Making Career Decisions that Count

Written in a practical, user-friendly style, this brief guide will help your students make academic and career decisions that count. The book helps students assess their interests, personality, skills, and values, and learn about the world of work in order to make effective career decisions. It first presents an overview of the current job market, then addresses the importance of career planning before addressing self exploration. The text has a good multicultural flavor and also addresses issues of alternative education.

Dr. Darrell Anthony Luzzo is the President of the National Career Development Association, a position he has held since August of 2007. He also serves as the President of Strategic Partnerships LLC, a for-profit company that provides fiscal and human resource solutions to large corporations, small businesses, non-profit organizations, foundations, and institutions of higher education. Dr. Luzzo obtained his bachelor’s degree in psychology and his master’s and doctorate degrees in education from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Dr. Luzzo's career includes executive-level assignments with JA Worldwide/Junior Achievement (2001-2007), National Career Assessment Services, Inc. (2000-2001), Mt. Hood Community College (1999-2001), and ACT, Inc. (1997-1999). Dr. Luzzo’s full-time and adjunct academic/teaching assignments with several colleges and universities have included Colorado State University, the University of Northern Colorado, the University of Iowa, Auburn University, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, the University of Northern Alabama, St. Ambrose University, and Johnson County Community College.  In addition to his service on the Board of the National Career Development Association, Dr. Luzzo has held active leadership positions in the American Education Research Association, the American Psychological Association, and the American Counseling Association.

Dr. Luzzo’s particular expertise in career development includes a focus on practical career counseling techniques as well as research and evaluation of the efficacy of various career counseling practices, techniques, and strategies. He is the author of over 60 refereed journal articles, editor of Career Counseling of College Students: An Empirical Guide to Strategies That Work (APA Books, 2000), and author of two college student development texts: Making Career Decisions That Count: A Practical Guide (Prentice Hall, 2008, 2002, 1997) and Overcoming the Hurdles to Academic Success: Strategies That Make a Difference (Houghton Mifflin, 2003).

Darrell and his wife, Tanya, live in Parker, Colorado, with their eight children.

Lisa Severy

Lisa Severy is the Director of Career Services at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has been working as a career counselor since 1996, including seven years of practice at the University of Florida’s Career Resource Center.   Lisa has a degree in Psychology from Indiana University and graduate degrees including her PhD in Counselor Education from the University of Florida.  Her research and writing interests surround Narrative/Constructivist Career Counseling, Integration of Technology in Career Counseling Theory, and Career Counseling Supervision.  In addition, Lisa periodically teaches Career Counseling & Career Development for master’s level graduate students at CU-Denver in the department of Counseling Psychology and Counselor Education.

In 1998 Lisa received the Outstanding Practioner & Supervisor of the year from Chi Sigma Iota, International Counseling & Academic Honorary, awarded at the ACA National Conference in San Diego. In 2001, she was awarded the NACE Excellence in Educational Programming for UF's Cultural Diversity Reception.

In 2002, Lisa was designated a Master Career Counselor by the National Career Development Association (NCDA).   She is also a Nationally Certified Counselor, an Authorized Provider for Turning Points Navigator and a Licensed Professional Counselor in Colorado.  She is a member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), the American College Personnel Association (ACPA), the American Counseling Association (ACA), the Colorado Career Development Association (CCDA), the Collegiate Career Services Association of Colorado and Wyoming (CCSA), as well as NCDA.  She is active in CCDA and in the past four years has served as a Co-Chair for Training, President-Elect, President, and Past-President.    In 2006, Lisa was selected to participate in the inaugural NCDA Emerging Leaders Program joining a group of sixteen individuals selected as emerging leaders in the field of career development. 

Lisa often speaks at national and international conferences.  She has presented at NCDA, NACE, and ACPA on numerous occasions as well as at regional meetings.  In addition, Lisa is a prolific author and often writes for newspapers, magazines, and newsletters.  She has also published articles in professional, refereed journals such as the Career Development Quarterly, Journal of College Student Development and the Journal of College Counseling.  She has also co-authored two books, Making Career Decisions that Count: A Practical Guide (3rd Ed) with Darrell Luzzo, and Turning Points: Managing Career Transitions with Meaning and Purpose, with Jack and Phoebe Ballard.