Tiffany Nielson, an associate professor of counseling at the University of Illinois Springfield, received the 2025 Counselor Educator of the Year award from the Illinois Association for Counselor Education and Supervision. The award was given at the annual Illinois Counseling Association Conference on Nov. 7 in Chicago.

The Illinois Counseling Association is the primary source of information on licensure, legislation and professional development within the counseling field in Illinois.

Nielson has been in the counseling field for 15 years, with a primary focus in marital, couple and family counseling. Her research interests include mentoring, spirituality and religion in counseling and counselor training.

Nielson has been at UIS for 10 years and teaches courses on marital, couple and family counseling. She’s been involved in multiple areas across campus, including Campus Senate, the Academic Planning Committee, the Academic Integrity Committee, the College Personnel Committee and the Committee on the Library, where she previously served as the chair.

“Being a counselor educator means caring deeply for the students I work with and building a community of collaboration and trust,” Nielson said. “I have been truly grateful to be a part of the Human Development Counseling program at UIS, in which I get to work with some of the most caring and purposeful counselor educators I know.”

This award recognizes demonstrated excellence in teaching in counseling and commitment to assisting students in increasing their professional representation.