Dr. Loretta Whitson is the founder and executive director for the California Association of School Counselors, the largest state association representing school counselors in the nation.  CASC guides schools towards linking school counseling to their overall mission and vision, as well as leading school counselors in engaging in high caliber, research-based practices. Dr. Whitson, in her role as Executive Director, provides policy recommendations and advises state and local decision-makers on educational issues that include school-based mental health services and college and career preparation. Whitson spent 25 years as a school district administrator and school counselor in the Monrovia Unified School District. Her work was instrumental in bringing forward an interconnected system of support between school- and community-based mental health services.  She also served as a Commissioner on the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and was an Assistant Professor and Chair of the Educational Counseling Program at the University of La Verne.