Board Members

Abigail Hays, LPC, LMFT

Abigail Hays is from Rayville, LA. She received a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and minor in Dance from The University of Louisiana at Monroe in 2012. She also received her Masters of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy from ULM in 2015. She graduated in the top 10% of graduate students in the United States. She is dually licensed as a Licensed Marriage and Family therapist and Licensed Professional Counselor. Her passion for child advocacy is evident by her years of dance instruction, mentoring American Legion Auxiliary Girls State delegates, and working with youth and their families in various community roles. She served as the Vice President of the Louisiana Girls State Association and is on the Alumni Advisory Committee for Phi Mu Fraternity. She resides in Richland Parish with her husband and daughter. 

Term Expires: 03/17/2026

Kelly M. Tyner, Ph.D., LMFT-S, MFTAC Chair

Dr. Kelly Tyner is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Clinical Fellow of AAMFT. She received a Master's and a Ph.D. in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. In addition to maintaining a small private practice, Dr. Tyner is currently serving as the Associate District Director for Counseling within Readjustment Counseling Services through the Department of Veteran Affairs. In the past, Dr. Tyner has served on the Louisiana Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (LAMFT) Executive Board as Secretary and was Treasurer of the LMFT PAC. Dr. Tyner lives in Shreveport, Louisiana with her four children.

Kristal K. Hebert, M.S., QDDP

Kristal K. Hebert, M.S., QDDP, was born and raised and still lives in Bayou Vista, LA. Kristal is classified as a Qualified Intellectual/Developmental Disabilities Professional who wholeheartedly embraces her role as an advocate for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. She earned her Associate's Degree in Family and Consumer Sciences Education at Nicholls State University and continued at Nicholls to obtain her Bachelor's Degree in Social Sciences. She then transitioned to Louisiana State University Shreveport for her graduate studies and earned her Master’s of Science in Non-Profit Administration. Now Kristal is pursuing her Doctoral Degree from LSUS in Leadership Education and is nearing completion of all coursework. She serves as the executive director for the Arc of St. Mary, a non-profit organization that provides support services for adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities in St. Mary Parish. Kristal serves as the board secretary on the executive board for the Arc of Louisiana's Council of Executives. Also, she serves as a member of the board of directors for Claire House, a rehabilitation home for women who struggle with addiction and their children. Kristal is a past winner of Arc of Louisiana Service Provider of the year, and under her direction, Arc of St. Mary was awarded Non-Profit of the Year in St. Mary Parish. In 2021, she was appointed by Governor John Bel Edwards to serve on The Louisiana Professional Counselors Board of Examiners. Kristal and her husband, Darin, have two sons and two grandsons. Kristal's hobbies primarily include surviving in an all-boy household for over 30 years.

Laura Fazio-Griffith, Ph.D., LPC-S, LMFT, Registered Play Therapist-S; Associate Professor; Nell Yarborough Sibley Endowed Professorship in Human Sciences, Marriage, Couple & Family Counseling Coordinator, Play Therapy Program Coordinator, Director, Southeastern Louisiana Univeristy Play Therapy Education and Training Site, LPC Board Vice-Chair

Dr. Fazio-Griffith received her PhD from the University of New Orleans in Counselor Education.  She is a national certified counselor, licensed professional counselor supervisor, a licensed marriage and family therapist, and a registered play therapist supervisor.  Dr. Fazio-Griffith was the clinical director for the Counseling and Training Center of Families Helping Families of Greater New Orleans for approximately 5 years.  She provided individual, group, and family counseling as well as supervision for master’s level counseling interns.  She has been an adjunct assistant professor at UNO, Southeastern, and LSU. She joined our faculty in August of 2010 after completing two years as a visiting assistant professor at LSU. She served as the president of LACES from 2004-06 and was the Counselor Education representative on the LACES board until July 2011. She served as treasurer on the Louisiana Association for Play Therapy Executive Board and is Past-President of the Louisiana Association for Play Therapy, add currently  serves as the conference speaker coordinator committee chair,  She is the Chair for the International Association for Play Therapy Ethics and practice committee, ad a member of the University Education Committee, the  Registration and Credentialing Committee, Nominations and Elections Committee as well as the task force to develop a history of play therapy for APT. She has served as president for the Louisiana Association for Career Development and serves on five national editorial boards. She served on the American Counseling Association Branch Development Committee and was selected as a mentor for the ACA Mentorship Program. She has developed the play therapy program and the counseling program is an approved provider from the Association for Play Therapy for continuing play therapy education.  She has presented internationally, nationally and statewide on various topics related to supervision, play therapy, and group work.   Her research interests include group work, personality disorders, supervision, and play therapy. Dr. Fazio-Griffith was honored by the Louisiana Association for Counselor Education and Supervision as the Senior Counselor Educator of the year at the 2016 LCA Conference, the award for Distinguished Professional Service, 2018 for the Louisiana Counseling Association, and the Senior Supervisor Award by the Louisiana Association for Counselor Education and Supervision at the 2019 LCA Conference, and the Play Therapist of the Year: Lifetime Achievement by the Louisiana Association for Play Therapy in 2020. Dr. Fazio-Griffith was appointed to the LPC Board by the Governor effective September 1, 2018. Dr. Fazio-Griffith is the faculty advisor for the counseling programs Chi Sigma Iota chapter.  She is the recipient of the Nell Yarborough Sibley Endowed Professorship in Human Sciences for 2020-23. Dr. Fazio-Griffith is the 2022 recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service at Southeastern Louisiana University.

