Lori Woodley-Langendorff Named 2026 CASC School Counselor Advocate of the Year

We’re proud to share that our founder and Chief Visionary Officer, Lori Woodley-Langendorff, has been named the 2026 Counselor Advocate of the Year by the California Association of School Counselors (CASC).

This honor recognizes more than Lori’s decades of leadership; it celebrates a lifetime of advocacy, innovation, and belief in the power of school counselors to change lives. 

Lori’s journey began 34 years ago, by accident actually, when she was accepted into the School of Educational Psychology for School Counseling at California State University, Northridge. This was fine but not what she had applied for and initially not what she wanted. Today, Lori considers this ‘back up offer’ the greatest gift she didn’t ask for. Studying under counselor mentor and educator, Dr. Charlie Hanson, and growing under strong administrators, Lori grew to embrace a clear vision: to push the boundaries of what school counselors could do and who they could reach. As a counselor in the Antelope Valley (LACOE) and Moorpark & Conejo Valley, (VCOE) Lori met every student, parent, and educator with the same core belief: every person deserves to be seen, heard, and supported to find and achieve their boldest aspirations. 

Whether building trusted relationships with students, staff and families, building peer programs, taking youth on trips in nature and ropes courses, presenting win-win solutions to save school counseling programs from devastating budget cuts, or pivoting to producing docu-training films for educators during the pandemic, Lori has always led with courage and compassion.

That same spirit led her to found All It Takes in 2010, transforming her years of experience into a nonprofit organization that now reaches youth and educators across the country and world. All It Takes equips students and the adults who serve them with emotional intelligence, leadership, and resilience through experiential learning modalities. Lori knows first hand that these skills are vital to mental health and academic success. What began as a passion project has become a powerful movement, supported by national partnerships, district contracts, and award-winning programs like A Trusted Space & Leadership Development Through Physical Education.

Lori’s leadership continues to echo throughout the education field. She helped develop the long-standing Stand Proud program in partnership with local law enforcement, a social-emotional curriculum still used with every 5th grader in the Conejo Valley Unified School District. She’s created state-recognized video campaigns for CASC, served on its Government Relations and Standards Writing Committees, and led SEL training for educators, administrators, and caregivers alike. As a co-creator of the A Trusted Space docu-training series, her work has given school counselors across California free, trauma-informed tools to support students in the aftermath of the pandemic.

And now, with the release of her new book, SEL Muscle Mastery: 6 Tools for Building Resilience and Connection in Schools and Communities, Lori offers educators, parents, and counselors a powerful toolkit to support their own well-being while fostering sustainable learning environments. In the book, she introduces six core SEL Muscles™ that help adults manage stress, lead with clarity, and model resilience in the classroom and beyond. Complete with reflection prompts, practical exercises, and access to open-source curriculum and videos, SEL Muscle Mastery bridges the gap between what we ask of adults and what we give them to succeed.

Even after moving into nonprofit leadership, Lori continues to hold an active PPS Credential and remains a deeply involved CASC member, proof that her dedication isn’t tied to a title, but to a mission. Her unwavering advocacy has not only impacted policy and practice, but it has uplifted and amplified the voices of school counselors across California and the nation.

We’re incredibly proud that CASC has recognized what so many of us already know: Lori’s work has not only shaped All It Takes, it has shaped the current and future impact of the school counseling profession.

Please join us in celebrating Lori’s achievement, her newest contribution to the field through SEL Muscle Mastery, and in recognizing the vital role school counselors play in creating safe, supported, and emotionally intelligent communities. Because as Lori has shown us time and time again, it truly takes all of us.

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Honoring a Legacy of Advocacy: Lori Woodley-Langendorff Named 2026 Counselor Advocate of the Year https://www.tiktok.com/@allittakesorg/video/7530668583144230175