Conference Details
The 44th Annual Woodall Conference will be held in-person in Ewing Hall on the campus of Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi.
About the Woodall Conference
The annual F. E. Woodall Conference, hosted by Delta State University’s Robert E. Smith School of Nursing and Health Sciences, serves both students and professionals by providing essential information, support, and networking opportunities to helping professionals in the region. The conference offers professionals in a variety of helping fields the opportunity to attend interesting and informative workshops at a nominal cost. The conference began in 1981, under the direction of Dr. Fred E. Woodall, a previous and highly admired professor.
Keynote speakers have included seven American Counseling Association Presidents, an international innovator/inventor, and other nationally recognized leaders in the field of counseling. Students and professionals spend the day selecting from over 30 peer-reviewed, continuing education content sessions. Presenters are often faculty and students from Delta State and other universities as well as leading professionals in the field. Advanced students have the opportunity to present with their faculty members.
Our Delta Sigma Upsilon Honor Society, Chi Sigma Iota, will benefit from the funding of the conference and will be able to do service for the community, attend national conferences, and attend other continuing education opportunities!
About Conference Proposals
The Robert E. Smith School of Nursing and Health Sciences invites you to be a part of this exciting conference by offering a 60-minute presentation on a topic of your choice related to the helping professions. The electronic form linked below walks you through each step of the proposal process, including detailed instructions for creating a session abstract and objectives.
Due to the nature of providing contact hours to a number of disciplines, the program, presenter information, and specified learning objectives must be included with each submission. This information enables us to meet the continuing education requirements for different organizations, making your presentation useful to a broader range of participants. We do not “theme” this conference; rather, we encourage topics that meet the needs of a variety of helping professionals to foster more integrated work & care.
Your detailed proposal and CV/resume increase our ability to accept your presentation for the conference. If there are any questions regarding this application process, we will be happy to assist you.
Submit a Proposal
Please submit the proposal form & your CV/resume electronically by January 15, 2026.
Registration coming soon!
If you are a presenter, a DSU Site Supervisor, or a DSU student, please email woodallconference@deltastate.edu for registration access code.
Payment Details
If you would like to use a check, money order, or cash for pre-registration, please complete the physical copy of the conference registration. We are no longer accepting Purchase Orders (PO).
To ensure receipt of check and issuance of an online code to register, checks must be postmarked by February 5, 2026. Please mail your registration form and check, cash, or money order to the following address:
Please make checks out to: DSU – CSI
DSU Counselor Education
Attn: Darla Poole
DSU Box 3142
1003 W. Sunflower Ave.
Cleveland, MS 38733.
Registration and Payment Schedule
- Early Bird Registration
- Opens: December 1
- Deadline: January 31
- Fee: $50
- Regular Registration
- Opens: February 1
- Deadline: February 28
- Fee: $75
- Late Registration
- Opens: March 1
- Deadline: March 20
- Fee: $100
*Not including additional fees for Social Work and MDE credit.
Contact
Conference Coordinator:
Darla Poole, MEd, P-LPC, NCC, CCC
E: woodallconference@deltastate.edu
P: (662) 846-4364
Payment
Make Checks Payable to:
DSU – Chi Sigma Iota
Mail to:
DSU Counselor Education
ATTN: Darla Poole
DSU Box 3142
1003 W. Sunflower Rd.
Cleveland, MS 38733
Conference Keynote Speaker
Dr. Jinnelle V. Powell, PhD, LPC-S, EMDR Trainer & Consultant
Assistant Professor of Counselor Education at Texas A & M University | Founder & CEO at Distinctive Counseling & Consulting, PLLC
Dr. Jinnelle V. Powell brings nearly two decades of experience serving Texas child welfare agencies, community mental health centers, and families navigating the complex effects of trauma. Her work is grounded in an integration of neuroscience and Relational Cultural Theory, highlighting how healing unfolds through connection, mutual empathy, and the steady presence of growth-fostering relationships. As an EMDR Trainer, Consultant, and Certified Therapist, she specializes in supporting trauma survivors, especially those living with chronic and developmental trauma, and she helps emerging counselors strengthen trauma-responsive skills rooted in both brain-based science and relational compassion.