Nakeisha Pierce, M.Ed., LPC-S, LPC Board Secretary

A native of Bogalusa, Louisiana Nakeisha moved to Lafayette to attend (USL) The University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1993. She immediately assimilated into the culture and grew to call Lafayette home.  Nakeisha graduated from University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1999 and went on to obtain a Master’s Degree in Counseling Education from Alcorn State University in May 2004. Non-profit and volunteer work began with Gulf Coast Teaching Family Services, Faith House Board of Director where Nakeisha served six years, two as President. Girl Scout Troop Leader, Komen Ambassador, Holy Family Catholic School Board President, PTA President, and Student Council representative, The National Association of University Women, Financial Secretary and volunteer mentor (UL) Women’s basketball team. Currently works in Lafayette, Louisiana as Program Director for Functional Family Therapy.  In 2016, appointed by Governor John Bel Edwards to serve on The Louisiana Professional Counselors Board of Examiners. 

A life’s mission is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with passion, some compassion, some humor and some style!

-Maya Angelou

Roy A. Salgado, Jr., Ph.D., LPC-S, LMFT-S, NCC, LPC Board Chair

Dr. Roy A. Salgado, Jr. is happily married and is the proud father of a son and daughter. He received his B.S. in Psychology from Tulane University in 1995, his Masters degree in School Counseling in 2000 and his Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision in 2003 from the University of New Orleans.  Dr. Salgado has also worked as a teacher for the Archdiocese of New Orleans School System.  In addition to his teaching experience he has had diverse experiences as a counselor at an elementary school, a high school, a child and adolescent youth ranch, a community agency, and in private practice.  His research interests are in the area of child and adolescent neglect and abuse, play therapy, child and adolescent development, domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking and family counseling.  He has also served on faculty at Xavier University of Louisiana.  Dr. Salgado has provided clinical mental health counseling services to members of the English and Spanish speaking communities through his work with the New Orleans Family Justice Center and the Hispanic Apostolate, as well as has worked with the general population in private practice where he has served the community since 2003. 

Dr. Salgado has served as a leading advocate in the formation of an initiative to help address the mental health needs of the more than 1500 unaccompanied minors who have come from Central America, most notably from the Republic of Honduras, to the New Orleans area. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Salgado holds a position as a Professor of Counseling and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Holy Cross where he has been on faculty teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels since 2006. He has received several Endowments for his work with Unaccompanied Minors in the United States and in Honduras. Dr. Salgado has also served as the 2016-2017 President of the Louisiana Counseling Association’s - Louisiana Association of Multicultural Counseling and Development Division – LAMCD. He has served as the 2017-2019 Faculty Assembly President for the University of Holy Cross and has been appointed by the Governor of Louisiana to the Louisiana LPC Board of Examiners for the years 2018 – 2026, (the state licensing board for licensed professional counselors and licensed marriage and family therapists) where he currently serves as chair.

Dr. Salgado also serves his community as member of the board for CCANO- Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans.  Furthermore, he also serves as a mental health contributor for the New Orleans’ Fox 8 News affiliate and WWL 870 am radio. Dr. Salgado co-hosted a weekly mental health talk show on WLAE-32 with veteran TV news anchor, Janet Gross, entitled Coping During the COVID Crisis, which debuted in April of 2020 in response to the global pandemic and was recognized by the New Orleans Press Club as the Best TV Talk Show in 2021. The success of the COVID talk show, which ran for three seasons, led to a spin-off series, entitled Coping Today, which debuted in August of 2022.  Dr. Salgado was also named Outstanding Professor of the year for 2021 by the University of Holy Cross.