CSPP Alumni, Faculty and Students Come Together to Honor Diverse Feminist Perspectives

On Saturday March 15^th 2014 our CSPP Los Angeles campus hosted a groundbreaking event in celebration of Women’s History Month, Honoring Diverse Feminist Perspectives: Journeying Together to Build Relationships and Enhance Professional Practice. The conference was a huge success in which members of all facets within the CSPP community including alumni, faculty, students and staff gathered in celebration of women’s contributions in the field of psychology.

The event began with the highly anticipated keynote speech from our honorary guest Dr. Natalie Porter whose pioneering work in the field of feminist psychology has advanced our collective understanding of feminist theory and practice.  We are extremely grateful to Dr. Porter for accepting our invitation to speak during the opening session, and for doing so with much enthusiasm. We were honored to have her as our keynote speaker.

 

 

Dr. Porter’s speech encompassed the field of feminist psychology as she discussed the history of feminist theory, which not only addressed the achievements but also the areas needing improvement. A crucial aspect of the speech was Dr. Porter’s influential discussion on where feminist psychology is today and the present social stigmas that women must continue to work against.

 

 

Dr. Porter’s keynote speech initiated the powerful and thought-provoking discussions that occurred throughout the event, especially during the Alumni Panel moderated by alumnae Dr. Susann Bauman (Clinical PhD, ’83) and Dr. Clara Farah (Clinical PhD, ’80).

 

Alumni Panel (from left to right): Dr. Marta Alquijay (Clinical PhD, ’93), Dr. Kyle Boone (Clinical PhD, ’84 and Faculty: Professor, Forensic Psychology), Dr. Rhonda Brinkley-Kennedy (Clinical PsyD, ’92 and Faculty: Interim Dean, Hufstedler School of Education), Dr. Winnie Hsieh (Clinical PsyD, ’05) and Dr. Dana Kiesel (Clinical PhD, ’90).

Relevant issues were discussed during the lunch roundtable discussions including:

• Feminist Therapy
• Balancing a Career as a Psychologist and Family
• Women’s Trauma
• Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence
• Immigrant Women
• Women in Media Psychology

“I really enjoyed being able to hear everyone at their respective levels speak and present their experiences. This brought a variety of issues that I know exist into the forefront and into the light for me. It also reenergized me to be able to approach these issues more directly.” –Student

We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge Dr. Susann Bauman and Dr. Clara Farah for their tireless work on the vision and inspiration of this conference and the generous financial support they provided to make this conference a reality.

A sincere thank you to Dr. Connell Persico whose vision and principles created a framework and a community at CSPP has fostered growth and inclusion.  His work as an administrator served students, faculty, staff and alumni which in turn positively impacted many communities, families and organizations.

We acknowledge the contribution of all our panelists and themed discussion facilitators who graciously agreed to play such an important role in this conference.

We also would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication from our two leaders: Stephanie Byers-Bell, Los Angeles Campus Director, and Michael Newman, Alumni Relations Director as well as the support we received from the California School of Professional Psychology Alumni Office; the Los Angeles Committee for Alliant’s International and Multicultural Education, Research, Intervention and Training (LA Campus I-MERIT); the National Organization of Women (NOW); the Los Angeles Women’s Club  and the American Psychological Association Divisions of Independent Practice (Division 42, which sponsored our Networking Reception), Psychology of Women (Division 35), and Clinical Psychology of Women (Section 4 of Division 12).

“Our conference seems to have been quite a success. I have seen alumni, faculty, students and staff come together to volunteer their time, ideas, resources and energy by offering a conference that would bring people together. 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a collaboration that incorporated multiple Aliant/CSPP campuses. We created an opportunity for alumni to connect who had not engaged before, and we offered learning opportunities for students. I feel rewarded and grateful to have shared this journey with each and every one of you. Thank you to everyone who participated.”

 – Stephanie Byers-Bell, Campus Director

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Our All-Star Team (from left to right): Lena Magardechian, Dr. Cristina Magalhaes, Deena Esmeirat, Rebecca Lee, Dr. Elaine Burke, Jessa Forsythe-Crane, Christine Ricohermoso

 

Congratulations to all CSPP alumni, faculty and students who attended this year’s successful conference!