SWC - Key Persons
Abby Calisch was raised in Dallas, Texas and attended the University of Colorado for her BA in Sculpture and Sociology. She then attended Hahnemann Medical College for her MS in Art Therapy and received her PsyD from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology. She has lived in Boulder, Philadelphia, Chicago, Montreal, Louisville, and Virginia before arriving in Santa Fe in 2019. Her 50+ year career has been dually focused on providing therapy and teaching and supervision of emerging students. She has held academic Chair positions at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, University of Louisville, Concordia University (Montreal), Argosy University-Dallas (Clinical Psychology) and Eastern Virginia Medical School. She has worked clinically at the University of Chicago, Presbyterian Hospital, Southwestern Medical School Hospital, Central State Hospital, and Michael Reese Hospital as well as in private practice and trauma informed community service settings. She works with clients of all ages and issues ranging from mental/behavioral health issues, addictions, eating disorders and trauma, to medical issues. She has published and presented nationally and internationally in the areas of art therapy, supervision, ethics, brief therapy, multicultural issues, LBGTQ issues and use of imagery in psychotherapy. A favorite and guiding quote from Confucius is: "I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand".
Adam Karwoski is the founder and "Social Intelligence Officer" at Social Brand U, LLC. Social Brand U is a social media strategy and marketing consultancy that focuses on leveraging the power and reach of Social Media within Higher Education to increase student enrollment, increase alumni participation, improve the student quality of life and build the college or university brand, online. Adam was born in California, raised in New Jersey, attended study abroad programs in Seville, Spain and Costa Rica and graduated with a BA in Criminal Justice from Florida State University.His corporate career spanned 20 years in the mobile technology industry with AT&T Mobility & Nokia USA. He served on the senior leadership teams at both companies and was responsible for the overall growth and customer satisfaction of his respected region. He is the author of a new book, TAKING THE MYSTERY OUT OF SOCIAL MEDIA and is a professional speaker on the topic. He's been published in Social Media Marketing Magazine, Smartbrief Business Magazine, Socialnomics and American Marketing Association. He's an active member of the National Speaker Association, the Public Relations Society of American, Wireless Technology Forum and Atlanta Telecom Professionals. He is a coach/mentor at Royal Family Kids Camp for neglected and abused foster children."
Job Titles:
- Member in the Art Therapy Department
- Member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
Alisha is a member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. She completed her undergraduate studies at Edgewood College in Madison, WI and also studied traditional pottery and painting at the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM.
She has been a therapist for 13 years, and has a diverse background working with children, families, and individuals at varying stages of treatment and recovery. In addition, she has many years of experience working in the areas of trauma recovery and addictions, as well as working with inmates in the corrections system. Alisha has worked in all areas of treatment including residential and outpatient programs. Her experience includes working with Tribes and Pueblos to incorporate treatment and prevention models, as well as the Department of Veteran's Affairs to work on developing programming for treatment of PTSD and addictions. She employs various models and is trained in EMDR, DBT, Sex addiction treatment and Art Therapy. She works in private practice as well as an intensive outpatient program focused on treating addictions and trauma.
Alisha is an adjunct faculty member in the Art Therapy Department at Southwestern College.
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- CFO Southwestern College, Board Treasurer
Allison Frank has been the Chief Financial Officer of Southwestern College since 2016. She received her Master of Business Administration from the University of New Mexico, and graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of…
Amy graduated from Southwestern College in 2021 and received a Bachelor of Science degree from New Mexico Tech in 2000. She holds a specialty certificate in Human Sexuality. Amy was born and raised in Santa Fe, NM and is currently working as a trauma psychotherapist for Solace Sexual Assault Services. Additionally, she volunteers for the Solace after-hours crisis hotline. She incorporates attachment theory with CBT, IFS, and Somatic Experiencing to aid with crisis stabilization and integrating trauma experiences within the self. She previously facilitated grief support groups for Golden Willow in Taos, NM.
Amy worked as geneticist for 13 years before she decided to pursuit her true passion of counseling and helping the Santa Fe community heal from the effects of systemic, familial, and individual trauma. In addition to her counseling practice, she runs her own pet sitting and dog walking business. She believes in unconditional positive regard, despite the flaws of being human, and that animals can be a healing presence and model for living in the moment. She incorporates mindfulness and spirituality into her practice as a human being and clinician. She believes healing can be achieved through authenticity, communication, and bringing shame out of the shadows. She enjoys traveling, hiking, working out, and connecting with people through conversation.
Job Titles:
- Licensed Professional Counselor
Angela Kehm is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Art Therapist who graduated from Southwestern College and New Earth Institute. She has a passion for helping clients improve their relationships and align with their core values. With a background in addiction recovery and community integration, Angela brings a diverse range of experience to her work in private practice.
