Aliento Center Faculty
Miguel E. Gallardo, PsyD
Director, Aliento
Professor of Psychology
miguel.gallardo@pepperdine.edu
Dr. Gallardo is a licensed clinical psychologist, Professor of Psychology, and Director of Aliento, The Center for Latinx Communities at Pepperdine University. Dr. Gallardo has been a tenured faculty member in the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University for the past 19 years. Prior to his tenure at Pepperdine, Dr. Gallardo was on staff at the University of California, Irvine Counseling Center, where he taught courses in the Department of Social Ecology and provided direct clinical services.
Dr. Gallardo has published in the areas of multicultural psychology, Latinx psychology, ethics, evidence-based practices, cultural humility, and racial color-limited perspectives. He is currently a Series editor for Cognella Academic Press’ Advances in Culture, Race and Ethnicity book series. Dr. Gallardo also regularly discusses issues relevant to understanding how we can develop more compassionate relationships with one another on his Cultural Humility podcast.
Dr. Gallardo is past president of the California Psychological Association and past chair of the committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Gallardo was appointed by Governors Schwarzenegger and Brown to serve two consecutive terms on the California Board of Psychology, which oversees the ethical and legal mandates and requirements for all licensed psychologists in the state of California, and where he served as Vice President of the Board during his second term.
Dr. Gallardo is currently serving a 5-year appointment on the Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles (ADLA) and also serves on the Anti-Racism Task Force Education Committee for the ADLA and Anti-Racism Committee for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange. Dr. Gallardo is a Fellow of the American Psychologist Association.
Adjunct Faculty
Susana Salgado, PhD
Adjunct Faculty
susana.osalgado@gmail.com
Dra. Susana O. Salgado is a bilingual Chicana psychologist. She is the daughter of immigrants from Mexico, 1st gen professional, wife, and mother. Dra. Salgado is currently in private practice, where she provides therapy to individuals and families and offers workshops, healing circles, immigration evaluations, and consultations to organizations and professionals. She is committed to serving her community and has been practicing as a licensed psychologist for the past 18 years. She launched her private practice and consultation in 2019 and is the creator of Mind Body Corazón, a space where the complexities of our Latinidad are uplifted as we move toward reclaiming our overall wellness and reconnecting with our ancestral wisdom. Dr. Salgado's approach is holistic in nature and strives to incorporate mind, body, spirit, and corazón (heart). Her work is guided by decolonial, mujerista-liberation frameworks informed by Indigenous wisdom. Cultura and community building are at the center of her personal and professional life.
Her areas of specialty are working with BIPOC with an emphasis on Latinx communities, trauma (e.g., sexual abuse/assault, intergenerational trauma, racial trauma), motherhood/maternal mental health, life transitions, race & cultural-related matters (e.g., immigration, acculturation, reclaiming & integrating of identities), BIPOC professional identity/career related matters (e.g., burnout prevention, self-care & self-preservation and working through imposter phenomenon) and grief & loss.
Dra. Salgado is also an adjunct faculty member at Aliento, The Center for Latina/o Communities at Pepperdine University. She is committed to decolonizing our mental health practices through healing and education. She is passionate about supporting the clinical development of current and future clinicians and has been intimately involved in training and supervision with doctoral and masters level students throughout her career. Dra. Salgado has also served as president of CLPA.
Rogelio Serrano, PsyD
Adjunct Faculty
rogelio_serrano@sbcglobal.net
Dr. Rogelio Serrano is currently a Clinical Psychologist at the Federal Corrections Institute, Terminal Island, California. He holds dual licenses as a Clinical Psychologist and a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. His primary clinical work within the Federal Bureau of Prisons involves administrating psychological treatment and substance abuse recovery programs for adults in custody within the federal prison system. Within this arena, Dr. Serrano specializes in the treatment of inmates with both opioid use disorders and comorbid chronic mental health conditions. He is also a clinical supervisor in the doctoral training program within the Bureau of Prisons. This program involves the management of chronic mental illness, crisis intervention, violence and suicide prevention, anger management, substance abuse, and community reintegration. He also serves as a lead instructor for the Bureau of Prisons Evidence Recovery Team (ERT), which involves training federal law enforcement officers in processing and collecting crime scene evidence within the prison setting.
