WCA is excited to welcome our keynote for our 2025 conference, Dr. Roberto Gershon Swazo!

Dr. Roberto Gershon Swazo is an internationally recognized counselor educator, author, Fulbright Specialist, and keynote speaker with a distinguished career spanning almost three decades. A dual citizen of the United States and Spain, Dr. Swazo brings a global lens to his work, which integrates multiculturalism, bilingualism, and mental health advocacy across education systems.

He currently serves as Professor and School Counseling Program Coordinator at Indiana University Indianapolis, having previously held leadership roles at the University of Northern Iowa, Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, and Roosevelt University, Chicago. Throughout his career, Dr. Swazo has combined academic leadership with meaningful community engagement, designing and leading over 16 international study abroad programs in Latin America and Europe.

Dr. Swazo is widely known for his pioneering work in psycho-bilingual interventions and multicultural counselor education. His contributions include several peer-reviewed journal articles and widely used professional books such as Narrative Therapy with Spanish Speakers: Creative Bilingual Strategies for Individual, Family, and Group Sessions and The Bilingual Counselor’s Guide to Spanish: Basic Vocabulary and Interventions for the Non-Spanish Speaker. His literary and academic voice extends to his creative work, such as Fantasías e Ilusiones desde el Exilio, which merges narrative therapy principles with cultural identity themes.

He has been invited to present and keynote across the globe, including in Spain, Mexico, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Angola. His international contributions were further recognized through two prestigious Fulbright Specialist appointments—first at the University of Palermo in Sicily and more recently at Oscar Ribas University in Luanda, Angola.

Dr. Swazo’s scholarship and consultation focus on the intersection of school/mental health counseling, bilingualism, culturally responsive practice, and global education. He continues to empower practitioners and institutions to build inclusive, equity-centered practices through his innovative work in bilingual counseling, existential-narrative therapy, and international collaboration.

He is currently completing a new book under contract with Cognella Publishing (California), titled The Ethical Mindset: Strengthening Self-Awareness, Cultural Competence, and Professional Integrity, scheduled for release in Fall 2025.