Amanda Acevedo, M.A., Ed.S., is a Psy.D. candidate (2025) in the Northern Arizona’s Clinical Psychology Psy.D program. Mrs. Acevedo was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of South Florida (1998) and her master’s and education specialist’s degree in Educational Psychology from Argosy University (2016, 2019). Mrs. Acevedo is an active member of different psychology organizations both at the state (AzPA, AASP) and national level (APA, AAPdN, NLPA). She serves as a board member of the Arizona Psychological Foundation (AZPF) and as the Graduate Student Representative for APA Division 56.

Her clinical interest includes promoting mental health awareness in children, adolescents, and adults who live in rural communities and belong to underserved populations. Other interests include provide psychotherapy services in both Spanish and English to bilingual clients. Upon graduation, Mrs. Acevedo would like to work within community-based programs with culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Mrs. Acevedo’s research interest focuses on addressing and curtailing substance use among minority populations, diversity and inclusion, generational trauma, bilingual assessments, autism (from childhood to adults), and stigma.

Faren Akins is a psychologist and attorney licensed in Arizona and California with more than 40 years professional experience. He completed his doctorate in psychology at the University of Arizona graduating Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his law degree with Honors at Santa Clara University. He has taught at the University of Arizona, San Jose State University, and Santa Clara University. He is a published author and has received grants and fellowships. As an attorney he represents clients with licensing board complaints and provides consultation about law and ethics issues. His forensic psychology practice is devoted to work in family and juvenile law matters where he routinely provides evaluations and expert testimony.

Gina Betwarda is a third-year student in the clinical psychology doctoral program at Northern Arizona University. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Nutrition from Purdue University and a Master of Social Work from Arizona State University. Gina has a background working in community mental health and in the field of child welfare. Her current interests include child and adolescent neuropsychological assessment of learning disorders, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorder.

Dr. Carlson is a Clinical Psychologist board certified in the practice of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology who has been in practice at Phoenix Children’s Hospital for over 15 years. She provides evidence-based outpatient psychotherapy for children and adolescents with special and complex medical needs and psychiatric symptoms, with particular expertise in the interplay of emotional and physiological symptoms. With a passion for literature and the humanities and an appreciation for Narrative Psychology and the role of storytelling in human resilience, Dr. Carlson makes space for a narrative-informed approach in the therapy room through play, art, and writing, supporting patients in developing increasingly adaptive stories about themselves and their medical experiences.

Dr. Evelyn Burrell is a licensed clinical psychologist in Phoenix Arizona. She is the owner of Arise Consultation and Training Services LLC, creating trainings in cultural awareness. Through her practice, Dr. Burrell has facilitated community events, bringing mental health practitioners and communities of Color together to promote mental health awareness with a focus on trauma; to include inter-generational racial, and systemic trauma. She has developed trainings focused on childhood trauma, suicide, neurobiological responses to trauma, and racial disparities within the legal system. Dr. Burrell served as the president (2022) and Federal Advocacy Coordinator (FAC; 2021-current) for the Arizona Psychological Association (AzPA). Prior to becoming president, she held the position of Diversity Representative (2019-2020) and was a diversity delegate for APA. In her free time, Dr. Burrell enjoys spending time with her husband, twins, and good friends. She also enjoys traveling.

My diverse professional background in psychotherapy practice, education, supervision, and research will inform my symposium presentation. For many years, I served as the Director of Counseling Services (which eventually included a Counseling Center plus separate Substance Abuse, Sexual Assault and Suicide Prevention units) at Valparaiso University in NW Indiana. During this time, I was also a faculty member in the Department of Psychology teaching in their accredited master’s mental health counseling program where I served two stints as its Program Chair. Based on my teaching, service, and scholarship, I was promoted to Full Professor. I have authored/edited 5 books, 10 book chapters, and 80 refereed journal articles. Within APA Governance, I have served as the Chair of the Board of Professional Affairs, Chair of the Membership Board, a member of its Policy and Planning Board and as co-creator and member of its Committee for the Advancement of General Applied Psychology. I also served two terms on its Council of Representatives and was an At-Large Member of the APA Board of Directors. Additionally, I was President of the Society for Consulting Psychology (APA Division 13) and am President-Elect for the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (APA Division 29). Licensed as a HSPP in Arizona and in Indiana with Board Certification in both Counseling and Organizational Psychology, I am currently expanding Life Enrichment Associates, a solo clinical and consultation practice which I developed in 1982.