Angela acknowledges that students are not just minds to be filled with information, but whole beings with unique backgrounds, perspectives, and learning styles. Angela strives to create a supportive and inclusive space where students can explore new ideas and express themselves. Her goal as an educator is to empower students to become active learners who are confident in their abilities and excited about the learning process. Angela believes that through experiential learning and holistic growth, students can develop the skills and knowledge they need to make a positive impact.
In her free time, Angela is an outdoor enthusiast, loves to cook, and connect with family and friends.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Founder
- President
- President of SWC, Ex Officio Member
Ann Filemyr, Ph.D. is the fourth President of Southwestern College following four and a half years of service as the Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean. She also serves as the Director of the…
Ann Filemyr, PhD, President of SWC and Founder and Director of the Visionary Practice and Regenerative Leadership Doctoral Program
Ph. 505-467-6823
April Vogel is a licensed psychologist with 30 years of experience in teaching, counseling, research, and assessment. She received her B.A. in Psychology at Stanford University, her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Miami, her internship training at Franciscan Children's Hospital (Boston University), and her post-doctoral training at Johns Hopkins University. Her career has focused on helping infants, children, adolescents and families navigate a wide range of life challenges. She has a deep commitment to attachment theory, to helping people with the transformation process early in life, and to a family systems perspective in counseling.
April began her career in private practice in combination with consulting in elementary schools, and teaching a course about the effects of divorce on children. She then transitioned into positions within the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Miami, where she conducted research on the long term effects of in-utero drug exposure on children and on the most effective models to engage substance abusing pregnant women into treatment. While at the University of Miami, she taught courses on Developmental Psychology, Social and Emotional Development, and Effective Behavioral Health Delivery Systems. She then joined the faculty of a pre-K through 12 th grade private independent day school as the Guidance Counselor in the High School where she counseled students, ran character education, mindfulness, and peer counseling programs, taught a Life Skills course to 10th graders, led the community service program, and started a Theater for Social Change program.
When she moved to Santa Fe in 2015, April began a deeper pursuit of her interests in yoga, mindfulness, meditation, and the restorative power of nature. She has brought this focus to her current work as a third grade associate teacher at Rio Grande School. Her goal as a faculty member at Southwestern is to create a nurturing classroom environment where students can examine their own backgrounds in relation to the work they will do as future counselors helping others. She integrates her own mindfulness practice into her teaching methods and her facilitation of the group experience.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Adjunct Faculty for the College of Santa Fe
Barbara Reider earned her PhD from Bryn Mawr College in Human Development and Psychology and was the departmental graduation speaker. She also earned a BS and ED.M. from Temple University in Educational Psychology. Barbara is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist (retired), a past member of the American Association of University Women, a graduate of the Grantsmanship Training Program, and was awarded the Legion of Honor Award - Chapel of the Four Chaplains.
Dr. Reider served as Chairperson for the Education Department at The College of Santa Fe from 1991 through June 2001. She attained the rank of full Professor and upon her retirement was honored with the rank of Professor Emeritus. In the capacity of Chairperson, she oversaw all departmental functions and directly supervised all full and part-time faculty. She also initiated, developed, and implemented the Master of Arts in Education degree program with cutting-edge focus on at-risk youth. This program's extensive reach prepared graduate students from remote locations within New Mexico as well as the Santa Fe campus. Committed to serving at-risk youth, Barbara worked with the New Mexico Suicide Intervention Project (NMSIP), an organization providing direct counseling for families with children at risk and was instrumental in growing their impact exponentially with a training program for school and community counselors.
In addition to her supervisory, teaching, and administrative responsibilities, she created, in partnership with her faculty, an elementary school education collaborative with Santa Fe Public Schools. Incorporating multiple intelligences and integrated curriculum within multi-level classrooms, this model program served a diverse group of students.
Dr. Reider has been a member of the adjunct faculty for The College of Santa Fe, University of New Mexico, Santa Fe Community College, University of Phoenix, Temple University, Beaver College, and Montgomery County Community College. She has also been an Assistant Professor at Temple University School of Social Administration, a member of the field faculty of the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work and Goddard College, and clinical instructor at Hahnemann Medical University Department of Mental Health Sciences.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Enrollment Services Associate
Brenda Cruz-Flores is the Enrollment Services Associate for Southwestern College, as well as a MA Art Therapy and Counseling Student. She earned her BS in Psychology from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Brenda began providing service to others as a volunteer at the Huntsville Hospitality House through the Art Against the Odds program. The hospitality house gave the families of the incarcerated the opportunity to stay at the house free of cost during their visits. She was able to use her bilingual skills to connect with the Hispanic community that came from across the country. She served as a volunteer through AATO to encourage creative expression in the art room. Brenda also had the opportunity to volunteer with the ATIME2READ program where she worked with children to help them get to their appropriate reading level. Both volunteer experiences reinforced her desire to help others and continue her journey to help other through art.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Trustees
Carlos is a licensed psychologist with over 30 years of experience in psychotherapy, assessment, research, supervision, teaching, grant writing, and nonprofit management. He received his undergraduate (psychology and religion) and graduate (clinical psychology) training at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida followed by a clinical internship at Harvard Medical School in Boston. He has specialties in pediatric health psychology, infant mental health, violence prevention/intervention, play therapy, and family systems therapy.
