Dr. Coll was born in Havana, Cuba and migrated to the United States during the 1980 Mariel
Boat Lift. After serving as a noncommissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps, he
completed a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Saint Leo University, his master’s degree in
Social Work from the University of Central Florida, and a Ph.D. in Counseling Education and
Supervision from the University of South Florida.

Dr. Coll is the current Dean of the School of Social Work at Portland State University and has
held administrative and faculty positions at Texas State University, University of Southern
California, and Saint Leo University. His research interests have been predominantly on
worldview development and counseling veterans with a focus on veteran transition. He is the
author and co-editor of numerous publications, including: The Counselors Primer for
Counseling Veterans, Linus Publications; co-editor of The Handbook of Military Social
Work, Wiley Press; Student Veterans in Higher Education: A Primer for Administrators,
Faculty, and Advisors, Lyceum Books and most recent Civilian Lives of U.S. Veterans: Issues
and Identities, Praeger Publishing.

He is a graduate of the American Council on Education (ACE) Fellows Program, University of
California, Berkeley, Executive Leadership Academy (ELA), Harvard’s Institute for
Management Development Program (MDP), Harvard’s Institute for Management and Leadership
in Education (MLE).