Dr. Serrano has various teaching appointments, which include Adjunct Faculty at Pepperdine
University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology as well as Part Time Lecturer
at California State University, Fullerton. In addition to his career within the Bureau
of Prisons and faculty appointments, Dr.Serrano works in private practice in southern
California, focusing on the clinical treatment of complex trauma, dual diagnosis,
health psychology with men, chronic mental illness, Latinx men, and couples therapy.
He
also provides private consultation/training for community and private organizations in the areas of clinical supervision, men’s mental health, risk management, substance abuse, criminal behavior, social justice, masculinity across the lifespan, and trauma.
Dr. Serrano has been an invited speaker at local, regional, and national forums on issues of Latinx masculinity, forensic psychology practice, domestic violence, cultural competence, risk assessment, anger management, clinical supervision/training, and play therapy. His research interests are in areas of men and masculinities, correctional psychology, cultural competence, violence prevention, domestic violence, and qualitative research methods. He identifies as a first-generation Mexican American from his indigenous family in the great state of Tlaxcala, Mexico.
Dr. Serrano currently works as a clinical psychologist for the Federal Bureau of Prisons at a maximum-security penitentiary. His primary clinical work within the federal corrections system involves psychological treatment for maximum security inmates on issues of forensic evaluations, crisis intervention, sexual assault treatment, suicide/homicide risk assessment, violence prevention, anger management, parenting, release preparation, and residential drug abuse treatment/relapse prevention.
He is also a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and concurrently works in this capacity for South Coast Behavioral Health in Orange County, California. His work as an LMFT is focused on bilingual family therapy in both community-based mental health and private practice settings with low-income families, traumatized children and adults, dual-diagnosis patients, chronically mentally ill adults, and couples.
Dr. Serrano previously served as an adjunct faculty member for Argosy University in their Masters in Counseling Psychology Program. There, he taught courses in Group Psychotherapy, Counseling and Interviewing Skills, Abnormal Behavior and Psychopathology, Practicum Supervision, Legal/Ethical Issues in Psychotherapy, and Professional Development. He is the former clinical director for Crittenton Services for Children and Families. At Crittenton, he directed clinical services for Latino/a children and adolescents in group homes under the care of the Office of Refugee and Resettlement. He is also a member of various professional organizations, including the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT), the California Latino/a Psychological Association (CLPA), the American Psychological Association (APA), the National Latino Psychological Association (NLPA), and the California Association for Play Therapy (CalAPT).
Dr. Serrano has been an invited speaker in local, regional, and national forums on issues of domestic violence, Latino mental health, anger management, play therapy, and men's masculinity in mental health. His research interests are in the area of men and masculinities, violence prevention, couples therapy, and qualitative research methods.
Adriana L. Medrano, PhD
Adjunct Faculty
adriana.medrano@pepperdine.edu
Adriana Medrano is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. She is a Xicana and Mujerista Psychologist and a Profesora. Adriana received her Western and colonial training as an undergrad at the California State University, Los Angeles, with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. Her Doctoral training was at the California School of Professional Psychology with an emphasis in Multicultural-Community Psychology.
She is a proud product of South-Central Los Angeles, and is guided by her community’s teachings and strength. Her approaches include Mujerista and Counter-Colonial Psychology, and her work centers on the healing, liberation, and reclaiming of ancestral practices within Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color. She owns a private practice that focuses on supporting Black, Indigenous and Women, Femmes, Queer folks of color. She is also the co-creator of a nonprofit, Roots of South LA, which focuses on BIPOC mental health utilizing community care and somatic and abolitionist approaches.