Carlos has worked in private practice, hospitals, and community mental health settings throughout his career. For two decades, he was the COO and then CEO of a large community health center in Miami, Florida where he managed a 500-employee agency serving over 30,000 clients per year. In 1999, Carlos received an award from The Society of Clinical Psychology (APA) for Early Contributions to the Profession of Clinical Psychology for his community mental health work.
He currently volunteers at various nonprofits, serves as the consulting psychologist for a local elementary school, and performs accreditation site visits for the American Psychological Association. In addition to teaching at SWC, Carlos is also a member of the SWC Board of Trustees. Carlos enjoys travel, outdoor activities, reading, cooking and painting (when the mood strikes him).
Carlotta Saiz, LPCC was born and raised in Santa Fe, NM and is now a therapist and Clinical Supervisor serving in the community where she grew up. She works with individuals, families and couples in private practice. Additionally, she works as a Clinical Supervisor at
The Sky Center's family therapy training center, where she provides live supervision to
graduate interns. Her education includes a Bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico and a Master's degree in Counseling from Southwestern College. Carlotta began her counseling career in Chicago, IL, where she dedicated herself to supporting youth facing mental health crises and their families. It was during this time that her deep affinity for working with complex family systems blossomed, leading Carlotta to expand her expertise through obtaining specialized training in Bowen Family Systems Theory and the Polyvagal Theory in Therapy with Deb Dana. She returned home to Santa Fe in 2013 to continue this work and began supervising other clinicians in 2016. She has found her True North inside the balance of doing direct client work alongside teaching and supervising clinicians - a combination that Carlotta finds utterly fulfilling, alongside an avenue to continue to grow and learn, herself, while also supporting the growth of other clinicians. In her spare time, Carlotta enjoys baking and taking long walks with her dog.
During the last 35 years, Carol has worked as a Licensed Psychologist and psychotherapist for various agencies as well as in private practice. She has taught graduate level Counseling Psychology at several colleges and universities and has administered community and college counseling centers.
She has served as the Counseling Program Chair at Southwestern College, and in 2006 founded the Transformational Eco-Psychology Certificate program (now called Ecotherapy). She continues to co-facilitate the Wilderness Fast course annually in the Ecotherapy certificate program. She was trained as a Wilderness Guide at the School of Lost Borders in Big Pine, CA and currently leads private vision quests in New Mexico, Death Valley, and Canyon de Chelly, as well as annual pilgrimages in the Peruvian Andes, working with traditional Andean healers.
She is currently the Clinical Director at Solutions Treatment Center where she provides clinical supervision and case consultation to SWC's therapists and interns. Carol also has a private practice in psychotherapy with a specialty in earth-based therapeutic healing methods.
Charmayne Kilcup holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Puget Sound, a M.A. in Counseling from Southwestern College, and a Ph.D in Transpersonal Psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. Her research emphasis was on spiritual intelligence and intuition in adults and adolescents. She has served as Adjunct Faculty at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (now Sofia University).
In addition, Dr. Kilcup has studied under Dr. Robert Waterman for ten years learning Noetic Field Therapy. She maintains a private practice as a healer and coach, helping people transform the root of their suffering with self-forgiveness.
Her teaching model is to empower each student to see their inherent worth as a spiritual being and to find their true gifts as therapists and healers. Each student's abilities and gifts may be different, but all are needed on this planet in their own way.
Christopher is a psychotherapist in private practice in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His areas of specialty include LGBTQ issues, men's issues, relational dynamics, family of origin issues, anxiety and trauma, sexuality, spirituality, and spiritual emergency.
Before entering into full-time private practice work, he served as the assistant coordinator of the Southwestern Counseling Center, where he provided extensive personal support and mentorship to students as they developed their knowledge and skills as psychotherapists. Prior professional experience includes elder care, HIV/AIDS care, end-of-life care, spiritual care, mentoring, teaching, and public speaking.
In addition to his work as a psychotherapist, Christopher has been a practicing energetic and spiritual healer for more than a decade, and he brings an advanced understanding of the human energy-consciousness system and relational energy dynamics to his work. He also offers mentorship in the intuitive and healing arts for people who are energetically sensitive or experiencing spiritual emergency.
Craig Thomas works in private practice at SuperNova Counseling in Santa Fe, where he facilitates recovery groups called Resources, Triggers, Cravings and the Meaning of Life, as well as providing therapy for children, families and couples. He also provides consultation for the Developmental Disabilities Waiver in New Mexico and is a Clinical Counselor with Southwest Family Guidance Center. Additionally, Craig Thomas is a Professional Actor with the O'Agency in New Mexico; his credits include CW's The Messengers, Netflix's Longmire and interactive performance at Meow Wolf.
