Arts & Healing Initiative

Camille Ameen is a core instructor for the UCLArts & Healing Certificate Program in Social Emotional Arts. She teaches theater and utilizing the arts for group management and working with neuro-diverse populations. A certified council trainer, she currently works with Circle Ways and Center for Council. Since 1991, she’s facilitated councils with all age groups and backgrounds, including youth with autism, attention deficit, developmental delays, the deaf/hard of hearing, students in continuation high schools, young women in transitional housing, and prison inmates. She mentors social justice organizations, teachers, and Council interns. In 1996, Camille co-founded Inside Out Community Arts, a national, award-winning non-profit that fosters community and understanding between diverse middle school youth through theater. Now merged with PS Arts, she continues to train artists in the curriculum and methodology. For nine years with Imagination Workshop, she led theater workshops for psychiatric forensic clients, homeless families, and homeless/addicted veterans in recovery. Camille received a Certificate of Commendation from the City of LA, and has a Professional Designation in Arts Education from LA County Arts Commission. In 2008, she designed a curriculum that merges her love of theater and council for social emotional learning. She's been a director/coach with Turnaround Arts and guest lectured at various colleges. A graduate of Mount Holyoke College in Theatre, Camille's had a long career as a professional actress in NY and LA including Broadway, TV, and film.


Ebony Williams, LMFT is a Black, queer, first generation woman who is also a licensed marriage and family therapist, social emotional healing arts instructor, and a trauma-informed yoga teacher. She created the Ragdoll Project while earning an MFA in writing at the California Institute of the Arts, and has facilitated workshops on both the east and west coasts for trauma survivors and individuals navigating life challenges ranging from sexual and domestic violence, grief and loss, LGBTQIA identity, and living in communities challenged by violence. Ebony also earned an MA in marriage and family therapy with a specialization in African American family studies and currently has a private practice, is a creative and executive leadership and mental health consultant, and is a supervisor for Journey Out, supporting case managers working with survivors of human trafficking. Ebony is also a consultant for A Thousand Joys, a trauma and resilience training organization, teaches in the cultural psychology LGBTQIA specialization at Pacific Oaks College and the Certificate Program in Social Emotional arts through UCLArts & Healing. Learn more about Ebony, and read her writing on holistic wellness and healing at rootwellnesshealing.com.


Erica Curtis, LMFT, ATR-BC is a board-certified art therapist and licensed marriage and family therapist. Erica is an internationally sought-after speaker on creative approaches to emotional and relationship health. She regularly serves as a mental health expert for articles, appearing in more than 100 media outlets, including USA Today, ELLE, The Boston Globe, PBS, and Women’s World Magazine. Formerly an instructor in the Loyola Marymount University Department of Marriage and Family Therapy with a specialization in art therapy, she now serves as their admissions consultant and maintains a therapy practice in San Juan Capistrano. Erica has served multiple terms on the board of directors of the American Art Therapy Association, is a past president of the Southern California Art Therapy Association, and was formerly clinical director at the Help Group, a widely respected Los Angeles non-profit agency. Erica serves as an expert consultant for organizations such as The Foundation for Art and Healing and the Board of Behavioral Sciences, for whom she consults on standard of care in disciplinary cases brought against therapists. She also supervises art therapy interns. Erica is an award-winning author, with Ping Ho, of The Innovative Parent: Raising Connected, Happy, Successful Kids through Art. Successful Kids through Art. Visit Raising Connected, Happy, Successful Kids through Art. Visit therapywitherica.com for more information.

Asia Moore, MSW, MA, PhD (c)  is a multicultural story-warrior who believes telling and sharing stories has the power to change the world, one person, one place, one program at a time. From her background as an expressive arts therapist and clinical social worker with expertise in trauma-informed care to her current doctoral studies in Positive Developmental Psychology and Evaluation, you can find Asia in the gaps, cracks, and shadows looking for ways to uplift the voices being personally and systemically silenced. In Asia you will find a passionate co-conspirator ready to help and to listen, a creative problem-solver who sees opportunities where others see obstacles, and a practical optimist dedicated to seeing and celebrating the strengths and beauty in the communities up against the most challenging of circumstances. 