In addition to Aliento, Adriana is also an Adjunct Professor at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. Between both, she teaches Personal and Professional Development, Preparation for Practicum, Bilingual Practicum, Lifespan Development, and Multicultural Counseling. She is the recipient of the 2023 National Latinx Psychological Association’s Decolonizing Latinx Psychology Professional Recognition Award and serves as an ad hoc Peer Reviewer for the Journal of Latinx Psychology. You can learn more about Adriana Medroano and her work at: https://adrianalmedrano.com/
Josué Guadarrama, PhD
Adjunct Faculty
josue.guadarrama@pepperdine.edu
Josué Guadarrama holds a PhD in Counseling Psychology from Washington State University (WSU). He received his B.A. in Interpersonal Communication with a minor in Psychology from Cal State Fullerton, and his Masters in Counseling Psychology from. He conducted research at Oklahoma State University (OSU) and at the University of Michigan (UM).
Josué has delivered counseling services to students at WSU, the University of Idaho (UofI), and Gonzaga University (GU). Presently, he serves as an adjunct professor of Clinical Psychology at Pepperdine University within the Aliento Program, which is grounded on Liberation Psychology principles. Alongside his academic role, Josué practices as a psychologist at Navarro’s Psychological, where he provides individual therapy to trauma survivors and victims of crime.
In addition, Dr. Guadarrama conducts psychological evaluations for individuals navigating immigration proceedings. His theoretical orientation is integrative, combining interpersonal process frameworks with Cognitive Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Motivational Interviewing (MI), all centered on a strong therapeutic alliance. He also incorporates a multicultural lens to help clients live in alignment with their values. His approach is delivered through a warm, holistic, and collaborative therapeutic environment that fosters empowerment and growth.
Josué volunteers for the Diocese of Orange and provides specialized wellbeing courses designed for low-income Spanish-speaking working adults. Outside of his professional pursuits, Josué finds joy in traveling, cultivating friendships, and empowering others to achieve their fullest potential. He firmly believes in the interconnectedness of humanity and the collective construction of our shared destiny.
Connie Morlett Madison
Adjunct Faculty
conniemorlett@gmail.com
Connie Morlett Madison is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, (State of California, Board of Behavioral Sciences, LMFT # 88711). Connie is a native Spanish speaker, Clinical Supervisor and Public Speaker based in Claremont, California. She holds degrees in Business Administration, and a Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology. She owns a private practice working under the framework of Liberation Psychologies that focuses on reclaiming one’s lived experiences, stories, resilience, and female affirmative liberation or mujerismo to lift one’s culture, psyche, self, and community towards fairness, equality, and justice. She specializes in couples counseling, trauma-informed transformative group therapy, recovery from disordered eating, and Military Family Life Counseling for service members and veterans.
In training the next generation of psychotherapists, Connie provides culturally focused clinical supervision and training as a Certified Clinical Supervisor from the California Marriage and Family Therapist Association (CAMFT). She is an adjunct professor and currently teaches at Aliento, The Center for Latina/o Communities at Pepperdine University's Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP). Here, the focus is on cultural and linguistic responsiveness to promote inclusivity, activismo and awareness towards deconstructing oppression, sexism, racism and discrimination through mental health access and community-based acompañamiento.
Continuing her dedication to supporting mental health for all, Connie subscribes and supports Artivismo (music, dance, art, film) by integrating, guest speaking or consulting on mental health mediums created by indigenous, international and local artists. She also hosts a professional group designed to give an affirming space for women in the healing arts seeking professional community. In these roles, Connie aims to generate opportunities for multicultural clinical therapists, students, associates and newly licensed clinicians to launch their clinical careers and serve the needs of our diverse communities.
