Samantha Airhart-Larraga has a Ph.D. (2018) in counselor education and supervision from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and M.A. (2002) in counseling from St. Edward’s University in Ausin, TX, and a B.A. (1997) in psychology from the University of Texas at Brownsville (now UTRGV). She is a National Certified Counselor since 2005, a Licensed Professional Counselor (Texas) since 2005, and a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (Texas) since 2000. Dr. Airhart-Larraga has over 20 years of experience as a counselor serving people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds – primarily those of a Hispanic / Latinx background. Dr. Airhart-Larraga is fluent in Spanish and has focused on providing culturally relevant counseling services to underserved and underrepresented clients in Texas. Dr. Airhart-Larraga has several publications focusing on counselor resilience, novice counselor training, interprofessional collaboration, and sizeism. Additionally, she has numerous national presentations on the Latinx population, including culturally responsive counseling, sizeism, mental health stigma, and resilience. Finally, Dr. Airhart-Larraga has a passion for advocacy and service. She served on the National Board for Certified Counselors Minority Fellowship Program – Addictions Counseling Advisory Council from 2018 to 2022, serving as chair in 2022. Most recently, Dr. Airhart-Larraga serves as a board member for the Center for Credentialing and Education, as the board's secretary for the 2023-2024 year, and was selected for a second term from 2025 to 2028. Dr. Airhart-Larraga currently works as a tenured associate professor in the counseling and psychology department and program coordinator for the CMHC program at Texas A&M University – Central Texas.