Joel Dvoskin is a clinical and forensic psychologist, licensed in Arizona and certified in Forensic Psychology by ABPP. He is co-Founder of Heroes Active Bystandership Training, which provides active bystandership training to prison, jail, fire and rescue, legal, and healthcare staff across the country. He is the former Acting Commissioner of Mental Health for the State of NY and served for more than a decade as Associate Commissioner and Director for Forensic Services for NY State, He served as Chair of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Behavior Health and Wellness for the State of Nevada. Dr. Dvoskin is an APA Fellow and Former President of two APA Divisions, including the American Psychology-Law Society and Psychologists in Public Service. He served on the APA Policy Task Force on Reducing Gun Violence, and the APA Blue Ribbon Commission on Ethics Processes. He has assisted in the development of several Amicus briefs submitted by APA to the US Supreme Court, and currently serves as a member of the APA 's Amicus Curiae Expert Panel. He has provided consultation to a wide array of organizations, including the Equal Justice Initiative, the U.S. Secret Service, the National Basketball Association (NBA), the NBA Players Association, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and numerous corporations, organizations, educational institutions, and government agencies across the US and Canada. These consultations have addressed workplace violence prevention, active bystandership, management and leadership, and responding to organizational crises. In 2001, Dr. Dvoskin served on an expert team that investigated Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, who committed the killings at Columbine High School. He previously served on the adjunct faculty of the University of Arizona Law School, and currently teaches at the U. of A. Medical School, in addition to his consulting practice in forensic psychology in Tucson. In 1995, Dr. Dvoskin served on the White House Task Force on the Future of the African American Male. He has served as a Federal Court Monitor over correctional and mental health facilities and systems in Washington, New Mexico, Michigan, Montana, and Colorado and frequently serves as an expert for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and various state Protection and Advocacy Systems (P&A). Dr. Dvoskin worked as a pro bono consultant with the New Orleans Police Department on an innovative program to prevent police misconduct called EPIC (Ethical Policing is Courageous) that has received national acclaim. In 2020, Dr. Dvoskin helped to create Project ABLE (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement), part of Georgetown University Law School’s Center for Innovations in Community Safety. Using a train-the-trainer model, in less than 4 years, ABLE has trained more than 2,500 instructors from 382 police departments across North America. Dr. Dvoskin has served as design consultant for numerous hospital, prison, and jail architectural projects, including St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington DC, Fulton (MO) State Hospital, and the Hawaii State Hospital.

Clinical and community psychologist, policymaker, and health care innovator Arthur C. Evans Jr., PhD, is CEO of the American Psychological Association, the leading scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. Evans holds a doctorate in clinical/community psychology from the University of Maryland and a master's degree in experimental psychology from Florida Atlantic University, where he also completed his undergraduate work.

Adam Fried, Ph.D. completed his graduate training in clinical psychology at Fordham University. Before joining Midwestern University, Dr. Fried was the assistant director of the Fordham University Center for Ethics Education, which conducts ethics-based research and administers undergraduate and graduate academic programs. While at Fordham, Dr. Fried served as the director of the MA Ethics and Society program and the Interdisciplinary Minor in Bioethics, was a lecturer in the psychology department, and a member of the training faculty at Mount Sinai St. Luke's Hospital. Dr. Fried has published and presented research and scholarship on adolescent and young adult mental health and substance use issues, moral stress and job burnout, LGBT and sexual minority health care, and clinical and research ethics. He is a member of the editorial board for the journal Ethics and Behavior and serves as the Ethics Editor of The Clinical Psychologist (APA, Division 12). He recently served as a special issue guest editor of the APA/APAGS journal Translational Issues in Psychology. Dr. Fried has presented his research at national conferences and has been quoted in The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Prevention Magazine , Reader's Digest, The Huffington Post and ABC News on topics related to clinical psychology.

