Meet Dr. Kathy Biles

Kathy Biles, Ph.D., NCC, is the Coordinator of the School Counseling Program at Oregon State University–Cascades, where she has led the master's in counseling program since founding it in 2004. She has facilitated motivational interviewing workshops for schools and counseling groups across the country and is a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers.

Professional Background

• Education: She earned her B.S. in Psychology from Charleston Southern University (1996), her M.S. in Counseling from Oregon State University–Corvallis (2000), and her Ph.D. in Counseling, with a focus in Counselor Education and Supervision, from Oregon State University in 2004.

• Experience: Before moving into higher education, Dr. Biles worked as a school counselor at LaCreole Middle School and Dallas High School in Oregon, where she implemented evidence-based substance abuse prevention and crisis counseling programs.

• Higher Education: At OSU–Cascades, she has served as Program Lead of the Master's in Counseling program (2004–2015) and continues to coordinate the school counseling track, advising graduate students and developing field-placement partnerships with Central Oregon school districts.

Areas of Expertise & Advocacy

• Motivational Strategies: She has co-presented Enhancing Intrinsic Motivation to Achieve with Dr. Gene Eakin at American School Counselor Association (ASCA) national conferences repeatedly since 2005, and is a longtime ASCA site-based trainer.

• Leadership: She is a past President of the Oregon School Counselor Association (OSCA) and previously served on the High Desert Educational Service District (HDESD) Board.

• Scholarship: Her publications include "Building Motivation from Within" (ASCA School Counselor Magazine, 2012, with Gene Eakin) and "School Counselors and the Stages of Change" (OSCA Newsletter, 2009), reflecting her research focus on motivational interviewing and academic achievement.