26th Annual GWU Rehabilitation Counseling Symposium
Friday, March 20, 2026 │ 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET
Thank you for attending!
You can find handouts and recorded sessions from our event below.Agenda
Welcome and Introductions
John C. Walsh, M.Ed., CRC, is a Senior Technical Assistance and Research Analyst at The George Washington University’s Center for Rehabilitation Counseling Research & Education (CRCRE) in Washington, DC. He serves as Co-Project Director for the Center for Innovative Training in Vocational Rehabilitation (CIT-VR): PATH project (Provider Advancement Through High-Quality Training) and provides training and technical assistance to State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies through a U.S. Department of Education–funded National VR Technical Assistance Center (VRTAC). He is also faculty with the National Rehabilitation Leadership Institute (NRLI) at San Diego State University. His prior federally funded work includes NTACT:C, VRTAC-QM, WINTAC, and VRTAC for Targeted Communities.
Mr. Walsh has over 40 years of experience in human services, with a career-long focus on advancing full community and workforce inclusion for individuals with disabilities. He spent 30 years with the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired, serving in roles that included direct service delivery and program administration within the Vocational Rehabilitation program.
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Nichole Tichy (she/her) has at least 10 (ten) years of experience, related to disability, counseling and education programs. Currently she serves as a Senior Technical Assistance and Research Analyst and provides technical assistance (TA) and training for the VA DARS EPIC Disability Innovation Fund grant, the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition the Collaborative (NTACT:C), and the Center for Innovative Training in Vocational Rehabilitation (CIT-VR).
She is a nationally Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and recently graduated with her Doctorate from the George Washington Universities Counselor Education and Supervision Program. Within this Program, she focused her dissertation on the application of the Social-Ecological Model to explore behavioral influences regarding placement of persons with Long COVID into competitive integrated employment.
Prior to coming to GWU’s Center for Rehabilitation Counseling Research and Education (CRCRE), Nichole spent her career working in a variety of locations relevant to supporting the integration of individuals with disabilities in their communities. Notable experiences include serving as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor in a State VR agency and working for non-profit organizations serving as both a provider of supported employment and developing programs and services for the implementation of related services. In addition to her role with the CRCRE, Nichole serves as a limited service adjunct instructor for GWU’s master programs in Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling and currently serves as a member on the CRCC Ethics Committee.
Dr. Robert J. Froehlich is an Associate Professor of Counseling with the George Washington University’s (GWU) Rehabilitation Counseling Program, and he is on staff at GWU’s Center for Rehabilitation Counseling, Research, and Education (GW CRCRE). He has provided rehabilitation counseling services since the early 1990’s and has been a rehabilitation counselor educator for more than 25 years.
He is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (Virginia and South Carolina) and a nationally Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC). Dr. Froehlich has been Assistant Director of the GW TACE Center, and Project Director of the VR Return on Investment Project and the Virginia Career Pathways for Individuals with Disabilities Project.
Dr. Froehlich is the immediate past chair of the CRCC Ethics Committee, Secretary of the Virginia Counselors Association and is a member of the Virginia Counselors Association Ethics Committee. He has significant clinical experience in brain injury rehabilitation, State-Federal Vocational Rehabilitation (including the exploration of return on investment), private sector rehabilitation, and general counseling and mental health practice and supervision. His areas of training and research expertise include ethics in the vocational rehabilitation and counseling settings, mental health counseling, career development and counseling, and rehabilitation leadership development. In addition to his training and teaching work, Dr. Froehlich also provides psychotherapy services within a private counseling practice.
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Dr. Robert J. Froehlich is an Associate Professor of Counseling with the George Washington University’s (GWU) Rehabilitation Counseling Program, and he is on staff at GWU’s Center for Rehabilitation Counseling, Research, and Education (GW CRCRE). He has provided rehabilitation counseling services since the early 1990’s and has been a rehabilitation counselor educator for more than 25 years.
He is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) (Virginia and South Carolina) and a nationally Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC). Dr. Froehlich has been Assistant Director of the GW TACE Center, and Project Director of the VR Return on Investment Project and the Virginia Career Pathways for Individuals with Disabilities Project.
Dr. Froehlich is the immediate past chair of the CRCC Ethics Committee, Secretary of the Virginia Counselors Association and is a member of the Virginia Counselors Association Ethics Committee. He has significant clinical experience in brain injury rehabilitation, State-Federal Vocational Rehabilitation (including the exploration of return on investment), private sector rehabilitation, and general counseling and mental health practice and supervision. His areas of training and research expertise include ethics in the vocational rehabilitation and counseling settings, mental health counseling, career development and counseling, and rehabilitation leadership development. In addition to his training and teaching work, Dr. Froehlich also provides psychotherapy services within a private counseling practice.
Nichole Tichy (she/her) has at least 10 (ten) years of experience, related to disability, counseling and education programs. Currently she serves as a Senior Technical Assistance and Research Analyst and provides technical assistance (TA) and training for the VA DARS EPIC Disability Innovation Fund grant, the National Technical Assistance Center on Transition the Collaborative (NTACT:C), and the Center for Innovative Training in Vocational Rehabilitation (CIT-VR).
She is a nationally Certified Rehabilitation Counselor and recently graduated with her Doctorate from the George Washington Universities Counselor Education and Supervision Program. Within this Program, she focused her dissertation on the application of the Social-Ecological Model to explore behavioral influences regarding placement of persons with Long COVID into competitive integrated employment.
Prior to coming to GWU’s Center for Rehabilitation Counseling Research and Education (CRCRE), Nichole spent her career working in a variety of locations relevant to supporting the integration of individuals with disabilities in their communities. Notable experiences include serving as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor in a State VR agency and working for non-profit organizations serving as both a provider of supported employment and developing programs and services for the implementation of related services. In addition to her role with the CRCRE, Nichole serves as a limited service adjunct instructor for GWU’s master programs in Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling and currently serves as a member on the CRCC Ethics Committee.