His experience includes 7 years of working in the addictions field, including inpatient and outpatient groups in both Española and Santa Fe; 10 years with Earth-based ceremony, including assisting Vision Quest, assisting Sweat Lodge, Pipe Ceremony, Andean Spiritual Cosmology Ceremonies, Medicine Walks and Medicine Wheel Teachings; and 8 years of counseling children, families and couples, including methods such as CBT, REBT, Narrative Therapy, AEDP, and Guided Mindfulness Practices addressing Trauma, Grief, Addiction, Anger Management and Behavioral Strategies.
Craig Thomas received his BA in Political Science: Peace and Conflict Studies from Bowling Green State University in 2009, including cultural and poverty immersion trips to the South Bronx, Navajo Nation, and Matamoros, MX, and he has since assisted these trips by facilitating groups of University Students through experiential learning. As a former student (2010 -2012) and member of the Board of Trustees of Southwestern College (2011 - 2015), Craig has grown to love, appreciate, understand and implement the experiential education and mission of the school.
Crystal was the first in her family to attend college and earned a Bachelor's in Arts in Psychology from Wells College, located in Aurora, NY. She went on to earn her Masters in Social Work from Florida State University and currently holds her LMSW.
For the past 25 years Crystal has been driven by her personal experiences of trauma to educate, advocate, and amplify the voices of individuals and communities in order to promote healing and opportunities to move from surviving to thriving. During her career, Crystal has demonstrated a passion in sharing her experiences in order to help individuals heal from their personal traumas and work alongside professionals to create trauma informed, culturally inclusive and person-centered spaces. Her experiences include advocacy within the child welfare system, oversight of child and youth programs, crisis hotline response, delivery of community based mental health services and implementing trauma informed strategies and programs for school districts. She has been called upon to provide training, coaching and consultation across the nation in the subject areas of Human Trafficking, Suicide Prevention, Motivational Interviewing, Child Trauma & Maltreatment and Racial Trauma. She is a fierce advocate for social justice and leads courageously to dismantle oppressive systems and create equitable and just services, policies and programs.
Job Titles:
- Chief Scientist of the Johll Consulting Group
Curtis R. Brant, Ph.D. is Chief Scientist of the Johll Consulting Group. He has served as an Associate Professor of Psychology and has lectured nationally and internationally. He earned his B.A. in Psychology from Kent State University and Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Bowling Green State University. His concentration while at Bowling Green was in Decision-Making and Quantitative Analyses. Dr. Brant's areas of expertise lie in research, program development, and assessment. He has employed many unique measurement designs, such as "policy capturing" which is a powerful technique used to assess individuals' judgments and attitudes in a variety of situations. Most recently, he co-directed an international study examining how people coped with the terrorist attacks of September 11th. His research has been featured on National Public Radio, PBS television, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, and APA Monitor. He has authored over 30 scientific publications/presentations, received several grants, and has been awarded for his research and innovative teaching.
Job Titles:
- Clinical Director of Tierra Nueva Counseling Center
Denise Moore, born and raised in Santa Fe, attended United World College in Montezuma, New Mexico. She received her BA in Latin American Studies from Oberlin College in 2007.
She is a graduate of Southwestern College and recently worked as a bilingual clinician at Solace Crisis Treatment Center, where she specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. We are proud to have her join the Southwestern College Team as the new Clinical Director of the Tierra Nueva Counseling Center.
In her free time, Denise performs with the Schola Cantorum of Santa Fe. She also enjoys walking with her husband and her dog, Kaya.
Job Titles:
- Chief Technology Officer, Cybersecurity & Compliance Officer, Distance Learning Director
Job Titles:
- Canadian / American Artist, Writer, Researcher
Barbara Bickel is a Canadian/American artist, writer, researcher, and educator of Germanic ancestry currently living on Vancouver Island, on the traditional lands of the Snuneymuxw First Nation peoples in Nanaimo, BC, Canada where she is creative co-director of Studio M*: A Research Creation Lab Intersecting Arts, Culture and Healing. She is Associate Professor of Art Education Emerita and former Director of Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA. Her arts-based Ph.D. in Art Education from The University of British Columbia, Canada was awarded the Arts Based Educational Research Outstanding Dissertation Award from the American Educational Research Association in 2009. Her art, teaching and research interests include collaboration, arts-based inquiry methods, trance-based inquiry, ancestral healing work, socially engaged art, connective aesthetics, spirituality, feminisms, Matrixial theory, place-centered inquiry and restorative and transformative learning.
Since graduating in 1993 with a BFA in Painting from the University of Calgary, Canada she has had a multi-media studio practice (drawing, collage, painting, sculpture, art video, sound and time-based installation), been an internationally exhibiting and performance ritual artist, as well as an independent curator, gallery director and arts educator in Canada and the US. She co-founded The Centre Gallery (1995-2001), a non-profit women's focused gallery in Calgary, Alberta, and is a co-founding member of the Gestare Art Collective (2009-2021).
