I grew up in a suburban town near Buffalo, NY.  As a child of Deaf adults, I was raised bilingual.  Fitting in was a big goal of mine as a kid and it was not until adulthood that I began to embrace my own differences.  

I earned a BA in Psychology from CUNY Hunter College in 2002. With encouragement from family, friends and mentors, I relocated from New York to New Orleans to pursue a Ph.D. in school psychology at Tulane University.  My dissertation examined the connections between ethnic identity affirmation and belonging, race-related rejection sensitivity, and educational attainment. I wondered whether a positive ethnic identity could serve as a buffer to promote academic success even when a person is sensitive to being rejected based on their race or ethnicity. Alongside this research, I engaged in clinical training in New Orleans schools, clinics, and hospitals, providing assessments, therapy, and school consultation services for children, families, and educators.  My clinical training included cognitive behavioral therapy, psychodynamic (attachment-based) therapy, dyadic therapy, family systems work, and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.  

I relocated to Los Angeles in 2005, where I completed a practicum externship in the Outpatient Psychiatry Department at Kaiser Permanente. My clinical internship was held at Saint John's Child and Family Development Center in 2007, where I specialized in early intervention including parent-child dyadic therapy with children enrolled in a therapeutic preschool. My postdoctoral fellowship was also completed at St. John's.  There, I provided mental health services to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing children and adults, including psychological assessments, individual and family therapy, and crisis counseling. 

I have worked as a school psychologist in both public and private schools in the Los Angeles area.  I have also taught as an adjunct professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at California State University, Northridge. In my course, students learned about the psychological foundations of learning and teaching. I have also led numerous workshops designed to cultivate meaningful connection and increase awareness of learning disabilities. After more than 10 years partnering with children, families and educators in private and public schools, I understand the opportunities and challenges inherent in schools, particularly for highly intelligent students who struggle with certain aspects of attention and learning. 

To view my curriculum vitae, click here.