As the Founder and CEO of Distinctive Counseling & Consulting, Dr. Powell leads a multidisciplinary team of twenty clinicians offering EMDR therapy, play therapy, individual, couples, and family counseling for children, adolescents, and adults. Her leadership continues to advance community well-being through innovative, accessible services. In 2024, she received a $70,000 grant from Heart Galleries of Texas to expand free EMDR and play therapy services for families formed through kinship care or adoption. Thanks to this work, eight clinicians received specialized EMDR training to serve these families. Building on this momentum, Distinctive Counseling & Consulting was awarded an additional $95,000 Heart Galleries of Texas grant in 2025, allowing Dr. Powell to further broaden trauma-informed support, strengthen family stability, and deepen the agency’s commitment to accessible mental health care.
Dr. Powell’s doctoral training in Counselor Education and Supervision shapes her scholarship, supervision, and program development. Her work emphasizes the interconnectedness of relational healing, nervous system regulation, and cultural humility within the counseling process. Through the Distinctive Collective, Inc., her nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to mental health services, she champions research, free counseling, advocacy, and professional support for mental health providers across Texas.
Her keynote brings together the science of the brain and the heart of Relational Cultural Theory. She invites participants to consider how counseling relationships grounded in connection, curiosity, and cultural responsiveness not only transform the therapeutic experience but also reshape neural pathways, promote resilience, and restore hope. Dr. Powell’s message centers on the power of relational healing to spark meaningful change for individuals, families, and communities.
Location
Ewing Hall, Delta State University
Cleveland, MS, 38733
(View Google Map)
Agenda
8:30 – 9 AM | Check-In
9 – 10:00 AM | Breakout Sessions
10:10 – 11:40 AM | Keynote Session
11:40 AM – 1:10 PM | Lunch on your own
1:10 – 2:10 PM | Breakout Sessions
2:20 – 3:20 PM | Breakout Sessions
3:30 – 4:30 PM | Breakout Sessions
4:30 – 5 PM | Evaluation Submission & Closing Remarks
5.5 Available CEUs
Schedule of Sessions
11:40 AM - 1:10 PM | Lunch on your own
- For dining recommendations, visit: https://www.visitclevelandms.com/dining.
Past Exhibitors
988 Mississippi | The ACT Center | DSU Chi Sigma Iota Honor Society | Communicare/Sunflower Landing | Count It All Joy Counseling | Ely Behavioral Health | Grant Me Justice | Gulf South Center for Community Engaged Health Research & Innovation | Innova Prep School | Mississippi Air National Guard | Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services | National Career Development Association | Nunnery Clinical & Educational Consulting, LLC | Our House, Inc. | Peyton’s Angels | Region 6 Life Help | University of Mississippi – Leadership & Counselor Education
Continuing Education Information
Licensed Professional Counselors (LPC) & Nationally Certified Counselors (NCC)
- Delta State University Counselor Education department, event sponsor, is an NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Provider. DSU – Counselor Education is recognized by the National Board for Certified Counselors to offer continuing education for National Certified Counselors. We adhere to NBCC Continuing Education Guidelines, Provider #4306.
- up to 6 NBCC CEs offered
Social Workers
- Social Work contact hours are in the review process by DSU Social Work Department. The Social Work Department of Delta State University, SWCU1202, is an approved provider for continuing education by the Mississippi Board of Examiners and Marriage & Family Therapists.
- up to 6 SW CEs offered
- Attention: The state’s additional fee of $25 for social work certificates is included in your registration fee.
School Counselors & Other School Helping Professionals interested in MDE/Education CEUs
- DSU Continuing Education Department is an approved provider for MS Department of Education CEUs. MDE CEUs have been approved.
- up to .6 MDE CEUs offered
- Attention: An additional fee of $15 for school certificates is included in your registration fee.
Please contact your licensing board if you have questions about the type of continuing education offered. If you have any questions about about this conference, please email woodallconference@deltastate.edu.
For those that would like to use a check, money order, or cash for pre-registration, please contact Darla Poole at woodallconference@deltastate.edu. To ensure receipt of check and issuance of an online code to register, mail checks by February 5, 2026.
Make checks out to: DSU – CSI.
Mailing Address: DSU Counselor Ed, Attn: Darla Poole, DSU Box 3142, 1003 W. Sunflower Ave., Cleveland, MS 38733