She has had 27 solo art exhibitions and presented her spiritually-infused arts-based research and writing internationally at over 80 peer reviewed conferences and 30 invited presentations. Her writing on the arts, education and inquiry have been published in 17 book chapters and 36 peer reviewed journals, such as the International Journal of Qualitative Research, Journal of Arts and Community, Visual Culture and Gender, International Journal for Education in the Arts, Research International Journal and the Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy. She co-founded and is co-editor of Artizein: Arts and Teaching Journal, is book author of Art, Ritual and Trance Inquiry: Arational Learning in an Irrational World (2020) and book co-author with her life partner R. Michael Fisher of Art-Care Practices for Restoring the Communal: Education, Co-Inquiry and Healing (2023) and Opening Doors: A Guide to Spontaneous Creation-Making (1993). She is co-editor of two books, Arts-based and Contemplative Practices in Research and Teaching: Honouring Presence (2015) and Arts-Based Educational Research Trajectories: Career Reflections by Authors of Outstanding Dissertations (2023).
Her art and writing can be accessed at http://www.barbarabickel.com, http://www.StudioM.Space and http://www.gestareartcollective.com
Dr. Christy Garrison-Harrison is currently a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of New York at Buffalo. Dr. Garrison-Harrison is an Assistant Professor of History and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Southern University and Agricultural & Mechanical College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy in History with a Certificate in Women, Gender, & Sexuality Studies from Georgia State University and a Master of Arts in African American History and Bachelor of Arts in History from Clark Atlanta University.
Dr. Garrison-Harrison's primary research foci are on the American South (with a concentration on Black women's political leadership and influence upon economically developing Black communities within the region), Black Womanist Geographies, and the cultural dynamics of White American matriarchy. Secondary research interests include Afro-Latinx community advocacy and Black Women in colonial Europe and America.
Dr. Garrison-Harrison is a contributing author and co-editor on Dr. Sherice Nelson's Africana Women's History anthology scheduled for Fall, 2024 publication, is currently completing a solo manuscript on Black women's community activism in Atlanta, Georgia during the modern Civil Rights' Movement era and developing a manuscript on antebellum matriarchal culture.
Her most recently completed article is an institutional biographical essay on the history of Southern University and Agricultural & Mechanical College for an Emory University Historically Black College and University (HBCU) project and co-authoring "Remembering Jacqueline Anne Rouse, 1950-2020: Scholarship, Educational Advocacy, and Mentoring as Audacious Leadership." In conjunction with Southern University and Agricultural & Mechanical College's Department of History, she developed a roundtable series centering Black Women's activist-scholarship. She is expanding the series to spotlight Latinx and Indigenous scholars in the upcoming academic year.
Dr. Claudia J. Ford has had a career in international development and women's health spanning four decades and all continents. Dr. Ford is professor of environmental studies at State University of New York, Potsdam. She teaches sustainability, gender studies, environmental literature, and environmental justice in classrooms and workshops. Dr. Ford is a midwife and ethnobotanist, who conducts research and writes about traditional ecological knowledge, spiritual ecology, entheogenic plant medicine, women's reproductive health, and sustainable agriculture. Claudia serves on the boards of the Soul Fire Farm Institute, and The Black Farmer Fund, both organizations committed to supporting Black farmers, and ending racism and injustice in the food system. Claudia has a BA in Biology from Columbia University, MFA in Creative Nonfiction Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, MBA in Health Administration from Antioch University, and PhD in Environmental Studies from Antioch University. Claudia is a writer, poet, and visual artist; and a single mother who has shared the delights and adventures of her global travel with her four children.
Dr. Dawn Wink is an educator and writer whose work explores the tensions and beauty of language, culture, and place. Wink's transdisciplinary professional journey includes many years in multilingual and international education, along with a dedication to creative writing. She brings these passions together through teaching, presenting, and publishing.
Dr. Wink's educational journey includes a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations, Spanish, and German at the University of California/Davis, Master of Arts in Crosscultural and Bilingual Leadership from California State University/Sacramento, and PhD in Transformative Studies from the California Institute of Integral Studies. Her doctoral studies focused on ecolinguistics and linguistic human rights and the transdisciplinary exploration of language and landscape through the lenses of wildness, beauty, and imagination.
Wink has a passion for methods and theoretical frameworks. She frequently uses the methodology of Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN) and theoretical framework of Lilyology in her research. Wink has an upcoming chapter "Beyond the Brick Wall: Transdisciplinary and Creative Research through Scholarly Personal Narrative and Lilyology" in the forthcoming text Creative Research Methods (Bristol Press). Wink's other publications include the novel Meadowlark, awarded the Women Writing the West WILLA Award for Historical Fiction/Finalist, High Plains Book Award for Woman Writer/Finalist, and NM/AZ Book Awards for Historical Fiction/Finalist and Teaching Passionately: What's Love Got To Do With It, co-written with Joan Wink. Other publications include, "Raven's Time: Critical Literacy in the American Southwest," "Wild Waters: Landscapes of Language," and "Language, Culture, and Land: Lenses of Lilies."