Dr. Shefali Gandhi has been licensed by the Arizona Board of Psychologists Examiners since 2008. She serves as an Assistant Professor and DCT at MWU. The goal of Dr. Gandhi’s work is to create trauma-informed programs and settings in which families and providers understand the impact of ACEs, trauma, and toxic stress so patients can heal and grow successfully with a sense of completion and hope. Her ACEs/PCEs research hopes to strengthen the services that all advocacy and domestic violence centers provide in Arizona. She is the training coordinator for Arizona Child and Family Advocacy Network and develops annual trainings for the FAC/CAC’s in Arizona. Her work as the Director of Clinical Services at Childhelp Children’s Center strengthened the trauma-informed clinical services team through treatment, consultation, supervision, and programmatic growth adding program including sensory-modulation occupational therapy, an in-home therapy program, and a program that specifically focuses on treatment and outreach for children who have been victimized as a result of parental opioid abuse. She has testified in both family and criminal courts as the treating clinician and has been called upon for her opinion in terms of permanency planning and diagnosis. She has presented at national conferences on subjects related to School Psychology, Trauma-Informed Care, and Childhood Maltreatment. She has been asked to serve on the editorial board of the Journal of Child Adolescent Trauma. She is responsible for program development and sits on the Executive Board of the not-for-profit, Mothers Awareness on School-Aged Kids (MASK). She was the recipient of MASK’s Education Award, honoring community members whose efforts are dedicated to providing psychoeducation to children and families on current social-emotional challenges. She is a writer and columnist for MASK the magazine, contributing a developmentally appropriate guide for parents and children on relevant social-emotional concerns for today’s families to each issue of the magazine. As a content developer and speaker, she develops and presents continuing education course materials.

Dr. Julia Hammett is an assistant professor in the Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation at Arizona State University and a licensed clinical psychologist in Arizona. She holds a PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees from San Diego State University. Dr. Hammett’s research investigates intimate partner violence (IPV) from the angle of socioeconomics. She conducts basic correlational and longitudinal research examining sociocultural and economic predictors of IPV and then applies the knowledge gained from this work towards the development and evaluation of innovative and accessible interventions aimed at decreasing risk for IPV specifically among vulnerable and underserved groups.

Dr. Hawkins is a clinical psychologist and is the Chief Executive Officer at Center for Change. She is a specialist in eating disorders and body image and has provided clinical expertise at Center for Change since 1999. Dr. Hawkins developed a comprehensive body image program that focuses on the media, diet industry, social media, childhood issues, and learning to appreciate one’s body, and she leads these groups for the Inpatient and Residential patients at Center for Change. She is a Certified Eating Disorders Specialist (Supervisor), has published several articles, and presents regularly at national and regional conferences.

Mary Kalpakoff, Psy.D. is an early career psychologist who completed her post-doctoral residency at the Miami VA Healthcare System specializing in PTSD and related concerns. She currently works at a faith-based group private practice, where she enjoys providing holistic bio-psycho-social-spiritual care that aligns with her patients' values and is passionate about treating the whole person. EMDR, ACT, and CBT are a few of the modalities she utilizes. Mary was born and raised in Arizona. Her relationship with God is a treasured part of her life. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, yoga, spending time with loved ones, eating spaghetti, watching comedies, and catching a vibrant sunset (bonus if it is near the ocean!).

