Staff
The PSA Art Awakenings team believes in the healing power of creativity and all agree that: Art Saves Lives! A team of dedicated behavioral health professionals, the majority are also artists whose notoriety ranges from cities scattered throughout the United States to across the continents. Visit our parent site at PSA Behavioral Health Agency. 
Administrative Team
Karen D. Puthoff President Northern Region
Karen has dedicated her career to eradicating stigma related to behavioral illness. Most recently director of marketing and community relations for PSA Art Awakenings, she offers over 25 years as a senior manager in public relations, marketing, and fund raising. A graduate of Purdue University and St. Mary of the Woods College, Karen has worked with inpatient and outpatient behavioral health programs in Arizona and Indiana. She also served as chief operating officer of The Carillon Foundation for Health which restricted fund raising to support behavioral health programs, services, and scholarships. For the past year and half she has worked to promote PSA Art Awakenings artists, galleries, and services, typically representing several hundred artists at a time whose works are sold at galleries, special events and conferences. Karen is proud to be part of the PSA Art Awakenings team and feels blessed to serve such wonderfully talented individuals.
Lynne Shulman President Southern Region
Lynne, a recent addition to the PSA Art Awakenings’ team, has a Master’s degree in education and is a Licensed Professional Counselor. She has made her home in southern Arizona and offers over 25 years of administrative and clinical oversight experience in the region, having worked for Arizona’s Children Association, CODAC Behavioral Health, and Community Partnership of Southern Arizona. Lynne’s work includes outpatient clinics, residential treatment centers and private practice as well as working with children, families, and adults at military bases around the world. Lynne has developed her “inner expressive artist” since childhood and is delighted by the process of empowerment and recovery through creativity.
Linda Schwartz Clinical Director
A licensed professional counselor, Linda has worked as a clinical director or supervisor in outpatient behavioral health programs for youth and adults. She passionately believes that everyone should receive the opportunity to grow their personal skills in supportive environments that assist each participant in accomplishing goals. Also an accomplished nonfiction writer and former newspaper reporter, Linda enjoys artistic expression through the fabric arts of crochet, sewing and quilting.
Nicole Hoffman Director of Operations
As a licensed clinical social worker, Nicole has been in administrative and senior management positions in local non-profits for over a decade. Embracing the value of working with populations with diverse backgrounds, challenges, and experiences, Nicole has managed programs serving adults, families with histories of child abuse and neglect, pregnant and parenting teens, homeless and at risk youth, and in the field of early childhood education. She has worked in Maricopa County as well as rural communities throughout southern Arizona. In addition to her recent promotion to Director of Operations, she is serving as the Glendale and Phoenix Studios Administrator.
Mariana Morales Executive Administrative Coordinator & BHPP
Mariana joined the PSA Art Awakenings Tempe staff in 2006. A firm believer in personal growth, she became a behavioral health para-professional, qualified to provide direct care services to the semi-independent living and provider affiliated housing program participants. Now she offers her skill set in support of the administrative team based in Phoenix. “I am very excited and thankful to be a part of PSA Art Awakenings and have the opportunity to grow with the company as well as to see and be a part of the growth of each individual who participates in the program.”
Lucy Zapata Marketing Assistant & Curator
“Art Awakenings has given me great opportunities to work with artists; it allows me to help others in many different ways.” Lucy has always had an interest in art. A painter, jewelry maker, and graphic artist, she loves working with others and introducing new ways to create. “Art opens up my mind in many colorful ways and offers new chances to learn and grow.”
Apache Junction & Casa Grande Studios
Dr. Christine Lash Administrator
After receiving her doctorate from Arizona State University and working in the education field for several years as a faculty member and administrator, Dr. Lash joined PSA Art Awakenings. For nearly four years she has overseen the Glendale and Phoenix Studios and is now Studio Administrator for the Apache Junction and Casa Grande locations.
Tanya Alvarez Expressive Art Therapist
Tanya is a bilingual professional artists and community muralist with over 15 years experience in the behavioral health field and in working with at-risk youth and families through community arts projects. She has a Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology with emphasis on multicultural diversity and creative arts including music, and a bachelor’s degree in studio arts from U of A. Tanya believes in servant leadership through the arts because of its potential to save lives, offer hope, inspiration & opportunities. She has won numerous awards and continues to showcase her artwork nationwide.
Eliza Homer Expressive Art Therapist
Eliza graduated from Central Washington University with Bachelors degree in visual arts teaching and foreign language (Spanish). She is currently working toward completing her Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Expressive Art Therapy from Prescott College. Eliza’s areas of special interest include attachment-based trauma and immigration trauma.