 Ms. Moore has worked as a clinical social worker in both educational and outpatient settings for eight years; her areas of specialization include trauma and crisis intervention, identity development in children and adolescents, multiculturalism and multi-systemic advocacy, and the use of expressive healing arts. Over the past decade, Ms. Moore has utilized her own multi-cultural background and identity as a storyteller to bring expressive arts to the most minoritized and marginalized populations ranging from K-12 settings, community college and university contexts, detention centers and prisons, and just about anywhere you can find someone being overlooked, unheard, and undervalued. In addition to designing culturally responsive programs and training opportunities for healers and educators of all backgrounds, Ms. Moore's most recent work has utilized programmatic evaluation and consulting to support organizations across the country in being more trauma- and culturally-responsive to underserved communities. Ms. Moore is currently completing her doctoral study in Positive Developmental Psychology and Evaluation at Claremont Graduate University to continue advocating for expressive arts as a transformational healing opportunity for the low-income, BIPOC communities she considers herself a proud product of. Regardless of which professional hat you may find her wearing, Asia Moore is passionate about translating what works best for children and families with the most need and providing the incredible people who serve these communities with the best tools to empower, uplift, and transform the lives of the upcoming generations.

Gabrielle Kaufman, MA, LPCC, BC-DMT, NCC is a board-certified dance/movement therapist and counselor with over 20 years experience in the helping profession. Currently, she is director of Training and Technical Assistance for the Los Angeles County Perinatal Mental Health Task Force. Prior to this, she served as director of the New Moms Connect Program of Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles providing services to new parents, particularly those suffering from symptoms of postpartum depression. Gabrielle has worked extensively with new families and aided in providing solutions to many parenting concerns. She has run several programs for high-risk children and teens, taught classes to parents of newborns and toddlers, and runs support groups for single parents and women with postpartum depression. Gabrielle has spoken widely, published articles on parenting, and served as editor for Bringing Light To Motherhood. She serves as Los Angeles coordinator for Postpartum Support International also has a private practice in Los Angeles providing services in both English and Spanish languages. Learn more about Gabrielle at gabriellekaufman.com.

Jennie Linthorst, MA, CAPF is a poet, expressive writing teacher, and founder of LifeSPEAKS Poetry Therapy.  She is on the faculty of UCLArts & Healing and has presented workshops at the Los Angeles Expressive Arts Summit, The California Center for Creative Renewal, UC Irvine Extension, the University of Santa Monica, and the National Association for Poetry Therapy.  Jennie spent six years teaching a unique poetry curriculum in the third-grade classrooms of the Manhattan Beach Unified School District using poetic tools to inspire creative writing while fostering social and emotional growth, leading her to facilitate ongoing private kids writing groups. Since 2001, Jennie has facilitated ongoing adult writing groups, and original curriculum for private clients exploring their life stories through reading and writing poetry.  After graduating cum laude from Skidmore College with a BA in Psychology, and a concentration in dance, Jennie began her career in arts education coordinating artist-in-residency programs for Leap… imagination in learning in San Francisco, and the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Manhattan Beach. Jennie has certification as an Applied Poetry Facilitator from the National Federation of Biblio/Poetry Therapy and a master’s degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica. Jennie is the author of two books of poetry, Silver Girl (2013) and Autism Disrupted: A Mother’s Journey of Hope (2011), with Cardinal House Publishing. Jennie‘s poetry has appeared in Bluestem, Edison Literary Review, Feelszine, Foliate Oak, Forge, Kaleidoscope, Literary Mama, Mothers Always Write, Poetic Diversity, Sanskrit, The Art of Autism, The Writer’s Café, and Hopeful Parents. More information can be found on her website at lifespeakspoetrytherapy.com.


Jessica Bianchi EdD, ATR-BC, LMFT is an art therapist who completed her doctoral work at Loyola Marymount University, studying Educational Leadership and Social Justice. A master’s graduate in Marital and Family Therapy/Art Therapy from Loyola Marymount University (LMU), Jessica has served as art therapist at Aviva Family and Children’s Services working with emotionally disturbed teens. Jessica is also part-time faculty at LMU teaching on the importance of providing visual arts in all classrooms for holistic learning, and also co-teaches a class focused on art therapy with children in LMU’s graduate Marital and Family Therapy/Art Therapy Department. Jessica teaches a class for the Visual and Performing Arts Education Program within the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture that is focused on creating empathetic communities by way of creative expression with defended youth. In addition, Jessica directs an annual weeklong summer arts camp in collaboration with LMU’s Marital and Family Therapy/Art Therapy Department at Dolores Mission Middle School in East Los Angeles.


Kathy Cass, MA, BC-DMT, NCC, C-IAYT, CAHC, AYT-NAMA is a board-certified dance/movement therapist, nationally certified counselor, certified yoga therapist, certified Ayurvedic health counselor, and Ayurvedic yoga therapist with over 30 years of instructional and clinical experience. She is the co-author of the curriculum and training program, Dance For All. She is currently Adjunct Assistant Professor at El Camino Community College and Santa Monica College, Emeritus Division. Kathy is advisor and core faculty for UCLArts & Healing's Certificate Program in Social Emotional Arts. She has been a guest lecturer at UCLA, Scripps College, and CMER at Loyola Marymount University. Kathy maintains a private Ayurvedic yoga therapy and consulting practice in Santa Monica, CA, where she empowers her students and clients to reconnect with their true nature through movement, breath, nature, and the arts. Visit kathycass.com for more information.


