Seminary of the Southwest’s Dr. Marlon Johnson was a keynote speaker at the 2026 TACES Midwinter Conference, a sold-out gathering of counselor educators, supervisors, and counseling professionals held March 5–6 in Georgetown, Texas. Hosted by the Texas Counseling Association, the conference drew a full registration and waitlist, signaling strong interest in this year’s program.
Johnson delivered the Friday keynote, “Break, Bond, or Burn: Getting Fired Up for Counselor Education.” In conference materials, the presentation was described as an exploration of fire as a metaphor for advocacy and growth within counselor education and supervision. His keynote followed a Thursday session featuring updates from the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors.
“It was an honor to represent Seminary of the Southwest’s Mental Health Counseling Program in this statewide organization,” reflected Johnson. “When I was asked by Dr. Diane Smedley (President-Elect of TACES) to keynote, I felt excited and empowered by her conference theme. It gave us a voice to show Counselor Educators and Supervisors how collaborative action, culturally-responsive classroom activities, and spiritually-inclusive grounding techniques fuels us forward in the profession.”
At Southwest, Johnson serves as Dean of Community Life and Associate Professor of Counselor Education. He is a licensed professional counselor whose work includes narrative and child-centered play therapy, and he joined the faculty in 2019 after completing his PhD in counselor education at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Since then, Johnson has become an important leader in both the classroom and the life of the seminary. In 2024, he was appointed Dean of Community Life, a role focused on helping cultivate a healthy, vibrant, diverse, and spiritually rich community at Southwest while continuing his teaching responsibilities. In 2025, he was also promoted to associate professor.
His scholarly and professional interests include multicultural counselor education, questions of identity and formation, and the preparation of counselors equipped to serve with cultural awareness and spiritual depth. Those commitments resonate strongly with Southwest’s mission and with the concerns shaping counselor education today.
Johnson’s keynote appearance offered an important moment of visibility for Seminary of the Southwest and for its counseling programs. As conversations continue across the profession about advocacy, formation, and the future of counselor education, his presence at TACES reflected the seminary’s growing contribution to those conversations in Texas and beyond.
For Southwest, the occasion was also a reminder of the distinctive work its faculty are doing in the wider professional community. Through teaching, scholarship, and public engagement, Johnson continues to help form culturally inclusive, spiritually integrated mental health professionals prepared to serve individuals, families, and communities with wisdom and care.