Mindy Willard has been a school counselor at Sunset Ridge Elementary School in the Pendergast Elementary School District in Glendale, Arizona since 2004. As an elementary school counselor she supports 650 students and the school community through classroom guidance lessons, small groups and individual counseling focusing on the areas of academic, personal/social and career development. She received her Master’s Degree from Ball State University in Indiana.

Mrs. Willard is actively involved in the Arizona School Counselor’s Association (AzSCA), serving as former Elementary Vice President and is current President-Elect. In 2007, Mindy was named Multi-Level School Counselor of the Year by AzSCA and has most recently been named 2013 National School Counselor of the Year by the American School Counselor’s Association (ASCA). In 2011, the Sunset Ridge Counseling Program received the Recognized ASCA Model Program Award (RAMP).