Suzanne Ypsilanti Expressive Art Therapist
Suzanne, a graduate of the University of Iowa, offers over 20 years of professional experience in the behavioral health field with a focus on the creative arts. She enthusiastically offers an extensive background in creative writing, story telling, movement, and drama.
Glendale & Phoenix Studios
Cindy Baysdorfer Studio Administrator
Cindy is a Nationally Certified and Licensed Professional Counsleor. She has a history of teaching Art in the Colorado public schools and graphic design for an in-house agency. Cindy has a passion for making fused glass jewelry and beleives, “Art Awakenings is the perfect place to blend my counseling and art backgrounds.”
Ingrid Davis Expressive Art Therapist
Ingrid is a licensed counselor in Arizona and national board certified art therapist. She has extensive counseling experience with children and families and adults with psychiatric disabilities. Her special areas of expertise are in energy healing and spiritual growth. She is also a certified graduate of the Energy Mastery School, Sedona, Arizona.
Dion Duboyd Receptionist
Dion splits his time between the Downtown Phoenix Gallery & Studio and The Next Step Studio. He works to ensure smooth running operations and enjoys assisting artists, customers, and staff alike stating, “I like to help people because I am a Disabled Vet.” Dion is also a graduate of Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA, where he majored in sociology and minored in criminal justice.
Tiffany Ducey Expressive Art Therapist
Tiffany was born in Staten Island, New York, and grew up in Scranton Pennsylvania where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Counseling and Human Services from the University of Scranton. New to Phoenix, Tiffany plans to pursue a master’s degree in social work, and loves being in a creative environment.
Kristen Leahy Receptionist
Kristen is pleases to be a recent staff addition. She has worked with Art Awakenings as an artists since 2005, and enjoys her additional role as the Downtown Phoenix Gallery receptionist. “I loved PSA [Art Awakenings] from the moment I came on board; I couldn’t think of a better job or place to work.”
Maria Cristina Martinez Office Manager & BHPP
Maria Cristina has been with Art Awakenings for two years and grown to love it. “I do my best to support artists and staff in creating a healing environment. I love to see creative people at work.”
Christopher Taylor Expressive Art Therapist
Christopher is a board certified music therapist and recent graduate of Arizona State University, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in music therapy. He believes that “Art is the vision of a person, and music is their voice and pulse.”
Daniel Torrente Expressive Art Therapist
Daniel is committed to social justice of many kinds and believes in the strength of the human spirit with art the surest way to healing and empowerment. He received his bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago and has worked in classrooms, on the street and with grass roots community organizations developing their strengths, a sense of worth and contributions to the greater whole.
Christina Velazquez Expressive Art Therapist
“Tina” joined PSA Art Awakenings from her native Southern California. She completed a master of Arts degree in marital and family therapy with a specialization in clinical art therapy from Loyola Marymount university in Los Angeles, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in fine art from the University of Southern California. As a painter and muralist, Tina has exhibited in Los Angeles and Riverside, California, and Florence, Italy.”
Drew Williams Expressive Art Therapist
Drew graduated from Bowling Green State University with a degree in Metalsmithing and 3D studies. He has exhibited sculptures and digital media in the United States and internationally. While living in Australia, Drew studied art therapy and continues to enjoy bringing the tenets of art therapy to his work at Art Awakenings. He believes that each individual has a story, and one of the best ways to tell those stories is through art.
Next Step Studio
Charlotte Webb Executive Director
As the former recovery services coordinator for PSA Behavioral Health Agency, Charlotte remains a strong proponent of recovery and community integration. She sees the Next Step Studio as an exciting opportunity for artists to continue their endeavors to be empowered as equal partners in the Phoenix art arena. As the first staff member of the Next Step Studio, she strongly believes in personal growth and development through creativity. She wants to continue to bring together artists from all walks of life in a cooperative plan for artistic as well as personal achievement.
Jeremy DeJong Art Manager
Jeremy graduated from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in social work and has enjoyed working in the field for 13 years. He also has a minor in photography and art from Mesa Community College. Jeremy recently re-joined staff to provide services at the Phoenix Studio about which he said, “Working at Art Awakenings has allowed me to merge my two passions [art and social work], which I am very excited about!”
Bill Mick Co-op Coordinator
As Co-op Coordinator of The Next Step Studio’s Pieces Gallery, Bill offers a diverse skill set to PSA Art Awakenings and the people he serves. He has over forty years of combined experience and education in clinical psychology, behavioral health, and various creative mediums including art, theatre, dance, directing, set design, stand-up comedy, female impersonation, and interior design. For the past 13 years, Bill has worked in both clinical and recovery models of treatment. Also as one who has received services for a serious mental illness, he exhibits compassion and empathy for others facing similar challenges related to behavioral health. In recent years Bill has become an accomplished artist receiving several awards in sculpture and mixed media.