Dawn-Marie Luna
Adjunct Faculty
Dawn-Marie Luna is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT #131283) and an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University, where she teaches in the Aliento program, specializing in liberation psychology and culturally responsive clinical practice. Her work focuses on providing mental health care to underserved communities, with an emphasis on affective neuroscience, early childhood mental health, and social-emotional learning. With extensive experience in direct client care, clinical supervision, and research, Dawn-Marie integrates trauma-informed and attachment-based therapeutic modalities, including Brainspotting and Child-Parent Psychotherapy. She is passionate about training the next generation of mental health professionals through a social justice-oriented lens, ensuring equitable and community-centered approaches to therapy. Dawn-Marie is bilingual in Spanish and committed to fostering inclusive, healing-centered spaces for individuals, families, and communities.
Aliento would like to recognize and honor the invaluable contributions of the following professionals, whose dedication has greatly enriched this program and the overall education of our students.
Tomas Martinez, PhD
Professor of Psychology
Dr. Tomas Martinez was born in the San Gabriel Valley. He earned his Ph.D. in 1979,
in the field of community/clinical psychology, from the University of Michigan. Since
then, Dr. Martinez has served as a professor of psychology with the Graduate School
of Education and Psychology and Seaver College at Pepperdine University in Malibu,
California.
Dr. Martinez is responsible for developing the first crisis services program in the San Fernando Valley in 1982 targeted to the Latina/o community, Manos De Esperanza, as part of the San Fernando Community Mental Health Centers, Inc. Dr. Martinez is also a consulting psychologist, and past executive director to El Centro de Amistad, Inc., a nonprofit, community-based organization servicing the poor. As a contract agency with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Services, this program was the first to provide Latina/o mental health services to older adults, children, and their families in the San Fernando Valley. Since then, over 200 Latina/o therapists have been trained as clinical therapists. El Centro De Amistad, Inc. will serve as the prototype for the entire Los Angeles County DMH UREP (Department of Mental Health Under-represented Ethnic Populations) funding for Latina/o service.
His research and professional consultation interests include developing and analyzing human service delivery systems and social systems with a focus on family crisis intervention and Latina/o cultural and psychological community dynamics. For example, Dr. Martinez recently completed a one-year review of LA Bridges. The LA Bridges program was funded by the City of Los Angeles, Community Development Department. This program began in 1996 at the Robert Fulton Middle School in Van Nuys, California. This program was one of 20 funded at the time. This program provided youth development services to promote personal and social development. These developmental services include after-school activities, sports and recreation, school support, tutorial services, enrichment activities, and citizenship development such as conflict resolution, to 150 youth and their families residing in the school target area. In addition, a staff of professionals (LMFT) and paraprofessional LMFT counselor-trainees provide individual and family therapy. This program was designed and targeted for the highest at-risk children and their families. Psycho-educational program services are provided to the parents. These activities include workshops, skill-based learning, ESL, health education, computer training, and employment referral. All services had been provided on-site or through outreach efforts to the homes. Dr. Martinez's study showed evidence of the benefits of this type of intervention with at-risk youth.
In another research project, Dr. Martinez developed a literacy learning center that provided an intervention for Latina/o immigrant (30) students, particularly to those with low oral expression and language comprehension. This after-school program had an educational environment that was flexible and sensitive to each student's distinct needs and not confined to a particular curriculum. The instruction was bilingual (in Spanish and English), and there is an integrated approach to learning. There was also assimilation of information in a non-threatening, fun environment, where familial and cultural traditions are embraced and communal-parental relationships are strengthened.
The research study evaluated the effectiveness of the learning center on English-language proficiency for LEP (limited English proficiency) students, who are native Spanish speakers in the 1st-4th grades. The research also examined the relationship between family, school, and the learning center on English-language proficiency. It was hypothesized that the learning center, designed specifically for native Spanish-speakers, will contribute to improved overall English-language proficiency for LEP students who attend. The findings proved true in that these students raised their language comprehension by a few grade levels within three months of program participation. Research on both areas was conducted by GSEP graduate students and presented at the Western Psychological Association conventions. He is currently seeking publication of these projects.