Dr. Wink is Academic Director of the Department of Teacher Education at Santa Fe Community College. She presents regularly on pedagogy, education, creative writing, ecolinguistics, linguistic human rights, and research methods. She lives with her family in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Dr. Devora Neumark, a queer second-generation Holocaust survivor born to refugees from Russia (Ukraine) and Poland, currently lives in Iqaluit, Nunavut, situated in the Eastern Canadian Arctic. With over 30-years of meditation practice, Devora is an interdisciplinary artist-researcher, educator, and community-engaged practitioner.
They were a faculty member in the Goddard College MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts program from July 2003 through May 2021, where they co-founded the Indigenous and Decolonial Art Concentration in Port Townsend, WA. Their research-creation PhD, titled Radical Beauty for Troubled Times: Involuntary Displacement and the (Un)Making of Home (2013), funded in part by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, explored the relationship between the traumas associated with forced dislocation and the deliberate beautification of home. Rejecting the notion that individuals who have experienced displacement or lost their homes should settle for the bare essentials, Dr. Neumark's research underscores the significance of deliberate attention to aesthetics in the re-homing and healing process.
In July 2020, they obtained certification as a Climate Change Adaptation Practitioner from the Yale School of Public Health and later became an Arctic Winter College 2021 Fellow. Currently, Dr. Neumark serves as a Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Fellow at the Centre for Human Rights Erlangen-Nürnberg and a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Sustainability & Social Justice at Clark University.
Dr. Enid J. LaGesse, PhD, brings more than 30 years of diversity, equity, and inclusion leadership experience to her current role as the co-chair of the Race and Social Justice Committee for the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C. She facilitates workshops on anti-racism, intersectionality, and interfaith dialogue. Using the pedagogical skills built during her tenure as a university professor and administrator, Enid trains laity and clergy to facilitate racial dialogues. In addition to her work in academia, she has served as a Peace Corps volunteer, a Fulbright Scholar and an election judge. She is a change agent who addresses systemic injustice by creating spaces for challenging yet necessary conversations.
Dr. Fisher, Ph.D., is an independent scholar, artist, educator and fearologist and is founder and director of In Search of Fearlessness Research Institute, The Fearology Center, and hosts the Fearlessness Movement ning as a social platform for building community and sharing resources on the impacts, individual and collective, of the culture of fear. He holds degrees in Ecological Sciences, Environmental Biology, Educational Psychology, Education (Secondary Science) and a M.A. in Adult Education and Ph.D. in Curriculum Design & Instruction (The University of British Columbia). He has specialized in futures, philosophy of education, leadership and organizational development and has long been on a healing and recovery quest, engaging in careers of artistry, research consulting, teaching and rehabilitation for youth and their families.
He acts in service as a therapeutic counselor, mentor and guide for people of all walks of life and is currently Human Resources director at Nanaimo Innovation Academy (non-profit daycare). He lectures widely on a variety of topics and is author of hundreds of magazine, journal articles and book chapters and has 16 published books, of which a few examples are: The World's Fearlessness Teachings (University Press of America), The Marianne Williamson Presidential Phenomenon (Peter Lang), Fearless Engagement of Four Arrows (Peter Lang) and his upcoming books in press Igniting a Fear Praxis for Teaching (Peter Lang), The Fear Problematique (Information Age Publishing). He is founder and senior editor of International Journal of Fear Studies.
His work and updates on his activities can be found either on Google Scholar,
his Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC01OHEXhSuxnyilmkV0f95A
Drew Hutchinson is a body oriented therapist and educator with 15 years of experience working with clients and teaching. Drew received his Master's in Counseling Psychology from John F. Kennedy University with a focus on Transpersonal Dimensions of Psychotherapy including Existential, Humanistic and Somatic Specialties. After graduating Drew attended trainings with the Northern California Psychoanalytic Society getting deeper exposure to analytic techniques. After licensing, Drew took a two year intensive training in Bioenergetics supervised by Eleanor Greenly and Dr. John Conger, both students of Alexander Lowen. Somatic Psychotherapy became his focus and he now specializes in working with chronic trauma through body oriented techniques. Drew also works with couples utilizing energetic relational techniques to enhance emotional and physical intimacy.
As an Educator, Drew has held adjunct faculty positions at John F. Kennedy and Dominican Universities teaching a wide range of subjects. He has also given seminars at The Psychoanalytic Institute in Berkeley California and provided weekend workshops in Somatic Psychotherapy and Trauma work in and around the Bay Area. His goal as an instructor is to encourage an experiential and intuitive grasp of the material.
Drew continues his work with individuals and couples in private practice, provides hospice services and supervises students of Somatic Psychotherapy in the Santa Fe area. For more information about his practice, please visit www.drewstherapy.com.