Tempe Studio
Socorro Dominguez Coordinator & Expressive Art Therapist
“Sukey” has a life long appreciation for the arts and is passionate about the universal potential of creativity to enhance, improve and sustain lives. Originally from El Paso, Texas, she is a twice graduate of Arizona State University and holds a Master’s degree in Social Work with expertise in behavioral health.
Desiree Guthrie Administrative Assistant
Desiree has worked in the behavioral health field for nine years; previously with youth and now as both an adult case manager and in administration. She combines her experience and knowledge with a passion for helping others and creating positive change. Desiree enjoys working hard, loves being a team player, and being the first person people meet when they arrive at the Tempe location..
Julia Lopez Expressive Art Therapist
Julia received a Master’s in art therapy and counseling degree from Marylhurst University in Portland, Oregon. She has experience working with children and adults in a variety of settings including a prison for teenagers, an alternative high school, a residential facility, and inpatient and outpatient eating disorder facilities.
Christine Zwicky Coordinator of Youth & Families, Maricopa Co.
Christine earned a Master’s degree in Somatic Psychology, Dance/Movement Therapy, from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. An expressive art therapist with over 20 years in the behavioral health field, Christine has supervised residential programs and worked with a variety of populations using art, music, movement, play, and creative modalities. She specializes in workshops on body image issues and has written a manual focused on women reclaiming their bodies.
Tucson Studio
Jovanna Gomez Administrative Assistant
Jovanna describes herself as a daughter, sister, mother, and wife; a perfectly imperfect individual who yearns to succeed in life and is passionate about helping others. She has experience working with people of all ages and walks of life, and is extremely excited to be part of the PSA Art Awakenings family.
Mindie Jo Snyder Expressive Art Therapist / Regional Program Coordinator
An award winning artist, Mindie Jo is also an illustrator, author, designer, dancer, actor & poet with a passion for inspiring people and creating collaborations between expressive arts, spiritual care and medicine. Pioneering expressive arts programming across the lifespan for over 20 years, Mindie Jo is currently pursuing doctoral studies in Europe.
Las Artes De Maricopa Studios
Martin Moreno Art Director
Notable artist Martin Moreno has been creating sculptures, murals, paintings and mosaics for over 30 years with a mission to enlighten the public by depicting the beauty of mankind as well as those areas that are frequently hidden away. “I don’t always do pretty art, I believe it is the artist’s right, even duty, to point fingers and depict the seamier side of humanity when needed.”
Some murals he creates appear beautiful and carefree, but often, when looked at with a closer eye, are full of images that make up some realities of the 21st century: images of young people impacted by drugs, alcohol, and other abuses. Martin states he will continue to produce both types of art, but his favorite by far are those pieces that make people think, wonder about past decisions, and hope for a better future. To see more of his work visit his Cuervo Studio & Gallery at www.latinoartproject.com.
Diana Calderon Arts Coordinator
As an AmeriCorps National Service Alum, Diana dedicated 1800 hours of community service to at-risk youth. She describes her work at Las Artes as finding her dream job of offering service and fine art to students. A Mexican born, American artist, Diana has earned art scholarships and awards since high school, followed by a Bachelor’s degree from ASU’s Herberger College of Fine Art. “With concepts of personal and spiritual growth, my intent is to inspire faith and hope and demonstrate personal growth and healing.”
Evening Reporting Center Studios
Ivan Peña Cultural Arts Coordinator
Ivan Pena, Jr. (aka Xango) is originally from Lawrence, Massachusetts. Since 1992 he has worked with organizations in both Massachusetts and Arizona to reduce negativity in his community. Besides enjoying his role as cultural arts coordinator with PSA Art Awakenings, Ivan teaches Capoeira Angola (an African martial arts), helping youth gain self-discipline and spiritual growth through the arts.
Antonio Pasos Behavioral Health Technician & Master Artist
Antonio has exhibited and traveled throughout the world, and was educated overseas as well as in the United States and Mexico. A master artist, his work has been widely exhibited throughout Asia, Europe, and the Latin and North Americas. Antonio, who has always thought that the arts are of paramount importance for people in recovery, began working in the behavioral health field eight years ago. In addition to working with young men at the ERC Maryvale location, he also instructs adult artists in a variety of creative processes at the Phoenix Studios.