Dr. Martinez specializes in the areas of Latina/o mental health, cross-cultural psychology, family violence, child and elder abuse and neglect, and juvenile delinquency. He is the author and presenter of many published articles in his related fields. Dr. Martinez's courses include: Cross-Cultural Psychology; Latino Society and Psychology; Clinical Practicum; and Abnormal Psychology, Social Psychology, and Industrial/Organizational Psychology.
Michelle Castillo
Adjunct Faculty
Michelle Castillo is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She received her Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology, with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pepperdine University. Her clinical and research interests include multiculturalism, intergenerational and complex trauma, acculturation and immigration issues, and Latino/a psychology. Michelle has an interest in culturally sensitive, trauma-based treatments and multicultural competency. Furthermore, Michelle has an interest in the advancement and development of clinicians, who have an interest in providing individualized and culturally sensitive practices. Her expertise includes working with complex trauma in underserved and marginalized populations, specifically with at-risk youth and Latina/o populations. Michelle has an interest in providing trauma-based therapies, including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR.) Michelle has extensive experience working with underserved populations in a variety of settings, including community clinics, schools, and hospitals. Additionally, Michelle has experience in providing clinical supervision to Master's level interns who are developing their clinical and professional skills. Michelle is currently providing therapy to individuals and families in her private practice, through which she continues pursuing her passion for providing compassionate, empowering, and transformational care. Additionally, she is providing clinical supervision through community-based mental health sites that are in collaboration with Aliento. Michelle continues fostering her passion to empower the Latinx communities from within by providing supportive and nurturing direct care to clients while also fostering growth and strength for future Latinx clinicians.
Sofia Alonso Baez
Adjunct Faculty
Sofia has a License as a Social Psychologist and a Specialization in Education from Mexico City. Sofia was part of the first cohort of Marriage and Family Therapists with a Master's Degree of Arts in Clinical Psychology, emphasizing Marriage and Family Therapy with Latinx Communities. Currently, Sofia enjoys teaching in the program, where the main focus is to provide the students with the tools and awareness to work as the best providers.
Sofia maintains a private practice in Orange County, California, where she helps individuals improve their lives through various approaches, including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT).
Her areas of expertise include working with different ethnicities, particularly with Latinx families that face the outcomes of trauma, discrimination, and depression. Sofia has been focusing on working with high-risk patients, such as those with severe trauma, complex mental health conditions, or significant life challenges involving kids, adults, and elders.
Sofia's commitment to human rights is unwavering. She has extensive experience working and supporting LGBT communities in the USA and Mexico. Her belief in respect for all is not just a professional value but a personal one, and she sees it as a crucial part of maintaining peace in our world.
Sofia is from Mexico City, where she obtained experience working in marginalized areas, including schools, hospitals, and in her private practice. Sofia still provides virtual therapy to all of Mexico, focusing on improving the mental health of different populations.
Sofia's research interests are about the neuroscience of the brain and its relationship with the mind and body, a field that she believes holds one of the keys to understanding and improving mental health.
Dr. Carrie Castañeda-Sound
Professor of Psychology
Dr. Castañeda-Sound received her doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Utah, with an emphasis in therapy with children and families. She came to Pepperdine University after five years as a faculty member at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas. She was a licensed psychologist in Texas and worked with Latino couples and families in a community-based clinic in a low-income area of San Antonio, Texas. Her teaching and research interests include multicultural counseling, Chicano/Latino psychology, and qualitative research methods.