Mimi Savage, PhD, RDT-BCT is a professor at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in expressive arts therapy and she is on the founding faculty of the SEA program at UCLArts & Healing. As a registered drama therapist (RDT) and board-certified trainer (BCT) in her field, Dr. Savage taught critical thinking through improvisation at UCLA’s Pathway Program for developmentally delayed young adults as well as created and led drama therapy programs for several years in acute psychiatric in-patient units for adults and children. She has facilitated diverse populations from homeless women on skid row to youth in residential rehab. Her presentations and publications involve her research on the intersections of identity for adopted adolescent girls from foster care through the uses of drama therapy and digital media. For several years, she created curriculum as a theatre arts teaching artist for typical and neurodiverse public school elementary and middle school children, while working as a professional actress. Dr. Savage serves as the Education Chair of the North American Drama Therapy Association (NADTA) and is a recipient of a Drama Therapy Fund Professional Research Grant. An alumna of Princeton, CSULA, and Lesley University, she also completed conservatory training at the Neighborhood Playhouse School, NYC. Information about professional development, drama/expressive therapies certifying training, or personal life coaching using these modalities with her can be found at www.SoCalDramaTherapyCenter.com.  


Ping Ho, MA, MPH is Founder and Director of UCLArts & Healing, an organizational member of the UCLA Integrative Health Collaborative, of which Ping is a steering committee member. She was founding administrator for the UCLA Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, which led to the privilege of writing for Norman Cousins and co-writing the professional autobiography of George F. Solomon, M.D., founder of the field. She has a BA in psychology with honors from Stanford—where she was appointed to establish the still-thriving Health Improvement Program for faculty and staff, an MA in counseling psychology with specialization in exercise physiology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MPH in community health sciences from UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Ping is associate editor for the Creative Arts Therapies section of the Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. She spearheaded the Certificate Program in Social Emotional Arts (SEA) and the SEA on a Shoestring training program of supportive art, movement, music, and writing for individuals or groups in any setting. In addition, she co-developed and served as principal investigator for the evidence-based program, Beat the Odds®: Social and Emotional Skill Building Delivered in a Framework of Drumming.  She is co-author, with Erica Curtis, of the 2019 National Parenting Products Award-winning book, The Innovative Parent: Raising Connected, Happy, Successful Kids through Art (Ohio University/Swallow Press, March 2019).

Stephanie Nash, MFA has an MFA from the Yale School of Drama, and a BA in psychology from Duke University. She has been a working actress in New York City and Los Angeles for 35 years in television, film, theater, and many commercials. Stephanie is also a respected acting teacher and audition coach, and is an original faculty member of the new UCLA Professional Program in Acting for the Camera – as well as an Associate Professor at Art Center College of Design (Film Directing Department.) Stephanie also taught expressive movement at University of Southern California, and comedy at the American Academy of Dramatic Art. In private practice, Stephanie coaches executives, professionals and special groups in mindful body language and public speaking. Stephanie has studied in the Alexander Technique, Body-Mind Centering, and other movement modalities.  She founded Mindfulness Arts, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping people integrate mindfulness into their lives for better performance, creativity and ease. As a Mindfulness Coach and Integrative Counselor, Stephanie does speaking engagements and presentations all over the country, and as a top facilitator for Shinzen Young’s Basic Mindfulness system, Stephanie recently designed & implemented a mindfulness program for a Harvard Medical School brain study and recorded a stress-reduction app for a Carnegie Mellon study which will soon be available to the public. Learn more about Stephanie at strategic-mindfulness.com.


Stacie Aamon Yeldell, MA, MTBC, AVPT is an award-winning vocalist, speaker, and music psychotherapist with over 15 years of experience in mental health treatment. As the founder of Amöntra, a consulting company based in California, she has facilitated a range of therapeutic mindfulness practices for individuals and organizations, including The Grammy Foundation, The Riveter, GoogleArts and Culture, and YoungArts. In addition to being a faculty member for UCLArts & Healing, Stacie has spoken at events like Women In Music and DisclosureFest^TM. She has also appeared on CBS News, in Renée Fleming’s "Music and Mind Live," and is featured in the documentary "Proven." Stacie holds a masters degree in music therapy from New York University, in addition to certifications in sound and music healing from the Open Center and Vocal Psychotherapy (AVPT) from the Vancouver Vocal Psychotherapy Institute. Learn more about Stacie at stacieaamon.com.