November 01, 2021

Welcome New Staff and Faculty!

The graduate school welcomed four new staff members and six new faculty members this fall.

We are pleased to welcome the following staff and faculty to our graduate school community.


Registrar’s Office


Caitlin Hansen Caitlin Hansen joined the Graduate Registrar’s Office in June 2021 to assume the Registrar Specialist II role, taking over for Joanie O’Brien who is now happily enjoying retirement. Caitlin has a BA in Studio Art and started at Lewis & Clark in the CAS Registrar’s Office, where she worked for nearly nine years. Looking for new challenges, she made the leap to join the Graduate School community. Caitlin has fourteen years of experience in a registrar’s office, including serving as assistant and associate registrar at the Art Institute of Portland. Fun fact: Caitlin lived in Japan for two years working as a teacher and moonlighting as a wedding singer.

Chris Banks Chris Banks also joined the Graduate Registrar’s Office in June 2021 to assume the Registrar Specialist I role, taking over for Diane Semet who is also happily enjoying retirement. Chris has a BA in Painting and came to us with nearly eight years of experience in higher education, with seven years working directly in registrar-related functions in New Mexico. Fun fact: Chris has a chronic obsession with plants and used to authenticate precious jewelry for Cartier.


Admissions Office


Juliette Resendez Juliette Resendez joined the Graduate Admissions Office in September 2021 in the newly formed role of Graduate Admission Counselor. Juliette brings experience in student support services from the University of California and California State University. Additionally, her studies in graduate school led her to pursue international research in Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium to learn more about student support services for refugees in higher education, racism and microaggressions in education in Cuba, and the need for mental health/substance use services for returning US study abroad students. Her passion and commitment to social justice, equity, and access are demonstrated in her work with the Human Rights Campaign and, most recently, the Palisades House in Washington D.C. Her interdisciplinary work and dedication for higher education students make her a great fit in the GSEC community.


Community Counseling Center


Lena Khammassi Lena Khammassi is the new Administrative Coordinator for Problem Gambling Services (PGS) at the Community Counseling Center. Originally from the Netherlands, she graduated with a degree in Criminology and worked for Victim Services. Before she left for the US she was the Case Management Coordinator for high-impact crime cases working alongside survivors and victims’ families to navigate their legal, emotional, and practical needs. In addition, she advocated for Victim Rights by helping the Ministry of Justice develop new national policies and was part of the emergency response team after the attack on flight MH17 where 196 Dutch nationals were killed. After arriving in Portland, she volunteered at IRCO at their Legal Services Department and assisted with developing their Human Trafficking program. Starting at PGS will give her the opportunity to learn a new line of service to help people who struggle with addiction. Lena says: “It is a new field for me but with my experience with community services and administrative support, I will hopefully be able to contribute in service to them.”


Teacher Education Department


Cari Zall Cari Zall has taken on the role of Secondary Social Studies Instructor and Content Area Coordinator for Teacher Education. Cari is a graduate of the Lewis & Clark Secondary MAT program and it is great to have her back on campus! She has taught social studies in public high schools and online, and has also taught as an adjunct in a number of teacher education programs. In addition, Cari served as the Senior Program Manager for the Classroom Law Project. Cari is currently completing her doctorate at Simon Fraser University.


Educational Leadership Department


Laura Barbour Laura Barbour, PhD, has joined the School Counseling faculty as an assistant professor with term. Professor Barbour received her PhD from Oregon State University, where she focused on compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction, and self-compassion in school counselors. Since 2013, she has authored numerous curriculum guides for educators and counselors. Her professional background includes 10 years in special education, and 13 years as a school counselor in the West Linn-Wilsonville School District. In addition, Barbour has been an adjunct in the GSEC’s School Counseling program since 2017.

Lisa Collins Lisa Collins, EdD, has joined the Educational Administration/Educational Leadership faculty as an assistant professor with term. Professor Collins received her EdD from Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling. Her scholarship has focused on racial trauma and in her dissertation she conducted an autoethnography of the experiences of a Black female educator in predominantly white districts. Collins has 27 years of experience in education, including both building and district-level leadership. Her consultation work and presentations have focused on wellness for equity, trauma awareness and response, and culturally responsive school leadership.

Elizabeth Denevi Elizabeth Denevi, PhD, has joined the Educational Administration/Educational Leadership faculty as an assistant professor with term. Professor Denevi received her PhD from the University of London, and as Director of the Eastern Educational Resource Collaborative, Deveni has worked with educational institutions across the country to promote equity and diversity pedagogy. She founded a blog and podcast Teaching While White, focused on engaging educators and students in exploring their white racial identity, and she has a new co-authored book on antiracist strategies for educators. Denevi has extensive experience as both a teacher and senior administrator in the DC area, Chicago, and the Bay Area, and has also been an adjunct in the GSEC’s principal license program since 2019.


Counseling, Therapy, and School Psychology Department


Chelsey Torgerson Chelsey Torgerson, PhD, joins the Marriage, Couple, and Family Therapy program as an assistant professor with term from the Oregon Institute of Technology. Professor Torgerson has a PhD in Human Ecology with a specialization in Couple and Family Therapy from Kansas State University. Her research interests center on risk and resiliency factors of substance use, misuse, trauma, and recovery and prevention. Torgerson’s latest co-authored article published in Emerging Adulthood is titled “COVID-19 and LGBTQ emerging adults: Risk in the face of social distancing.”

Jennifer Twyford, School Counseling Jennifer Twyford, PhD, joins the School Psychology program as an associate professor with term from California Lutheran University. Professor Twyford has a combined PhD in Clinical, Community, and School Psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research interests center on the identification and prevention of disruptive behavior problems in children and adolescents, in particular, school and juvenile justice systems’ response to youth’s mental health needs. Twyford was the recipient of the American Psychological Association’s Early Career Scholar Award and her latest article, published in the Journal of Community Psychology, is titled, “Providing a safer passage: Perceptions about a neighborhood intervention program for disadvantaged youth.”