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Dr. José Villalba

Professor

Faculty member at Wake Forest University since 2011

Email Address: 

Office phone: (336)758-5840

Education:

  • Ph.D. in Counselor Education, University of Florida, 2002
  • Ed.S. in Counseling, University of Florida, 1996
  • M.Ed. in Counseling, University of Florida, 1996
  • B.S. in Psychology, University of Florida, 1993

Administrative Positions Held

  • Vice President and Special Advisor to the President – 2025-2026
  • Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer – 2018-2025
  • Interim Chief Diversity Officer – 2017-2018
  • Senior Associate Dean of the College- 2016-2017
  • Associate Dean of the College – 2013-2016

Research and Special Interests:

  • Health disparities in Latino adolescents; Multicultural considerations on counseling and counselor education; school counseling and diverse populations; and college access of Latino adolescents and their families.

Awards (selected):

  • Presidential Award, Association for Specialists in Group Work. March 28th, 2019.
  • Humanities Scholar, The North Carolina Museum of History, in relation to the Al Norte Al Norte: Latino Life in North Carolina exhibit. January 1, 2012-April 30, 2012.
  • The UNCG Alumni Teaching Excellence Award for Untenured Faculty, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2007.
  • Recognition of Service Award, Indiana Counseling Association, 2003

Professional Service (selected):

  • Member – Counselor Education and Supervision Journal, July 2021-2024
  • Senior Associate Editor – Journal for Specialist in Group Work, January 2018 to 2022.
  • Chair – American Counseling Association Foundation, July 2014-July 2015.
  • Member – American Counseling Association Foundation, September 2012 to June 2015.
  • Associate Editor – Journal for Specialist in Group Work, July 2008 to 2017.
  • Editorial Board Member – Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development, 2008-2018.

Counseling Experience:

  • Licensed Professional Counselor, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Health Center, Department of Gerontology, Memory Counseling Program, August 2012 to June 2013.
  • Licensed Professional Counselor, Family Solutions, LLC, January to June 2012.
  • School Counseling consultant, High School, 2000-2001.
  • School Counselor, Elementary School, 1996-1999.

Professional Licensure and Memberships:

  • North Carolina Licensed Professional Counselor – License number 8875 (Expired)
  • North Carolina Dept. of Public Instruction – K-12 School Counseling License
  • NBCC, National Certified Counselor
  • American Counseling Association
  • Association of Counselor Education and Supervision
  • Association of Multicultural Counseling and Development
  • Association for Specialist in Group Work
  •  Counselors for Social Justice
  • National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education
  •  Southern Association of Counselor Education and Supervision

Recent Publications (Selected):

  • Villalba, J. A. (2021, January 20). The unbearable labor of understanding. Inside Higher Education.
  • Villalba, J. A. (2020, November 17). Three campus groups that especially need support. Inside Higher Education.
  • Lewis, L., Villalba, J. A., & Fosback, C. (2020) Exploring ethnic identity through social networking sites: A Q methodology study with immigrant- origin college students. Submitted for publication in the Journal of College Student Development, 61, 207-224.
  • Gonzalez, L., & Villalba, J. A. (2018). Initial evaluation of a Latino parent college planning program: It changed my life and my child’s life. School Community Journal, 28, 145-165.
  • Wester, K. L., Ivers, N., Villalba, J. A., Trepal, H., & Henson, R. (2016). The relationship between non-suicidal self-injury and suicidal ideation. Journal of Counseling and Development, 94, 3-12.
  • Ivers, N. N., & Villalba, J. A. (2015). The effect of bilingualism on self-perceived multicultural counseling competence. The Professional Counselor, 5, 419-430.
  • Gonzalez, L., Villalba, J. A., & Borders, L. D. (2015). Spanish-speaking immigrant parents and their children: Reflections on the path to college. Journal of Humanistic Counseling, 2, 122-139.
  • Xin, H., Aronson, R. E., Lovelace, K. A., Strack, R. W., & Villalba, J. A. (2014). Vietnamese refugees perspectives on their community’s resilience in the event of a natural disaster. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 32, 508-531.
  • Hines, E., Gonzalez, L., Borders, L. D., Villalba, J. A., & Henderson, A. (2014). Parent involvement in college planning: Cultural considerations when working with African American families. Journal for Multicultural Education, 8, 249-260.
  • Gladding, S. T., & Villalba, J. A. (2014). Imitation, impersonation, and transformation: The power of role models.  Journal of Counseling and Development, 92, 114-121.