She has co-authored book chapters about qualitative research and has been a visiting faculty member about this topic at the Universidad del Valle in Guatemala. Her previous research projects were on the gendered experience of language brokering in Mexican immigrant families, the experiences of women of color in graduate school, and the experiences of Latino college students at a Hispanic-serving institution. Her current research projects include qualitative studies of the impact of cultural immersion courses on multicultural competency development; the training needs of Spanish-speaking therapists; and the impact of immigration on individuals and families. Dr. Castañeda-Sound focuses on areas of strength and resiliency, the intersections of identity (gender, ethnic, racial, and sexual), and constructivist approaches to research.
Raquel Tovar Goodwin, LMFT
Adjunct Faculty
Raquel is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology from Pepperdine University. After obtaining her graduate degree, she participated in co-creating the Aliento research lab Iluminar with Dr. Miguel Gallardo. She continues to maintain a research interest in Mexican/Mexican American communities and evaluating both national and international perspectives for treatment approaches. Raquel began co-teaching in the Aliento program with Dr. Gallardo who significantly influenced her philosophy on education and mentored her pedagogical skills.
Her clinical work is a strength-based integrative approach which attends to the unique diversity of individuals and the sociocultural context in which one lives. Raquel utilizes a number of different approaches based on culturally informed evidence-based practice. Her experience is in a variety of settings; including prevention for at-risk youth, school counseling, and community-based mental health clinics. Her focus is on working with underserved Latina/o children, adolescents, and families experiencing multiculturalism concerns. She primarily works with clients who endure anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, and loss, and struggle with adjustment issues, behavioral problems, and parent-child conflicts.
Raquel has an interest in the development and implementation of culture-centered practices among service providers in training. She also maintains a commitment to attend to the multicultural issues facing Latina/o caregivers in the workplace. Through her extensive work with Latino families, she identified a need to deliver culturally responsive mental health services in the workplace, specifically fathers. Therefore, she is currently developing a consultation practice where employers will have the opportunity to provide culturally responsive therapy services to their Latino employees and to help decrease the stigma on mental health in professional settings.
Amy Tuttle, Ph.D., LMFT
Associate Professor of Psychology
Dr. Tuttle is a licensed marriage and family therapist and an AAMFT Approved Supervisor.
She currently serves as the chair of the Early Career Membership Committee for the
American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA) and is on the board of directors. Her clinical,
research, teaching, and supervision interests include multicultural and diversity
issues, postmodern and contemporary family therapy theories, intergenerational experiences
of race-related trauma, family and play therapy, and working with marginalized, multi-stressed
communities/populations. She is currently working on the Family Legacy Project, an
ongoing research study examining relational and interactional processes around issues
of trauma and resilience. Dr. Tuttle provides clinical supervision and maintains a
clinical practice serving marginalized youth and their families. She co-authored Theory
Based Treatment Planning for Marriage and Family Therapists (2003) and published research
on children and families in child protective services, recovery from sexual violence,
the larger social context, and relational orientations, and parenting as a relationship.
Teresa Celada, Ph.D.
Adjunct Faculty
Dr. Celada is a licensed clinical psychologist and received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Children and Families from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at USC University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) at Children's Hospital Los Angeles where she specialized in childhood trauma. Currently, Dr. Celada is a staff psychologist at Children's Hospital Los Angeles UCEDD - Project Heal Trauma program where she provides supervision to pre and postdoctoral Psychology trainees and culturally sensitive trauma-based treatment and assessment to multicultural children, adolescents, and families. Dr. Celada is competent in providing services in Spanish and so has extensive experience working with the Latino community in a variety of settings such as schools, community mental health centers, shelters, and hospitals. In addition to her clinical experience, Dr. Celada has engaged in community outreach, program development, professional staff trainings, advocacy, and interdisciplinary consultations. Dr. Celada has also presented in conferences and forums where topics related to the mental health of immigrant Latino families and underserved communities have been discussed such as domestic violence, child abuse prevention, developmental disabilities, immigration trauma, needs of foster care youth and vicarious trauma. Her areas of clinical and scholarly interest include multigenerational trauma among immigrants, the impact of acculturative stress on Latino family dynamics and the promotion of resiliency in underserved communities. Dr. Celada is a firm believer in the value education and systemic collaboration has on the growth of individuals and communities. She is committed to the use of a strength-based approach in her professional work as well as an appreciation for culture and individual differences. Dr. Celada is a member of the California Psychological Association, California Latino Psychological Association, and American Psychological Association Division 37 Society for Child & Family Policy & Practice-The Section on Child Maltreatment.
