Nola is an Associate Professor and Director of the Community-Based Block (CBB) Multicultural Counseling and Social Justice Education Program at San Diego State University. The 48-year-old non-traditional program uses critical theory, affective experiential multicultural education, and deliberate democratic practices to prepare counselor/change agents from diverse, marginalized communities to serve disenfranchised communities. Dr. Butler-Byrd’s community-based projects include: colorism, antiblackness and attachment relationships in everyday hair combing interactions between caregivers and their children; African centered anti-recidivism mental health for formerly incarcerated community college students and their families; transborder crimmigration community counseling for human rights defenders working with asylum seekers at the Mexico/U.S. Border and telemental health counseling for LGBTIA+ asylum seekers in Tijuana, Mexico.

Additionally, since 2012 Dr. Butler-Byrd has also served as a doctoral faculty member in the SDSU College of Education where she advises and chairs the dissertations of African American and other ethnically diverse students. Dr. Butler-Byrd is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor with a private psychotherapy practice specializing in antiracism, body-centered psychotherapy and healing.