This week, learn all about talking to your teenager! Mr. Brian Coleman was the 2019 National School Counselor of the Year and the first African-American winner of this prestigious honor. He was also a 2019 Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Upstander Award recipient for his commitment to LGBTQA+ youth advocacy. Coleman has spent the last four years traveling the country as the cartwheeling "Unicorn Counselor" speaking on issues ranging from comprehensive sexual health education and counseling program design to counselor identity and engagement strategies within the school community.  

He is in his ninth year with Jones College Prep where he has served as Counseling Department Chair for five years. At Jones, Mr. Coleman has overseen counseling programming for seniors and freshmen, sophomore sexual health education, JCP’s student mentorship program, and the school’s LGBTQA+ student organization JonesPride. In recent years, he has also participated in DePaul University’s “Here We Do” and McDonald’s “Black and Positively Golden” promotional campaigns. He has also contributed to pieces for CNBC, Forbes, Teen Vogue, and NPR among others.  Coleman is a proud graduate of Northwestern University as well as DePaul University where he was named the College of Education’s 2019 Alumni of the Year (and, recently, became an Adjunct Instructor!)  He also serves on the Educational Advisory Board for Responsibility.org and as the President of the Illinois School Counselor Association.  

He enjoys all things unicorn, most things theatrical, and a good amount of professional wrestling!

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