Job Titles:
- Director of Enrollment Services
Dru Phoenix is the Director of Enrollment Services at Southwestern College and also serves as adjunct faculty and advisor in Career and Life Development. She has a MA in Counseling from Catholic University of America and also a MA in Art Therapy/Counseling from Southwestern College. Additionally, she earned masters certification in intuition medicine through the Academy of Intuitive Studies. Dru was a behavioral health and management consultant for several years offering consultations to Fortune 100 and 500 companies on behavioral health issues including trauma in the workplace, risk management, and management skills. She has several years' experience developing curriculum for the business as well as academic world.
While at SWC, Dru remains committed to education and the holistic perspective that Southwestern College carries: "I have had an ongoing interest in the power of art in healing and enjoy delving deeply into this at SWC. It is inspiring to study with so many amazing individuals and very gratifying to be able to serve them here in my role at the college. I am particularly interested in providing guidance and support to our students as they step into their professional identity as a counselor and art therapist. There are so many opportunities in this field and I am invested in empowering our students and graduates to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to be the best they can be."
Dru invites people to call and chat about their interest in graduate studies in counseling and art therapy and/or the many certificate specialty areas that are available. She can provide career advisement and answer questions about future employment and strategizing toward making the most of their graduate degree.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Dr. Lewis is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and the Stephen R. Setterberg, M.D., Faculty Fellow in Philosophy at the University of Minnesota TC. Dr. Lewis received his PhD from the University of South Florida (Tampa, FL), working under Roger Ariew and Justin EH Smith in the History of Philosophy. His research focuses on concepts of human difference (e.g., race, gender, and sexuality), underrepresented philosophers, early modern philosophy generally construed, Africana Philosophy, and philosophy of race. He defended his dissertation, "Amo's Philosophy and Reception: From the Origins through the Encyclopédie," in 2019. During the final year of his dissertation project, he spent the academic year (2018-19) as a Mellon Research Fellow at Emory University in The James Weldon Johnson Institute. Following that year, he was a Mellon Postdoc Fellow at Penn State University in the Philosophy Department.
Dr. Lewis has given over 70 invited talks, in contexts such as Columbia University, Carleton College, Dartmouth, Harvard, University of Toronto, APA, San Francisco State University, Michigan State, University of London, University of Western Ontario, Penn, and University of Ghana. He has also presented peer-reviewed conference papers internationally, including Natures and Spaces of Enlightenment at University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia and on Anton Wilhelm Amo at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He helps lead the Center for Canon Expansion and Change and has two academic book projects under contract.
Dr. Lewis is active in producing cultural media on salient topics. He hosts a podcast with Matt LaVine on the topic of "Larger, Freer, More Loving": https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr8kPHS2eocmqvdLmMsh1ZA. He was interviewed on Smithsonian's "1000 Years of Slavery" (Episode 2) produced by Angela Bassett and Courtney Vance: https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/one-thousand-years-of-slavery. Additionally, Amazon's Audible interviewed Dr. Lewis on "In Search of Black History" (Episode 5) with Bonnie Greer: https://www.audible.com/pd/Ep-5-The-Darkness-of-the-Enlightenment-Podcast/B08DC9B7HP?ref=a_pd_In-Sea_c0_lAsin_0_4&pf_rd_p=1da7ab30-c785-4a0e-a160-4a7e7077b353&pf_rd_r=R6CFNSC00EK2PGJYCSYN. Dr. Lewis's interview on Martin Luther King Jr appeared with "News 13: Spectrum News": https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2021/01/19/dr-martin-luther-king-jr-s-legacy?cid=share_clip&wdLOR=cB2D1B7BE-8B3D-7D4F-9ED9-7A33AD3C512E. His research was also featured via interview with Eidolon on "The First African to Have Attended a European University" by Yung In Chae: https://eidolon.pub/the-first-african-to-have-attended-a-european-university-b4ef9b7f8c8a.
Elijah Chong is a graduate alumni of Southwestern College with a Masters in Art Therapy/Counseling and a Bachelors of Environmental Design from Texas A&M University. Elijah is currently on staff at The Life Link in…
Elizabeth "Beth" Bryce received her M.S. in Leadership from Central Michigan University. She is pursuing her Ph.D. in Visionary Practices and Regenerative Leadership at Southwestern College after obtaining her Ecotherapy certificate from New Earth Institute.
For the past decade, Beth was the Director of Career Services and Professional Development at Northwood University in Michigan for adult learners and graduate and doctoral students. She is an adjunct professor and graduate student mentor for the University of New Mexico and Yale University.
Beth is a certified Master Career Coach through the National Career Development Association (NCDA) and a member of the International Coach Federation (ICF). She is also a certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) practitioner.
Elsa Backstrom, MA, LPCC, is the founder and owner of Lani Solutions, LLC; company dedicated to addressing and healing relational dynamics, within the context of couples and families. She has served several Federal contracts working with Native American sexual offenders and their families. Ms. Backstrom has a background in Neuroscience, forensic psychology, and transpersonal psychology.