Dr. George M. Kapalka, a Distinguished Professor in the California School of Professional Psychology and the Program Director of its MS in Clinical Psychopharmacology, is a prescribing and clinical psychologist based in Albuquerque, NM. He is board certified in clinical psychology (ABPP) and psychopharmacology (FICPP) and is a Fellow of APA Divisions 53 (child/adolescent psychology) and 55 (prescribing psychology). He is in practice for over 30 years and primarily treats children and adolescents. His research has focused on the psychological, pharmacological and combined treatments of pediatric disorders (particularly ADHD), collaborating with primary care (particularly pediatricians), and behavior management training for parents and teachers. He is an author of six books (one of which was translated into ten foreign languages) and dozens of journal articles and other publications.

Haylee Knowles is a doctoral student of clinical psychology at Northern Arizona University. She has experience conducting psychological assessments and providing therapy to a diverse population, including working with clients of all ages. Haylee is particularly interested in and enjoys working with children, adolescents, and young adults. In her training under the supervision of Dr. Stafford, Haylee developed a new passion in utilizing play therapy and gaming while using an ACT framework.

Jennifer Lee is a Clinical Psychology doctoral student at Northern Arizona University. She actively dedicates time to empowering fellow students as the President of Graduate Student Government at NAU and previous President of the clinical psychology program. She graduated from Arizona State University with her Bachelor’s in Health Sciences with a minor in Educational Studies and her Master’s in Biomedical Diagnostics. Her previous research experience includes program evaluation for resident physicians, substance use and support group effectiveness among pregnant and postpartum mothers, and young adult development. Her clinical experience involves health wellness, autism, and community mental health. Born and raised in Arizona as a first-generation graduate student, Jennifer’s future professional interests involve cultural influences on mental health stigma, childhood development, and health psychology for underserved communities.

Dr. Vicky Lomay is a Dinè /Navajo psychologist in Arizona and focuses her clinical practice on developing and interweaving culturally appropriate methods into assessment, testing, and individual psychotherapy.

Originally from the state of Alaska, Dr. McBride is a Licensed Psychologist has taught full time at undergraduate and graduate institutions since 2015. Dr. McBride is the Director of Clinical Training and an Associate Teaching Professor at Northern Arizona University. His predominant areas of interest concentrate on ethics, technology, generational differences, assessment, and psychotherapy. He has served as Chair of the AzPA Ethics Committee and currently volunteers for the AzPA CE Committee. Prior to his work in the field of psychology Dr. McBride spent several years as an Emergency Medical Technician on the streets of Las Vegas. His work exposed him to the pain of mental and physical trauma, substance use, grief, and self-harm. His experience in the field continues to inform his teaching and practice of therapy.

Dr. Paula McCall is an Arizona licensed psychologist and Nationally Certified School Psychologist who specializes in working with children, adolescents, and young adults in her private practice, Next Step Psychology. She is also the founder, director, and president of Semicolon Society, an Arizona nonprofit organization providing free community mental health education, events, and resources with an emphasis on suicide prevention and support. Dr. McCall is passionate about mental health education and has collaborated with multiple school districts and local agencies to build suicide risk assessment procedures as well as prevention and postvention planning. She has presented on various topics including suicide awareness, grief and loss, non-suicidal self-injury, and the impact of the pandemic on mental health for local and national programs and conferences including the American Psychological Association and the National Association of School Psychologists. Dr. McCall has also received the award for Distinguished Contribution to the Professional Practice of Psychology by the Arizona Psychological Association. Her proudest role though is that of being a mom to her two children.

Dr. Michelle Melton is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the Phoenix Metro area. She provides clinical supervision, consultation, training, and workshops.

She is experienced working in a variety of settings including private and state psychiatric hospitals, substance abuse recovery programs, community mental health settings, and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Dr. Melton provides training in the public and private sectors on mental health wellness, organizational development, and diversity education and leadership. She has been published in state and national scholarly journals. Dr. Melton’s aim is to use psychological sciences and professional knowledge to improve the condition of individuals, organizations, and communities. By enterprising diversity and inclusion, she seeks to facilitate personal transformation and institutional innovation.

