counselor education and training,” said Moran. “It was an honor to represent Canisius in such meaningful ways.”
The Department of Counseling and Human Services at Canisius University is recognized for preparing compassionate, skilled and ethical counseling professionals who make a difference in their communities and across the counseling profession. The department offers graduate programs in Mental Health Counseling and School Counseling.
Canisius was founded in 1870 in Buffalo, NY, and is one of 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the U.S. Consistently ranked among the top institutions in the Northeast, Canisius offers undergraduate, graduate and pre-professional programs distinguished by close student-faculty collaboration, mentoring and an emphasis on ethical, purpose-driven leadership.
