Anna Duvall has a deep and unwavering belief in the transformative power of positive relationships. With over 25 years of experience as a middle and high school counselor, she fostered connections that created a ripple effect, enhancing others’ leadership abilities and promoting collaboration among various stakeholder groups. Since taking on her current roles as the Team Lead for Student Transition Services and the School Counselor and Career Specialist Liaison for the South Carolina Department of Education, Anna has accelerated her ability to be a driving force for positive change.
Her accolades include being named the 2014 South Carolina School Counselor of the Year, a semifinalist for the 2015 American School Counselor Association Counselor of the Year, the 2018 College Board Southern Region Counselor of the Year, and the 2025 Palmetto State School Counselor Association Advocate of the Year.
Anna has appeared on various podcasts, including those by the American School Counselor Association and the College Board, and has contributed articles to ASCA’s School Counseling magazine. As a dynamic national speaker, Anna utilizes humor to engage her audience. In 2020, she published her first book, Managing Anxiety in the School Setting.
Anna is also a small business owner, a proud mom, and a lucky wife.
Do you wonder where your journey is taking you – or why it isn’t taking the path you planned? It’s time to take a step back and connect the dots! Connecting Your Dots will renew your purpose and bring clarity and enthusiasm into your journey. This renewed focus will give you the energy to continue creating positive change for you, your students, and your school! Join us to “Connect Your Dots,” which will empower you to move forward with a clear mind and vision for your future.
We live in a world that loves to celebrate success. But if we only focus on the visible success of others, we may fall into the trap of comparison, discouragement, or believing success is reserved for a lucky few. The truth is that your success is being built right now in the depths of your convictions, the quiet moments of struggle, and the effort no one else sees.
Come explore how beneath all the accolades – hidden from the public eye – lie the sacrifices, relentless efforts, sleepless nights, failures, and unwavering determination that fuel every great achievement. This session will encourage you to embrace everything that remains unseen, celebrate the struggle, and keep moving forward to unleash the success inside of you!
Choosing a career based on passion often comes with an unspoken cost – the Passion Tax. This isn’t a literal tax but rather an idea that people who are perceived as passionate about their work are more likely to be asked to work for “free.” It’s one thing to go above and beyond for your students but another thing entirely to unknowingly cruise toward burnout.
Learn how Passion Tax contributes to burnout, blurred boundaries, and the loss of valued individuals who simply cannot ‘afford’ to stay in their chosen fields. Leave empowered to identify instances of Passion Tax for you and your colleagues and to advocate for a system that allows everyone to pursue their passions without paying the Passion Tax!
Have you ever worked with a leader who thought they knew everything – but clearly didn’t? Maybe they dismissed expert advice, made reckless decisions, or ignored warning signs obvious to everyone else. If this sounds familiar – you’ve encountered someone trapped in the Dunning-Kruger Effect.
This light-hearted session will explore why leaders fall into the Dunning Kruger trap and how their overconfidence affects teams and organizations. We’ll end with what you can do to politely, purposefully, and persistently navigate an overconfident, underqualified leader.
Are you fed up with all the negativity on social media? Are you concerned about its impact on you and your students? Then stop doomscrolling! Come examine how the compulsion to keep scrolling through social media or news feeds, even when the content begins to make us anxious or stressed, is linked to a variety of negative impacts on our mental health. Learn evidence-based strategies to take control of your online experiences and foster a healthier mindset and overall well-being.
Your brain is not designed to make you happy; it’s made to keep you alive. And in order to do that, it’s got some built-in biases, including a negativity bias, that literally filters everything you see, pay attention to, and notice in your life. Come learn how negativity bias impacts our relationships, decision-making, and ability to learn. We’ll explore evidence-based strategies to combat negativity bias and foster a supportive learning environment. Leave knowing how to create an internal sense of calm – for you and your students!
Anxiety makes school hard for kids. And identifying the right way to support students with anxiety is hard for educators. As anxiety continues to rise across all age groups, educators at every level need to be equipped to assist students in managing their anxiety. Join this session to learn several evidence-based strategies for working with anxious students. You will leave with practical ideas and tools to support your students experiencing anxiety.
In a world filled with constant change and overwhelming pressures, young people today are grappling with anxiety like never before. This session will examine the role of social media, academic pressures, and societal expectations in contributing to anxiety. Practical tools and resources for parents, educators, and school administrators to better understand and address anxiety in young people will be discussed. This interactive session promises to be both enlightening and empowering, encouraging participants to take proactive steps in addressing the challenges faced by today’s anxious youth.