Abigail Muzila is a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at Northern Arizona University and currently on her APA-accredited predoctoral internship at Southwest Behavioral and Health Services. Prior to starting her doctoral program, she was a therapist in Arizona working with adults, children, and families. Her current clinical interests include psychedelic-assisted therapies, trauma-informed substance use treatments, and the treatment of individuals with problematic and predatory sexual behaviors.

Mrs. Amy Oberg consults in cognitive psychology for individuals, businesses, counties, and schools. She is an author, speaker, teacher and loves to facilitate groups. She graduated with a Bachelor’s in Biblical Studies, a Master’s degree in Psychology and she is currently in her Ph.D. program for cognition and instruction in Psychology. Her aim is to help people become emotionally healthy and live more wholly alive. She loves spending Sunday dinner with her kids and grandkids, hanging out with friends, sitting in her camping chair, and enjoying a bit of patio time for coffee and contemplation with her husband. Unlike most people, Amy is comfortable in a room full of people she does not know, loves humans and loves to convince women they are not crazy! Through passion, audience interaction, illustrations and comedic intensity, you'll leave with tools, ready to live an abundant life in Christ.

Dr. Okvat is a clinical psychologist in private practice on Akimel O'odham land now called Mesa, AZ. She has published on the role of community psychology in climate change mitigation, as well as the role of community gardening in sowing seeds of resilience before and after disasters. Dr. Okvat earned a BA in The Mind-Body Relationship from Duke University and MA and PhD degrees in psychology from Arizona State University, where her dissertation addressed community gardening with or without mindfulness training as an approach to enhance various aspects of well-being of urban adults age 55-79.

Dr. Michael Redivo is a clinical psychologist with years of professional experience in working with children, teens, parents and families. He has served in various leadership roles ranging from academia to business ownership. Currently, he provides training and consultation to school districts and business organizations. He supervises mental health professionals, and enjoys serving as a speaker and consultant to various professional and lay groups, both locally and nationally.

Dr. Shelly Reed is a clinical psychologist and founder of Freedom Psychological Center, a growing therapy practice in the East Valley. Dr. Reed’s passion for shaping the next generation of therapists is evidenced by the supervision and mentorship of clinicians in training and her service on the governing board of the Arizona Psychology Training Consortium. Her dedication to combating human trafficking and her multifaceted approach to psychological care demonstrate her commitment to making a positive impact on individuals and society as a whole. In addition to her professional endeavors, Dr. Reed is highly involved in ministry within the church her husband pastors. Dr. Reed's dedication to both mental and spiritual health allows her to provide holistic and compassionate care to those she serves in her office, in her church, and in her community.

Gregory Shrader, Ph.D. is a teaching professor in the PsyD program at Northern Arizona University, North Valley campus in Phoenix, where he has worked since 2021. He has had the pleasure of working at all three state universities in Arizona, in various capacities since his internship in 1991-92. He additionally is a survivor of the Arizona School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University where he taught for 12.5 years before the collapse of Argosy’s nationwide system in 2019.

From his first practicum experience at the Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center in West Hollywood, CA in 1988 to his ongoing work in his private practice in Tempe, Dr. Shrader has worked extensively with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Starting his career working as a paraprofessional in community mental health, the lens of exploring how sociopolitical issues affect marginalized communities’ mental health, continues to be a starting point of evaluating those contexts’ contributions to clients’ diagnoses and treatment.

He has been a member of APA’s Division 44 (The Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity) since 1993. Since 2010, he has been a member of a subcommittee of the Education and Training committee looking at the accreditation of non-affirming religiously-based institutions, and is now the chair of that committee.

He has been a licensed psychologist in Arizona since 1993.

