Tracy Hunt

I'm from Baltimore and went to Baltimore Polytechnic Institute for high school where I focused on engineering, planning to be an intellectual property attorney. That competitive environment gave me a seriousness for education and achieving that prepared me well for the University of Pittsburgh, where I studied media and communications (a form of public relations) and legal studies. I graduated during the recession in 2008 and started working at a bank. I applied to law school but didn't feel called to that work - I knew I wanted to do something more hands-on, focused with people and less money-driven. I applied to a program at Loyola University of Maryland in pastoral counseling (also clinical mental health counseling with a pastoral piece), loved my experience there, and quickly switched from the chaplaincy track to clinical mental health because I wanted to be licensed. In 2020, I had a health scare and ended up in the ICU for seven days. I prayed about it and decided if I got out, I was going to do all the things I wanted to do, should do, and felt called to. Soon after, I applied to a PhD program in counseling education and supervision at the Chicago School. It was really challenging doing that as a mom with two kids and a wife, but I felt like all the provisions were in place for me to succeed. I completed it in 3 years straight and wrote my dissertation on how clinical supervision impacts the authenticity of African American counselors in training. I was a student at the Chicago School and had an excellent experience, connecting with the faculty while I was there. Even before I graduated, they offered me a job as an adjunct, and I started the day after my graduation. Within a year, they hired me as full-time faculty. At the community mental health clinic, I started as the Assertive Community Treatment director when I got my license in 2016, working with persons with severe, chronic mental illness and doing therapy anywhere people needed help. I was promoted to outpatient director, and now I manage a team of about 40 people at this organization that's a little over 50 years old, started in 1974. We maintain a clinical staff of 14 therapists, 5 nurse practitioners, and 3 psychiatrists. My key responsibilities include a lot of supervision - I meet with students, mentor doctoral students who are often clinicians, and do supervision with counselors. Mentorship, supervision, and teaching are a big part of my day-to-day, creating lesson plans and having meetings with my advisees. In the second half of my day, I do more work within the clinic, checking in with the front office, making sure intakes are flowing nicely and accreditations are up to date, checking emails, answering questions, and doing supervision.