Ms. Backstrom obtained her Master's degree from Southwestern College and her Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Philosophy from Grinnell College. She is certified in Gottman Method therapy and Stanley Tatkin's Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy. She is also a Clinically Certified Sexual Offender Treatment Specialist and a licensed Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Perhaps most importantly, she is the mother to a 5 year old and an expectant Mother.
Ms. Backstrom believes that healing requires vulnerability and risk-taking. This is the same philosophy she incorporated into her teaching, where she seeks to create a safe space that allows students to authentically take risks and be vulnerable as everyone learns.
She currently assists in the Gottman Arts and Science of Love workshops in Seattle, Washington, maintains a private practice with couples and family, and is an adjunct faculty for Southwestern College, where she teaches the Theory and Practice of Family Counseling.
Erica Westby is a psychotherapist in private practice in Santa Fe, NM. A native New Mexican, she received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of Arizona and her M.A. in Counseling from Southwestern College in 2007. She helped found The Attachment Healing Center in Albuquerque NM, working with children diagnosed with Reactive Attachment Disorder and their families. She was the coordinator of Southwestern Counseling Center before it moved locations, and most recently was the Executive Director of a residential home for adults with disabling mental illness.
She is currently obtaining a certificate in Mind Body Eating from the Institute for the Psychology of Eating. Currently her passion is helping individuals struggling with binge/emotional eating, body image and self-worth issues.
When she isn't working Erica is busy raising her family of 3 boys with her husband, deepening her spiritual practice and fueling her love of learning and personal growth.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Art Therapy / Counseling
Jennifer Albright Knash is the Chair of the Art Therapy/Counseling program. She received her Doctorate of Art Therapy at Mount Mary University where she completed research regarding trauma repair in the framework of the Neurosequential…
Jess Clark is the Director of Sexual Violence Prevention for the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs, a consultant for Catharsis Productions, a transgender education consultant, and the host of Both/And: A Sexual Violence…
Job Titles:
- Director of the New Earth Institute, Counseling Program Faculty
Katherine is Executive Vice President and Director of The New Earth Institute at Southwestern College. She received her B.A. in Psychology at Alfred University, New York, and her M.A. in Transformational Counseling and Education at…
Job Titles:
- Trustee Emeritus
- Holistic Consultant
Krishna Madappa is a Holistic Consultant, educator, clinician, researcher, storyteller, shaman and Ayurvedic specialist residing in Taos, New Mexico. Born and raised in the Andaman Islands of India and educated both in India and USA…
Job Titles:
- Associate Director & Core Faculty, Visionary Practice and Regenerative Leadership Doctoral Program
Job Titles:
- Student Services and Field Training Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Board Member / Miguel Angel
Miguel Angel Acosta was born in Chicago but made in Mexico. He is Currently Co-Director of Earth Care, a multi-generational community leadership and learning organization in Santa Fe. He has been the Director of El…
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Retired Not - for - Profit Administrator
Paul Macks is a retired not-for-profit administrator. Paul has a BS in Communications from Temple University, a MA in Communications from Ohio University and a Post Master Certificate in Healthcare Administration from Saint Joseph's University.…
Rev. Brendalyn Batchelor, M.A., LPC, is an ordained Unity minister. She received her master's degree in Counseling from the University of New Mexico in 1991 and has been the minister of Unity Santa Fe since December 1994 when she went from the pews to the pulpit through the Field Licensing Program. She was ordained in February 2000.Prior to ministry, Brendalyn worked as an Employee Assistance Counselor, Health Case Manager, and Employee Relations Specialist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
She has extensive federal service human resource specialist and related investigative experience which uniquely qualified her to serve for 7 years as the Chair of the Credentialed Leader/Ministry Review Team for Unity Worldwide Ministries. In this position she was responsible for training, policy development, administration of the team and as a subject-matter expert in investigative procedures and sexual conduct issues. Brendalyn was recently elected Regional Representative of the South Central Region of Unity Worldwide Ministries which includes thirteen states. In this position she advices, consults, and trains regional ministries or acts as a triage agent connecting them to appropriate resources. In addition to Unity, Brendalyn's spiritual practice includes Vipassana meditation in the Goenke tradition, and living, to the best of her ability, the spiritual principles of twelve step recovery the past thirteen years.
Job Titles:
- Chief Credit Officer
- Executive Vice President
- Vice Chair of the Board
Robert "Bob" Bidal, MBA
Board Vice Chair
Bob Bidal is the Chief Credit Officer and an Executive Vice President for Century Bank in Santa Fe. He has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Arizona and an M.B.A.
Dr. Robert Waterman has been a spiritual teacher for over 45 years, teaching classes in the United States, Canada, France, Germany and Switzerland. He is a licensed mental health counselor in New Mexico, a minister…
Job Titles:
- Academic Support Services Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Member of the White Earth Nation
Stephen Wall is an enrolled member of the White Earth Nation. Stephen was born in Roswell, New Mexico and was raised on and near the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation in southern New Mexico. After graduating…
Job Titles:
- Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs