Doris Bersing, Ph.D. - Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Bersing received her doctorate from L'Universite de Toulouse-Mirail in France. She is a clinical psychologist who teaches and serves clients using an existential-humanistic approach. Dr. Bersing has taught and led therapeutic groups and academic circles in Europe, South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and now in the United States.

As women's advocate and mental health provider for community based programs and clinics in different countries - especially for clients presenting gender, cross-cultural and mental health issues - Dr. Bersing coordinates the Marriage and Family Therapy at Saybrook Graduate School, where she also teaches courses on Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology. She is an adjunct faculty member in various Bay Area graduate schools. She teaches currently on the topics of Feminist Psychology, Cross-cultural psychology, Gerontology, Psychopathology, and Professional Ethics.

She is the author of "Self-Esteem for Women: Utopia or Truth in the New Age" (1995) and "Living: A Fragile Equilibrium. A Theoretical Approach in Gestalt Therapy and Personalization." With her 30 years of counseling and teaching experience she continues her work of empowering people by helping them unfold their own potential. As Pacific Institute Chief Executive Officer, her most recent project involves building a living retirement community for the LGBT population called Rainbow Villages and further research in the overlapping of feminism and Ageism in our society. She is working on a book called From Crone to Mentor. Still an opportunity for change.

Scott M. Bruner - Director of Development
Scott has been raising both money and awareness for political and social causes for nearly 10 years. Scott has a degree in media study, and an eclectic background working in non-profit development. Whether covering the homeless crisis as a daily reporter, volunteering for City campaigns or serving as the fundraising director of a national non-profit, Scott's passion is identifying the best approaches for social progress. He has volunteered both locally and overseas, and has helped organizations reach their full potential through securing the funding that is so essential to non-profit work.

As Director of Development for Pacific Institute, Scott will continue to build the Institute's presence, its ability to effect real change, and to provide the necessary means for the programs that implement the Institute's unique approach of raising awareness for people who care.

He has lived in San Francisco for 12 years and remains inspired by the City's diverse population and it's commitment to being the vanguard for progressive social change.

Flora Cortez - Development Assistant
Flora currently attends San Francisco State University, majoring in Technical & Professional Writing with an emphasis in Urban Studies. Motivated by a passion to work in the nonprofit sector, Flora found her way to Pacific Institute where she currently serves as the Development Assistant. She began working at Pacific Institute in Summer of 2007, where she is gaining experience in nonprofit development. Flora was born in the Philippines, and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 20 years.

Rochelle D'Silva, M.A, MFTI; Clinical Coordinator & Academic Liaison
Rochelle holds a M.A degree in Integral Counseling Psycholog from the California Institute of Integral Studies, where she also pursues a Ph.D in East and West Psychology, presently. She has lived in San Francisco for 6 years, before which she lived in India and the United Arab Emirates. Being exposed to several cultures and ethnicities, Rochelle has enormous experince working with diverse populations and minorities. She finished her internship at Pacific Institute and is also pursuing her Marraige and Family Therpaist liscence in the state of California. Rochelle is dedicated towards integrating western psychology and eastern spiritualy within the realms of her psychotherapy practice with the elderly. Currently, Rochelle is in charge of the clinical coordination of the Internship and training programs at pacific Institute and support clinical activities at ther Pacific Institute Agesong Senior Communities.

Deidre Estey, M.A, MFCC - Clinical Supervisor
Deidre Estey, MFT is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She holds an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the Professional School of Psychology, a Diploma in Psychodynamic and Pastoral Counseling from the Westminster Foundation, London, and an International Montessori Teaching Crediential.

Deidre has served as a therapist with San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention Center,Clement Street Counseling Center , Visiting Nurses and Coming Home Hospice, Catholic Charities Children's & Family Services. In London, Deidre studied and worked with Anna Freud at the Hampstead Child Therapy Clinic Nursery School.

Currently Deidre is working with Parents Place-Jewish Family & Childrens' ! Services and supervising and teaching SandPlay Therapy to graduate students at the Pacific Institute, San Francisco.

Aurora Pan - Human Resources Director
Aurora immigrated to the U.S. forty years ago and began working in Labor Relations for AT&T, at that time one of the largest companies in the world. She stayed in Human Resources through the early parts of her career, moving from AT&T to Wang Laboratories. In a mid-career move, Aurora became a civil servant and ran the precinct side of elections for over seven years with the City and County of San Francisco. She retired from the city to help raise her then fourteen year old nephew. At the guardian point of her life, she was called through personal and professional reasons into the world of long term care. Learning through working in the Community Relations area, Aurora found that she could meld her two loves, working with people, and working with seniors, When she came to Pacific Institute, Aurora found her place in working once again in Human Resources for Hayes Valley Care and Laguna Grove Care -two of the AgeSong senior communities, while interacting daily with the seniors she'd come to love and has now become.

Kirk Schneider, Ph.D., President, Existential Humanistic Institute (EHI)
Kirk J. Schneider, Ph.D., current EHI president, is a licensed psychologist and leading spokesperson for contemporary humanistic psychology. He is an adjunct faculty member at Saybrook Graduate School and the California Institute of Integral Studies and is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Schneider is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, the Review of Existential Psychiatry and Psychology, Person-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapies, the Society for Laingian Studies, and the Psychotherapy Patient. He is also a founding member of EHI.

Dr. Schneider has published over 60 articles and chapters and has authored/edited five books-The Paradoxical Self: Toward an Understanding of Our Contradictory Nature (Plenum, 1990; Humanity Books, 1999, paperback); Horror and the Holy: Wisdom-teachings of the Monster Tale (Open Court, 1993); The Psychology of Existence: An Integrative, Clinical Perspective (co-authored with Rollo May, McGraw-Hill, 1995), The Handbook of Humanistic Psychology: Leading Edges in Theory, Research, and Practice, with James Bugental and Fraser Pierson (2001, Sage Publishing Co., published in paperback in 2002), and The Fluid Center: A Rediscovery of Awe in Self and Spirit (forthcoming, Spring, 2004, Paragon House).

In March 1998, Dr. Schneider wrote the lead article in the American Psychologist entitled, "Toward a Science of the Heart: Romanticism and the Revival of Psychology," and he has recently completed the chapter on Existential-Humanistic psychotherapy in the second edition of A. Gurman and S. Messer's Essential Psychotherapies (Guilford, 2003). Dr. Schneider has been listed in Marquis "Who's Who in America" for 2003, and has been elected to receive (in 2004) the Rollo May award for "outstanding and independent pursuit of new frontiers in humanistic psychology" from the Division of Humanistic Psychology of the American Psychological Association.

Rachel Schochet, Ph.D - Clinical Supervisor
Dr. Schochet has been in private practice for over twenty years and have held a variety of part-time positions through the years. her training has been broad and diverse from psychosintesis and Gestalt and training at Esalen in the 1970's to her doctoral program at the psychodynamically oriented Wright Institute in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now, her favorite time in her work is spent helping people to find their own ways of knowing what is right, trusting their intuition, catalyzing their natural creativity. Now, she enjoys working in our senior communities and the opportunity to be part of a program designed to impact healthy aging in individuals and society and being able to make a contribution to the students' development.

Carey Shaffer, Psy.D
Dr. Carey Shaffer received her Psy.D. from the California School of Professional Psychology- Alameda, where she specialized in feminist and forensic psychology. She has worked as a psychologist in women's correctional facilities, outpatient clinics and private practice. Currently, she is the Clinical Director for an adolescent crisis center, where she supervises clinicians who are preparing for licensure. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Shaffer has a strong interest in mindfulness meditation, utilizing presence and compassion to connect with her clients and supervisees. She is actively involved in volunteerism and can often be spotted backpacking around California.

Nader Robert Shabahangi, Ph.D., Clinical Supervisor
Nader R. Shabahangi, Ph.D., received his doctorate from Stanford University and is a licensed psychotherapist. His multicultural background has made him an advocate for different marginalized groups of society throughout his adult life. In the 1980's he worked with abused children and teenagers and led anticipatory bereavement groups for Coming Home Hospice. In 1992 he founded the non-profit organization Pacific Institute with the purpose of training psychotherapists in a multicultural, humanistic approach to counseling and to provide affordable therapy services to the many diverse groups living in San Francisco. In 1994, noticing the often inhumane treatment of the elderly living in institutions, he started to develop an innovative Gerontological Wellness Program in order to provide emotional support and mental health care services for the elderly. In 1997, together with his two brothers, Nader opened a residential care home for the elderly in San Francisco called Hayes Valley Care, where he could along with the Pacific institute Internship team implement the Gerontological Wellness Program.

Nader continues to create programs with the purpose of caring more comprehensively for the elderly. In 2002 he helped found Pacific Institute Europe in Warsaw, Poland, in order to bring gerontological and comprehensive care services to the European continent. He was also inspired to explore new ideas for community living and began design of a 'village' concept for older adults he calls 'Elders Academy'. In 2003 he co-founded Elders Academy Press, a publishing program of Pacific Institute and Pacific Institute Europe, specifically dedicated to promoting writings of and for elders.

At the same time Nader also began a program of conflict resolution between Russians, Germans and Poles. Last year - combining his passion for the elderly with his love for photography and philosophy - Nader wrote Faces of Aging as a tribute and celebration of being an elder. He continues this exploration through teaching 'eldership' workshops in Europe. These meetings explore the difference between getting 'old' and growing into the role of an elder and have the purpose of preparing us for old age and eldership. he continues his work by training interns and supervisors in a humanistic-existential approach to psychotherapy and living.

Bogna Szymkiewicz-Kowalska , Ph.D., Pacific Institute Europe

Dr. Szymkiewicz-Kowalska is a psychologist and psychotherapist who has been teaching for over twenty years at the University of Warsaw. She holds a Diploma in Process Work from Zurich, works with clients in private practice, teaches process work and facilitates groups for both the business and therapy community. Dr. Szymkiewicz-Kowalska is a regular visiting professor of Pacific Institute and in that capacity collaborates in research projects, public programs, seminars, courses and training supervision. She is the mother of Julia and Paulina, two beautiful 13 year old twins.

Ede Thomsen, Ph.D
Born and raised in Iowa, Ede is a licensed clinical Psychologist. She moved to San Francisco 15 years ago to pursue a master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of San Francisco. She obtained her doctorate degree from the Center for Psychological Studies. She specializes in testing/assessment, geropsychology, and child psychology. Ede trained at BAPTA (Bay Area Psychological Testing Associates), the Institute on Aging, and West Coast Children's Clinic. She also has extensive experience working the individuals with Developmental Disabilities. She has a private practice in San Francisco dedicated to testing/assessment. She was drawn to the Pacific Institute because of their philosophy of honoring and enriching the lives of the elderly.

Nina-Anin-Utigaard, MFT; REAT - Clinical Director
Nina iAnini Utigaard, MFT, REAT, was one of the Founding Executive Co-Chairs of the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association (IEATA) and is currently Co-Chair for the Professional Standards Committee with IEATA. She was a faculty member of the Person-Centered Expressive Therapy Institute for 10 years and has a private practice in San Francisco, California, as a Marriage Family Therapist and Expressive Arts Therapist. She works with adults, children, families, couples, adolescents and groups blending the creative process with the clinical to provide a multi-layered therapeutic experience.

She has used creativity to promote health and wellness in clinics, adolescent treatment centers, schools, residential settings and following community crisis and disaster. She is currently working on a book about her experience working with teens using the arts, and has had several articles published regarding her work with expressive arts. She believes that singing, movement and the arts can improve the quality of life for all, especially for elders who allows them another language to communicate to others.

Heidi McKenzie, PsyD; MFT - Clinical Supervisor
Heidi McKenzie, PsyD; MFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist. She holds a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology from Duquesne University a MA and a PsyD in Clinical Psychology from The Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. She is also a Certified Addictions Specialist, a Certified Forensic Counselor, and a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. Heidi's work background includes over 15 years of serving in both clinical and administrative capacities for the underserved/underprivileged, particularly in the area of chemical dependency rehabilitation. She has served as the Clinical Director for numerous programs, including a 130-bed residential treatment program for men in Oakland, a multi-site perinatal substance abuse program for women and their children in San Diego, a 60-bed adolescent program in New York City, and a large, urban adolescent outpatient program serving over 1500 adolescents a year. Heidi has also served as a therapist with a neurobehavioral rehabilitation program for adults with neurological and psychiatric disorders and is currently conducting research on neurocognitive impairment in reward-related decision-making.

She is the author of several published papers and has lectured and conducted many workshops on the topic of substance abuse across the United States. In 2003, she was awarded the National Social Services Award for Excellence in Program Development. Theoretically, Heidi's integrative orientation is anchored by her early training as a humanistic/Gestalt therapist. She believes that change best occurs in an atmosphere that nurtures people's ability to actively create their own lives and that all behavior is an effort toward growth. Currently, Heidi served as the Mental Health Coordinator for Hayes Valley Care, an AgeSong Community, as she completed he pre-doctoral internship with Pacific Institute.