My Story
From the time I was in sixth grade, I knew that I wanted to be a psychologist. I could see from a very young age that people suffered, and I wanted to help them. This aspiration to be of service to others has grown deeper and stronger, shaping and informing every step of my personal and professional journey.
My career has unfolded in a multitude of expressions these past three decades: from serving people who live on the margins of society and fall through the gaps; to working internationally in impoverished areas; to teaching aspiring psychologists in universities both in the US and abroad; to having my own private psychotherapy practice.
The bedrock of my practice was built on a solid education:
BA in psychology from Tufts University in Boston
MA & PhD in Clinical Psychology from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC
Postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychology at Seattle Children’s Hospital
My experiences as a psychologist have been rich and diverse:
Traveling to Uganda where I taught the first cohort of master’s level psychologists in the country at Makerere University, consulted on a World Bank project, researching the impact of nutrition on the cognitive development of children, and worked as a primary investigator on a research project examining the neurodevelopment of children with HIV.
Living in Bolivia for four years serving the mission of living and working with impoverished and oppressed people around the world while serving with Maryknoll Lay Missioners, as well as teaching at several universities and training psychologists
Working as a clinical supervisor and therapist with refugees and immigrants with Lutheran Community Services in the United States
Working as a neuropsychologist at Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital
Teaching in the masters and doctoral programs in psychology at Northwest University. While there, I founded and directed a community mental health clinic, which offered low-cost services to the community and provided diverse clinical opportunities for our psychology doctoral students.
Establishing a private psychotherapy practice in 2016, in addition to working with juveniles in detention and performing evaluations for people who had experienced torture and/or trauma and were seeking asylum in the US.