President Elect
Michele Ribero, Ed.D.
Michele D. Ribeiro completed her BS degree from Appalachian State University in Boone, NC, her MS degree from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, IN, and her doctorate degree in counseling psychology in 2005 from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey before moving to Oregon State University (OSU) where she worked for nineteen years. Currently, she is a licensed psychologist and certified group psychotherapist at Western University of Health Sciences, COMP-NW; has a private therapy and consulting practice; and is adjunct faculty for OSU and Zanzibar University in Tanzania. Prior teaching appointments also included George Fox University where she taught a group psychotherapy course for five years in their clinical psychology PsyD program and at Good Samaritan Behavioral Health where she facilitated the group psychotherapy training group for psychiatry residents. She is a certified yoga instructor through Prashanti Kutiram in Bangalore, India; board certified in psychology; a fellow with the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Group Psychotherapy Association (AGPA); and serves on the AGPA DEI Task Force and on the Council of Representatives, which is the policy making board for the APA. She is professionally affiliated with the Society of Indian Psychologists; the Association of Black Psychologists; the National Latinx Psychological Association; APA Divisions 17 (Counseling Psychology), 45 (Psychology of Ethnicity, Race and Culture), 48 (Peace Psychology), 49 (Group Psychology and Psychotherapy), 52 (Global Psychology), and locally on the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Board for the city of Corvallis, Oregon. She was the recipient of the Mid-Career Practitioner Award through the APA, Division 29 (Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy) in 2021, and the Outstanding Contribution to Diversity through APA, Division 49, in 2020. She has (co)edited two books, The College Counseling Guide to Group Psychotherapy (2018) and Examining Social Identities and Diversity Issues in Group Therapy: Knocking at the Boundaries (2020) by Routledge Press. She also published two digital seminars through PESI, Inc. on yoga and mindfulness in clinical practice. Personally, she is married, has two adult children who are affiliated with the University of Oregon, and loves travelling, meditation, yoga, community building, and life-long learning.
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Student Representatives
Ilana Kristina Ander, MS Ed
Biography
I am a fourth-year PhD student in Counseling Psychology at Fordham University-Lincoln Center in New York City. My research focus is group complementary and integrative mental health treatments for female survivors of sexual trauma and for low-income individuals. I am currently training at the VA New York Harbor Healthcare System and working in private practice. I have also been a clinical trainee at the LIM College Counseling Center and Columbia University Irving Medical Center in an intensive outpatient group-based program called the Columbia Day Program. Prior to graduate school, I was a clinical research coordinator at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders and Complicated Grief Program. My work focused on group mindfulness interventions for anxiety. As an undergraduate, I was a research assistant for the Grady Nia Project within Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, which offers individual and group psychotherapy to female survivors of sexual trauma and suicidality. In addition to clinical work and research, I am passionate about advocacy. I spent two years as a volunteer for the mental health not for profit, Healthwise. I hold a Master of Science in Education specializing in Mental Health Counseling from Fordham University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and History from Emory University.
Kun Wang, MS
Biography
I am a 5th year Counseling Psychology doctoral candidate at the University of Iowa, where I have been engaged in psychotherapy research under the mentorship of Dr. Martin Kivlighan for the past five years. My work focuses on advancing psychotherapy training and practice, with a strong emphasis on making mental health services more accessible and effective for diverse and underrepresented communities. As a student clinician, I am deeply passionate about working with clients on issues related to identity and culture in group therapy settings. I actively seek opportunities beyond therapy sessions to broaden my understanding of group psychology and group psychotherapy to improve my practice. I was one of the inaugural mentees of Division 49’s Mentoring Institute, where I learned under the guidance of Dr. Michele Ribeiro and currently continue my mentorship with Dr. Joe Miles. These experiences have significantly deepened my knowledge of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and taught me that the journey toward social justice is about developing meaningful dialogue centering on the deconstruction of oppression. I am committed to community engagement and to using group therapy as a tool for promoting mental health equity. As a student representative for Division 49, I hope to bring my experiences and insights to further enhance inclusive and innovative group therapy practices.