Melvin Navarro, Ph.D.
Adjunct Faculty
Dr. Melvin Navarro is a licensed clinical psychologist and licensed marriage and family therapist. Dr. Navarro currently works as a clinical supervisor for the Orange County Health Care Agency, Children and Youth Services - Youth Reporting Centers in Santa Ana and Anaheim, CA. He supervises ten CAPIC psychology interns who provide individual, family, and group therapy to primarily Latino youth in the Orange County Probation system. He has also worked for the Orange County Superior Court as a court mediator; Health Care Agency clinical psychologist providing forensic evaluations for criminal domestic violence cases, and Orange County Adult and Children Community Mental Health Clinics. Dr. Navarro has also been a visiting professor at the Institute of Pastoral Ministry of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, teaching courses on child abuse, domestic violence, parenting, and acculturation stress of Latino immigrants.
Dr. Navarro also maintains an independent practice in which he specializes in providing extreme hardship psychological evaluations for immigration cases and victims of crime. He has been an invited speaker in local and regional forums on issues of domestic violence, child abuse, parenting, Latino mental health, and acculturation stress of Latino immigrants. His research interests are in the area of acculturation stress, domestic violence, youth violence prevention, and forensic evaluations. Dr. Navarro is a member of the California Psychological Association (CPA), and a Member-at-Large in the Board of Directors with the California Latino Psychological Association (CLPA).
Sula Goldenberg, LMFT
Adjunct Faculty
Sula is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology. She maintains a private practice in Tustin, California, where she helps individuals manage adjustment and mood disorders through various modalities of therapies, including psychodynamic and mindfulness-based therapies. Through play, she helps children process and heal from trauma. Her areas of expertise include work with immigrant Latino families negotiating the gap between parents and their children as they face acculturative stressors.
She is also adjunct faculty at Santiago Canyon College and currently teaches Human Development. In the past, she has taught bilingual Observation and Assessment classes for early childhood educators at Santa Ana College.
Sula's commitment to education began after earning her Bachelor's Degree in Health Science and working as a community health educator. Her experiences in working with the indigent Latino population in community-based organizations fueled her desire to pursue a career in family therapy as she realized the need for culturally-attuned mental health services.
Sula's areas of interest include program development and support and implementation of culturally-informed interventions. She is chair of the California Latino Psychological Association (CLPA) Cultural Connection group, a group she created with the purpose of fostering mutual connection and growth among clinicians interested in learning, mentoring and implementing culturally-attuned skills for working with the Latino community. She also offers professional training and workshops with a focus on culturally-diverse communities, on topics such as stress management, mental health issues as they apply to Latinos, and parenting. In the past, she has written columns and published articles pertaining to mental health issues in Familia Latina magazine and Excelsior newspaper.
She likes to support and mentor others on their professional journey. She served on the Board of Directors of the Orange County Chapter of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (OCCAMFT) and offers training for interns on how to build a private practice.
Sula was born in Lima, Peru and is completely fluent in Spanish. She likes spending time with her family, working on her professional development and deepening her spiritual journey.
