Richard Yep, CAE, FASAE

For 33 years, Richard Yep has worked for the American Counseling Association (ACA), the past 24 as the organization's Chief Executive Officer. ACA is the largest membership organization of professional counselors in the world. At the time he stepped down in June 2022, he was managing a staff of 60 and a $14 million budget. ACA has more than 58,000 members. Rich has presented on various issues impacting mental health providers. He has been invited to speak about leadership development, the importance of self-care specifically for mental health providers, association management, and public policy. Rich has written a monthly column in Counseling Today magazine for more than twenty years and is a contributing author to Professional Practices in Association Management. His professional affiliations include the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), where he is a past Chair of the organization’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, completed a term on the ASAE Board of Directors, and was named an ASAE Fellow in 2012. In 2017, he received ASAE’s Key Award, which honors an association CEO who demonstrates exceptional qualities of leadership in his or her own association and displays a deep commitment to voluntary membership organizations as a whole. For ten years, Rich served on the Board of Trustees of Excelsior University, an institution based in Albany, New York, that is dedicated to adult learners. His support of Excelsior is rooted in his personal experience in working with individuals facing personal and professional challenges but who are dedicated to improving their lives through education. Rich is a Chair Emeritus of the board. During the July 2018 Commencement, Rich was recognized with an honorary doctoral degree. Rich holds an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California.