Conference Speakers

Hillary is one of those folks that inherently thinks they have great ideas and solutions for people upon first encounter (Enneagram 1!). She’s ready to jump in and FIX! When she began her MI learning process, she realized just how essential MI was going to be for her energy, effectiveness, and longevity in the helping profession!

She has been a member of the Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers (MINT) since 2011. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker & Addiction Therapist and absolutely delights in helping individuals, groups, and organizations learn the essential skills of Motivational Interviewing. She has worked as a helping professional for 20 years, ranging from working in wilderness therapy to community mental health, providing in home & school based services, as a therapist with specialties including working with anxiety, trauma, addiction, and veterans.

Lindsay Bryan-Podvin, owner and founder of Mind Money Balance, is a financial therapist who started her career in the field of mental health treatment and advocacy. As the first financial therapist in Michigan, she combines financial literacy with the emotional and psychological side of money. She always had an interest in mental health and found an even greater love working at the intersection of mental health and money. Her podcast, “Mind Money Balance,” has surpassed 7,000 downloads during its 9-month lifespan. In addition to being a published author of the Plutus-nominated book “The Financial Anxiety Solution,” she has a degree in sociology from Michigan State University, and her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Michigan. She lives with her partner and their dog in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Patrick currently works as a private practice coach and strategist and private practice owner. He lives in Asheville NC with his wife Ariel and two dogs, Hudson and Hazel. He’s worked in the helping profession since 2008. In the last 12 years, he’s worked in several different arenas in community mental health. From a qualified professional to the program director, he found himself constantly being promoted to middle management roles where he was able to see both sides of the coin. It was hard watching his staff work so hard for so little while trying to appease the powers that be who typically were out of touch with day to day operations. He has worked full time as a private practice therapist for the last three years. In those three years, he’s traveled to 8 different countries, taken lots of vacations, grown his business to a point where it feels easy and routine, and has helped other therapists in the area do the same.

Dr. Joy Cox is a body justice advocate using her skill set in research and leadership to foster social change through the promotion of fat acceptance and diversity and inclusion. With 37 years living as a fat, Black cisgendered woman and 7+ years of professional experience under her belt, Dr. Cox draws on her own experiences and skill set to amplify the voices of those most marginalized in society, bringing attention to matters of intersectionality addressing race, body size, accessibility, and “health.”
Joy has been featured on several podcasts and media productions such as Food Pysch with Christy Harrison, Nalgona Positivity Pride with Gloria Lucas, Fat Women of Color with Ivy Felicia, and Huffington Post’s piece, “Everything You Know About Obesity is Wrong.” She also just authored her first book, Fat Girls in Black Bodies: Creating Communities of Our Own. She is the voice of an overcomer, looking to propel others into a place of freedom designed by their desires.

Diane Gehart, Ph.D. is a Professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling Programs at California State University, Northridge and has a private practice in Agoura Hills, California. She has authored several professional books including Mindfulness for Chocolate Lovers: A Lighthearted Way to Stress Less and Savor More Each Day, Mindfulness and Acceptance in Couple and Family Therapy Mastering Competencies in Family Therapy, Theory and Treatment Planning in Counseling and Psychotherapy. You can learn more about her at dianegehart.com; and youtube.com/c/DianeRGehartPhD.

Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div., is a forensic psychiatrist and violence expert who taught at Yale School of Medicine and Yale Law School for 17 years, was a fellow of the National Institute of Mental Health, and consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition to her clinical work in correctional and public-sector settings, she was director of research for the Center for the Study of Violence, director of Yale’s Violence and Health Study Group, and leader of an academic collaborators group for the WHO. She consulted with governments on violence prevention programming internationally and within the U.S., as well as helped with prison reform, including New York City’s once-notorious Rikers Island. She designed a popular Global Health Studies course at Yale College, which led to the textbook, Violence: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Causes, Consequences, and Cures (Wiley-Blackwell, 2019). She published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, 17 edited scholarly books and journal special issues, almost 300 op-eds in outlets such as The Guardian, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Independent, and Politico, and the New York Times bestseller, The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President (Macmillan, 2017 and 2019).

Sonya Lott has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Temple University. She has been licensed as a psychologist in PA since 1991.

Since 2020, she has been licensed to provide telepsychology in more than 16 states through the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Board’s (ASPPB) PSYPACT program.
With advanced training in Complicated Grief Therapy (CGT) from Columbia University, she maintains a private practice specializing in traumatic grief and prolonged grief disorder.

She is also the founder of CEMPSYCH, LLC, which offers continuing education in multicultural psychology to mental health professionals. CEMPSYCH, LLC is approved as a sponsor by the APA to provide continuing education to psychologists.

Dr. Jamie Marich (she/they) is a clinical trauma specialist, expressive artist, writer, yogini, performer, short filmmaker, Reiki master, TEDx speaker, and recovery advocate, she unites all of these elements in her mission to inspire healing in others. Jamie maintains a private practice and online education operations in her home base of Warren, OH. Marich is the founder of the Institute for Creative Mindfulness and the developer of the Dancing Mindfulness approach to expressive arts therapy. Marich is the author of several books, including EMDR Made Simple: 4 Approaches for Using EMDR with Every Client (2011), Trauma and the Twelve Steps: A Complete Guide for Recovery Enhancement (2012), Trauma Made Simple: Competencies in Assessment, Treatment, and Working with Survivors, and Dancing Mindfulness: A Creative Path to Healing and Transformation (2015). NALGAP: The Association of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Addiction Professionals and Their Allies awarded Jamie with their esteemed President’s Award in 2015 for her work as an LGBT advocate. The EMDR International Association (EMDRIA) granted Jamie the 2019 Advocacy in EMDR Award for her using her public platform in media and in the addiction field to advance awareness about EMDR therapy. Marich is in long-term addiction recovery and is actively living with a Dissociative Disorder.