Julio Edward Celada Gonzalez
Adjunct Faculty
Julio E. Celada González was born in Lima-Perú. He is a Physician-Surgeon with specialties in Psychiatry and Rehabilitation from the Federico Villarreal National University of Lima, Peru, and Psychology from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos de Lima. He also completed a Master's degree in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Doctoral studies in Psychiatry at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. In Peru, he worked as a Physician and Psychologist at the Neuropsychology Center of the Edgardo Rebagliati Martins Hospital, in the Psychological Services Community Center of the Universidad Nacional Mayor of San Marcos and was a pioneer in the development of a mental health outreach project for underserved communities in Lima called "Centros de Salud Mental Comunitarios". He was also a professor at the University of San Marcos, San Martin de Porres University and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega University, as well as Dean of the Board of Psychologists of Peru. Dr. Celada and his family migrated to Madrid, Spain in the early 90s and there he was responsible for the Eating Disorders Unit of the Esquerdo Hospital, Board member of AETCA (Spanish Association of Studies in Eating Disorders), and Clinical advisor of ADANER (Spanish Association Against Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa). Dr. Celada has also been the author of 7 books in Perú and Spain. In the early 2000s, Dr. Celada and his family migrated to the United States and since 2005 to the present, Dr. Celada has been working as a Mental Health Services Coordinator at the Department of Mental Health in Los Angeles County where he developed and coordinates the Support Groups in Spanish and Latino Community Outreach Program targeting Latinx community members. In addition, he has served as a NAMI "National Alliance Against Mental Illness" teacher, co-editor and director of the newsletter "Mental Health and Wellbeing" and consultant to community projects that use art, theatre and music to mobilize a sense of well-being. Throughout his career, Dr. Celada has been working towards removing the barriers underserved Latinx communities experience accessing culturally competent mental health services while honoring the strengths individuals and groups have within a community. Dr. Celada has received recognition from the communities he serves, from the Department of Mental Health, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and the California State Legislative Assembly. Lastly, Dr. Celada identifies with the principles of human solidarity and social justice. He is an advocate of community mental health services, resiliency, empowerment, and culturally sensitive services. He writes opinion articles, participates in academic events, provides training and collaborates with national and international community mental health projects in Peru and Spain.
Danusia Nedilskyj
Adjunct Faculty
Dr. Nedilskyj is a bilingual, licensed clinical psychologist. She completed her doctoral studies at Loma Linda University and completed both her APA Accredited Internship and APA Accredited Fellowship at USC University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). In addition to her Adjunct position at Pepperdine University, Dr. Nedilskyj also maintains an independent private practice and supervises Masters' level and Doctoral level practicum students at Casa de La Familia, a non-profit community mental health clinic in Santa Ana.
Her formal training consisted of working primarily with the adolescent population, as she provided services to the Adolescent Medicine department of CHLA. Within this department, Dr. Nedilskyj developed a working passion for providing services to transgender youth, particularly those who were at the beginning stages of their transition. Further, Dr. Nedilskyj gained particular expertise in providing comprehensive psychological assessments to children and adolescents, which would help facilitate clarification of mental health treatment goals as well as connecting youth to other services they may benefit from.
Dr. Nedilskyj's past research has focused on emotional and neuropsychological outcomes of pediatric populations including traumatic brain injury survivors, heart transplant recipients, and young children struggling with obesity, as well as research studying the emotional experiences of transgender youth. She has presented at numerous national and local conferences including Pediatric Academic Society, Gender Spectrum, American Public Health Association, and the Latino Behavioral Health Institute. She maintains an interest in transgender mental health, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and trauma caused by factors such as immigration, oppression, discrimination, and acculturation.
Dr. Nedilskyj has been an Aliento adjunct professor for the past three years and teaches PSY 675, Assessment of Individuals, Couples, and Families with a Latinx Emphasis. She also provides bilingual supervision to practicum students accruing their MFT hours. Her bilingual and bicultural skills have helped her become a competent professional in working with the Latino population across an array of settings including hospitals, community mental health clinics, university counseling centers, and in her own private practice.
Dr. Nedilskyj is a travel enthusiast, loves exploring new countries, cultures, and food, and loves to practice yoga. Her roots are grounded in Colombian, Argentine, and Ukrainian descent.