Executive Director, University Counseling Center

ValaRay J. Irvin, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist with 32 years of experience in the field of College Mental Health. She received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Southern University at Baton Rouge, and her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She became Director of SUBR-UCC in 1998 after re-developing it after a ten-year absence. Her clinical orientation is influenced by Cognitive Behavioral, Psychodynamic, and System’s therapies.  Her interests  include psychotherapy, couples therapy, multicultural counseling and training, women and depression, grief and loss, and trauma issues.

Director, Counseling and Psychological Services

Dr. Jeffrey Ng is a licensed clinical psychologist and has served as CPS' Director for the past 12 years. He is currently the co-chair for the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors’ Elements of Excellence committee. Dr. Ng received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Rutgers University and his undergraduate degree in human development from Cornell University. Prior to joining Fordham in 2008, he worked at New-York Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. 

Dr. Ng’s professional interests include collegiate mental health, multicultural and liberation psychology, psychodynamic psychotherapy, mindfulness based interventions, interpersonal neurobiology, and masculine identity development. As an immigrant and first generation HEOP college student, he is especially interested in reducing identity based mental health and educational disparities, and working with students from low income, under-represented and marginalized populations. Dr. Ng's clinical approach is informed by a phenomenological, social justice, Buddhist and systems focused framework, and privileges the exploration of depth, meaning, context, and subjectivity in the therapeutic process. 

Vice President, Clinical Operations

As Vice President of Clinical Operations at BetterMynd, Kate serves as the subject matter expert for the company, oversees affiliated counselor credentialing, compliance, quality assurance, support and professional development, provides consultation to prospective and partner campuses, and leads company-wide assessment activities. 

Prior to BetterMynd, Kate was the Director of Counseling at SUNY Oswego for 7 years.  During her time at SUNY Oswego, she served as the president of the SUNY Counseling Directors, secretary for the board of the Association for University and College Counseling Directors and as a member of the SUNY Mental Health Task Force.  Kate has also served on the board of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors (AUCCCD).  She has owned and operated a small private practice in Camillus, NY since 2018. 

Kate obtained their Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Justice from the State University of New York College at Oswego and her Master of Science degree in Community Counseling from Syracuse University.