Jacob Martinez, MA, LPC is an expert in Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT). He is an active member of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science (ACBS), and the past president of the Texas Chapter of ACBS.

Tiffany McLain, LMFT is a therapist & clinical fee strategist for therapists in private practice whose mantra is, “Full fees are the new black.” Via her program, The Lean In. MAKE BANK. Academy, she helps therapists ethically earn 30 to 50% more per month while seeing fewer clients by showing them how to think about and directly address fees in a clinically appropriate manner.

The Lean In. MAKE BANK. Academy is a program that addresses the underlying money mindset stories that keep therapists broke so they can become THAT therapist who charges premium fees, cash pay. With the LIMB 4-step framework to make BANK, regular coaching calls to help you go to the next level, a phenomenal community of funny and intelligent therapists, be ready get real raw and real rich.

Rwenshaun Miller is an accomplished author, motivational speaker, counselor, consultant and philanthropist who has dedicated his life and career to, not only reshaping the negative connotations often associated with mental health, but also directly impacting the lives of those living with mental health challenges. Of all his accolades and roles, Mr. Miller proudly first serves as a Mental Health Change Agent. As a result, Mr. Miller has globally impacted the lives of many through his awareness efforts.

Mr. Miller’s relentless passion and commitment derived from his personal experience living with Bipolar Disorder. Through his journey, Mr. Miller initially encountered similar challenges many face, including that of acceptance of a mental health diagnosis. Eventually, Mr. Miller decided to not allow this diagnosis to define and debilitate him realizing that Bipolar Disorder is not what defines who he is. Thus, he embarked on a path to help uplift, empower, encourage and teach others who live with mental health challenges how to “thrive” in life.

Laura Reagan, LCSW-C is an integrative trauma therapist and group practice owner in the Baltimore metro area. She also hosts a weekly podcast called Therapy Chat. Laura’s work has been focused in childhood abuse and trauma since she started her career in the helping professions prior to grad school, working in a Sexual Assault Crisis Center. Laura is on a mission to spread the message that trauma’s impact on individuals, families and societies is real and far-reaching, and she is committed to raising awareness of and funding for this important issue. Visit www.bahealing.com to learn more about Laura’s work.

Adriana Rodriguez (She/Her/Ella) is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, she obtained a BA in Sociology from Sacramento State and a MA in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco. Adriana is a bilingual, queer, Salvadorian immigrant woman who is passionate about destigmatizing mental health. Adriana’s lens is intersectional, she is passionate about understanding how intergenerational trauma compounded with personal trauma impacts the mental health of first-generation adult children of immigrants and QTBIPOC. Adriana works with individuals and dyads in private practice in Sacramento, CA.

Dr. Kristin Syme is a biocultural anthropologist that investigates the human universals and cultural particularities of human psychology and behavior. Her research program is driven by the core belief that in order to advance our scientific understanding of human mind and behavior, we have to look outside the confines of our culture. What is normal? What is moral? What is healthy? The answers to these questions vary across time and space. Her research focuses on how human sociality can inform our understanding of depression, suicidality, and other mental health and behavioral issues. She uses a diverse set of research methodologies including ethnographic data, comparative cross-cultural analyses, confirmatory hypothesis testing, and exploratory research methods. A key finding from this research program is that social conflict and powerlessness often go hand-in-hand with depression and suicidality.

Sonny Jane is an agender, autistic and disabled counsellor who has past and ongoing lived experience with mental illness, trauma, disability and neurodivergence. Their own lived experience and clinical experience led them to create a private peer support practice where they provide counselling and peer support that centers lived experience and addresses the stigma and oppression within therapy.

Katie Vernoy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, with a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from California State University, Fullerton and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Theater from Occidental College in Los Angeles, California.

Katie has always loved leadership and began stepping into management positions soon after gaining her license in 2005. Katie’s experience spans many leadership and management roles in the mental health field: program coordinator, director, clinical supervisor, hiring manager, recruiter, and currently as Past President of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists.

Now in business for herself, Katie provides therapy, consultation, or business strategy to support leaders, visionaries, and helping professionals in pursuing their mission to help others. Katie is also the co-founder and co-host for the Therapy Reimagined Conference and the Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide podcast. Learn more about Katie’s many pursuits at katievernoy.com.

Curt Widhalm is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist with a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Marriage & Family Therapy from Pepperdine University and a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice with an emphasis in Behavior Analysis from Saint Joseph’s University. Curt has a private practice with offices in Los Angeles and Encino, where he works with clients who have experienced trauma and with high-achieving teens and adults. He is a professor at Pepperdine University and California State University Northridge and he serves on the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) Ethics Committee. Previously, Curt has served on the CAMFT Board of Directors and as a Subject Matter Expert for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences.