Meet Our NMU Counselors and Staff

Marie Aho, Ph.D

• Department Head
• Licensed Clinical Psychologist
• mariaho@nmu.edu

Mary Etchison, Ph.D.

• Licensed Professional Counselor
• Professor
• metchiso@nmu.edu

Cathy Greer Cole, L.M.S.W

• Licensed Clinical Social Worker
• cgreerco@nmu.ed

John W. (MAC) MacDevitt, Ph.D

• Licensed Psychologist
• Professor
• jmacdevi@nmu.edu

Brenda Bickler

• Principal Secretary
• bbickler@nmu.edu

Counseling and Consultation Services staff members share the philosophy that counseling is a valuable tool for students to come to grips with their emotions, to cope with troubling current situations, to empower themselves, and to facilitate healthy choice making and growth for the future. This philosophy requires that both the counselor and the client (our name for the students who use our service) work hard to find out what the client's goals are, to see how counseling might help the client to reach those goals, and to develop a plan together. This collaborative work with your counselor is at the heart of all good counseling relationships.

Marie Aho left her hometown, Marquette, for the first time to attend Michigan State University.  She completed a B.A. in psychology while attending the two branches of American University which are located in Beirut, Lebanon and Cairo, Egypt.  She earned an M.A. in Developmental Psychology at Oakland University and then a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology from Wayne State University in 1983.  Marie directed many kinds of psychological and substance abuse programs in Michigan, Hawaii, West Virginia, and Virginia for over 16 years.  She also was in private practice.  Marie worked as a managed behavioral healthcare executive for over 10 years in Ohio, Pennsylvania and California, before returning to Marquette in late 2006.  Marie provides behavioral health counseling and administrative coordination.

Mary Etchison is originally from Rhode Island and has her Ph.D. in counseling education and counseling from Idaho State University. She began working at Northern Michigan University in 1986 as an assistant dean of minority student services. She joined the Counseling Center staff after completing her master's degree in agency counseling in 1989. Some of her special interests include personal growth counseling, ethnic and cultural identity development, relationship counseling, career counseling and group work.

Cathy Greer Cole is originally from Marquette, Mich. She earned her undergraduate degree in psychology and social work from the University of New Hampshire in 1984 and received her masters in social work from Smith College School of Social Work in Massachusetts in 1989. Cathy has worked with a wide variety of populations in various treatment settings from experiential wilderness-based therapies to psychiatric inpatient and outpatient clinics. She worked for 10 years for Community Mental Health in Colorado as a child and family specialist and psychotherapist before returning to Marquette in 2000. Cathy worked as a mental health consultant and private practitioner in Marquette prior to joining our counseling staff full time in 2006. Cathy provides personal growth counseling in both individual and group modalities.

John "Mac" MacDevitt earned his B.A. at Shimer College (now in Chicago) in 1968, his M.Ed. in Counseling at the University of Vermont in 1976, and his Ph.d. in educational psychology (from the counseling psychology program) at the University of Utah in 1982.  He taught four years in Freeport, Illinois from 1968-1970; worked various menial jobs from 1970-1972 while living in a cabin and then a tipi in Vermont; and worked as a nurses' aide and then a group leader in a psychiatric hospital in Brattleboro, Vermont from 1972 until 1977.  He co-directed the mental health center in tiny Chester, Montana (800 souls) from 1980-1982, and began as a new Ph.D at NMU's Counseling Center at Thanksgiving, 1982.  He taught part-time in NMU's masters program in counseling until the program closed in the late 1980s. He completed an M.F.A. in creative writing (fiction) from NMU in 2005, and has published four stories in literary magazines.  Until May 2010, one-third of his assignment is teaching English composition courses.  "Mac" has published approximately ten articles in counseling professional journals, most in the area of group counseling, and most semesters he leads at least one counseling group.  He enjoys the personal aspect of his counseling work very much.

"To love what you do and feel that it matters - how could anything be more fun."
Katherine Graham