Dr. Larry Sideman is a Clinical Professor in the Doctor of Clinical Psychology program at Northern Arizona University. His professional experiences as a clinical psychologist have been diverse, both as an academic and clinician. Dr. Sideman is a board certified (ABPP) and licensed psychologist, a licensed professional counselor and a licensed independent substance abuse counselor. He is also certified as a Master Addiction Counselor and as a Clinical Supervisor. For almost 30 years, he has maintained a part-time, independent psychological practice where he provides psychological assessment and Fitness for Duty evaluations, individual, couples, and family psychotherapy, professional development workshops, and consultation services to community behavioral health organizations throughout Arizona and to a number of the state regulatory boards. He is a site visitor for the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Accreditation and is currently serving as a Psychologist (Academic) Member on the Arizona State Board of Psychologist Examiners. He has been a long-time member of the Arizona Psychological Association and as a past board member, served as the first Director of Clinical Training of the Arizona Psychology Training Consortium when it offered pre-doctoral internship training. He also served for 5 years on AzPA’s Ethics Committee.

Neil Stafford is a licensed psychologist working in his private practice, Desert Rain Health and Wellbeing, in the west valley of Phoenix, AZ. His practice provides individual and group therapy working across the lifespan with a focus on treating depression and anxiety. Dr. Stafford is an expert evaluator for learning disabilities and autism. He is married with 2 boys, ages 9 and 12. They are all Arizona natives living in the Litchfield Park area. Dr. Stafford has been a lifelong geek with a love for Star Trek and Dungeons and Dragons beginning in childhood. He has been an avid gamer since adolescence with his first NES. Now he enjoys sci-fi and fantasy books and shows as well as gaming with his kids and friends.

Dr. Steinman is an adjunct professor in the CSPP-Alliant International University’s Master of Science in Clinical Psychopharmacology (MSCP) program and was Program Director from 2017-2022. She served as the President of APA’s Society for Prescribing Psychology (Division 55) in 2019 and as Past President from 2020-2021.

She chairs the Division 55 Training Program Director Council and is founding chair of the Division 55 Legislative and Social Action Committee (LASAC). She is a member of numerous Councils and Committees. She co-authored the Division’s Specialty Petition to APA’s CRSPPP, allowing Clinical Psychopharmacology to be recognized as a specialty.

Dr. Steinman serves as chair of the Hawaiʻi and Florida Psychological Associations’ RxP Committees. She is actively engaged in efforts to bring prescriptive authority for qualified psychologists to Hawai`i, Florida and across the globe. She trains graduates from all of the MSCP programs for the national PEP exam.

Dr. William "Bill" Tsutsui is an award-winning historian, a passionate classroom teacher, and a seasoned academic leader with a record of innovation. Born in New York City and raised in Texas, he holds degrees from Harvard, Oxford, and Princeton. He began his academic career at the University of Kansas, where over 17 years on the faculty, he served as Acting Director of KU’s Center for East Asian Studies, Chair of the Department of History, and Associate Dean for International Studies in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. From 2010 to 2014, he was Dean of Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. From June 2014 through December 2019, he served as President of Hendrix College, a top-tier national liberal arts college founded in 1876 and located in Conway, Arkansas. In 2020-2021, he was the Edwin O. Reischauer Distinguished Visiting Professor at Harvard University.

Bill is the author or editor of eight books, including Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters (2004), which was called a “cult classic” by the New York Times. At KU, he received a 2001 Kemper Award for Teaching Excellence and won the Steeples Faculty Award for service to the people of Kansas. He has served on the NCAA D–III Presidents Council and is currently on the boards of the Association for Asian Studies, the US–Japan Council, and the Japan–US Bridging Foundation. In 2020 he was appointed a Commissioner of the Japan–US Friendship Commission and a Panelist on CULCON (the US–Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange).

He has been married for 33 years to Dr. Marjorie Swann, a professor of English at Hendrix, and they are caregivers to two cats and a dog. Bill is passionate (and opinionated) about BBQ and slightly ashamed to be level 40 on Pokémon Go.