Book Chapters (selected):

  • Villalba, J. A., Champion, D., & Isler, M. R. (2026). 10 At the Intersection of Wellness and Belonging: Mental Health and Inclusion at Wake Forest. In The Equity-Excellence Imperative in Action: Fostering Student Success in Higher Education (pp. 140-152). Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • Villalba, J. A., & Erford, B. T. (2023). Applying multicultural counseling. In B. T. Erford (Ed.), Practicum and internship experiences in counseling (pp. 147-162). New York, NY: Routledge.
  • Villalba, J. A. (2018). Individuals and families of Latino American and Latin Descent. In D. G. Hays & B. T. Erford (Eds.), Developing multicultural counseling competence: A systems approach (3rd Ed; pp. 363-393.). New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.
  • Villalba, J. A. (2015). Multicultural counseling and its multiple applications. In B. T. Erford (Ed.), The counseling internship handbook: Practical application of counseling theory (pp. 170-186). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Recent Presentations (selected):

  • Villalba, J. A., McGriff, M. Hollingsworth, K., Heston, G. J., & Dellert Mullon, C. (2024). Reframing DEI: Building bridges despite division. American Marketing Association Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education. Las Vegas, NV.
  • Dellert Mullon, C., Heston, G. J., Sotiropoulos, F., & Villalba, J. A. (2023). AI marketing: Because who needs human connection? American Marketing Association Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Education. Chicago, IL.
  • Gonzalez, L., Villalba, J. A., & Sostaita, D. (2019, February). Building a partnership: The process of campus-community collaboration. Pathways to Achieving Civic Engagement (PACE) Conference. Greensboro, NC.
  • Gonzalez, L. M., & Villalba, J. A. (2018, October). Padres promoviendo preparación: College knowledge and support for Spanish-speaking parents. 2018 Go Alliance Annual Meeting of the Southern Regional Education Board. Fairfax, VA.
  • Redmond, S., & Villalba, J. A. (2018, October). Are we as “woke” as we think we are: Exploring counselor education’s multicultural competence. Southern Association of Counselor Education and Supervision, Myrtle Beach, SC.
  •  Villalba, J. A. (2018, March). Influence policy, offer programming, and facilitate practice: It’s what we do. National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education Annual Conference. Washington, D.C.
  •  Villalba, J. A., & Gonzalez, L. M. (2017, April). Sustaining parent support of Latino students’ post-secondary options. Prepárate Conference, The College Board. Orlando, Fl.
  • Villalba, J. A., & Gonzalez, L. M. (2016, April). Latina/o parents promoting their children’s post-high school opportunities. Prepárate Conference, The College Board. New York, NY.
  • Villalba, J. A., & Gonzalez, L. M. (2015, October). Funding a research agenda in counselor education: Ideas for successfully securing grants. Association for Counselor Education and Supervision Conference. Philadelphia, PA.

Grant Initiatives (selected):

  • Co-Principal investigators, Gonzales, L., & Villalba, J. A. “The Latino-Parents Learning about College (LaP-LAC program). Funded at $102,371 by the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. 8/1/2014-7/30/2017.
  • Co-Principal investigators, Villalba, J. A., Gonzalez, L. M., Borders, L. D., & Hines, E. M., “Who are our children and where are they going?  A career and post-secondary planning guide for parents and family members.” Funded at $43,978.23. Subcontract grant from the College Foundation of North Carolina as part of a U.S. Department of Education College Access Challenge Grant. 5/15/2011 – 8/14/2011.
  • Principal investigator, Villalba, J. A., Addressing rural Latina/o adolescent health disparities through school nursing and school counseling services pilot study. Funded at $178,253. Part of: Wallace, Debra C. (PI). TRIAD Center for Health Disparities. 1P20MD002289-01, NCMHD/NIH. 10/1/2007– 9/30/2012.
  • Principal investigator, Villalba, J. A., The impact of mental and physical health disparities on the education of Latina/o students in rural schools versus Latina/o students in urban schools. Funded at $17,437. Mentorship grant from the TRIAD Project for Health Disparities, NCMHD/NIH. 1/9/2006 – 7/10/2006.

Personal:

Appreciate every chance my wife, Rachel, and I get to spend with our kids, now that Jacob is in college, Celia is getting ready to go to college, and Alex is in high school.

Counseling Faculty