Company.Incorporated

Robert Geffner, Ph.D. ABPP, ABPN
Founding President
Robert Geffner, Ph.D., is: Founding President of the Family Violence and Sexual Assault  Institute in San Diego, CA; Founding President of Alliant International University’s (AIU) Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma (IVAT); Clinical Research Professor of Psychology at the California School of Professional Psychology, AIU, San Diego; Licensed Psychologist and Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in California and Texas; Editor of three internationally disseminated journals and Co-Editor of one; and former clinical director of a large private practice mental health clinic in East Texas for over 15 years.  He has a Diplomate in Clinical Neuropsychology and one in Family Psychology.  He served as an adjunct faculty member for the National Judicial College for 10 years, and was a former Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at Tyler for 16 years.  Dr. Geffner is the President of the Trauma Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association.  He has been a researcher, trainer, practitioner, and consultant for more than 30 years.

Publications include treatment manuals (e.g., Treatment of Women Arrested for Domestic Violence, 2002; Ending Spouse/Partner Abuse, 2000), co-edited books concerning family violence and child maltreatment (e.g., Children Exposed to Violence, 2008; Identifying & Treating Youth Who Sexually Offend, 2005; Identifying & Treating Sex Offenders, 2004; Effects of Intimate Partner Violence on Children, 2003; Domestic Violence Offenders, 2002; Bullying Behavior, 2001; The Cost of Child Maltreatment, 2001; and Children Exposed to Domestic Violence, 2000), and numerous book c
hapters, journal articles and research papers concerning family violence, trauma, sexual assault, child abuse, family and child psychology, custody issues, forensic psychology, neuropsychology, and diagnostic assessment.  He has also served on several national and state committees
dealing with various aspects of family psychology, family violence, child abuse, and family law. He has presented over 450 keynote addresses, plenaries, workshops, and seminars at international, national, regional, and state conferences or meetings.

Sandi Capuano Morrison, M.A.
Assistant Director
Programs & Training Manager
She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado-Boulder in Psychology with a focus in Women’s Studies in 1996. Her commitment to domestic violence survivors began after volunteering at a battered women’s shelter as part of a course on Gandhi’s philosophy of ahimsa, nonviolent resistance, and satyagrapha.

Sandi was a victim advocate at Boulder County Safehouse & then Children’s Counselor at Alternatives to Violence domestic violence shelter before moving to Boston in 1998 and graduating from Boston College with her Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology in 2000. It was at BC that Sandi became certified as a Batterer Intervention Program Facilitator and assisted with research on the process & efficacy of offender programs. She became the Program Director of a Batterer Intervention Program and ran offender groups for 5 years in Boston suburbs.

After moving to San Diego in 2005, Sandi managed the countywide domestic violence & sexual assault 24-hour hotline & volunteer program and then the city of San Diego’s Rape Crisis Center at the Center for Community Solutions. In that position she was involved with both the San Diego Sexual Assault Response Team and the Sex Offender Management Council and became certified by California’s Office of Emergency Services as a Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault counselor.

Sandi is committed to empowerment-based, survivor-informed programs & processes as well as offender accountability. She is a Trauma Intervention Program volunteer & responds to any type of crisis to support fellow citizens. She has interests in Restorative Justice, Holistic Healing, Cultural Competency, Human Rights and Social Justice and finds peace & healing in humans connecting through music, literature, photography, fun with children and animals and community service.

Kori Ryan, M.S.
Special Projects Coordinator
Kori Ryan joined the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma in May of 2008 as the Special Projects Coordinator. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Northeastern University in Boston, MA in 2006, with a focus on criminal justice and forensic psychology. During her time at Northeastern, Kori developed preschool literacy programs for disadvantaged youth with Jumpstart, volunteered in Scotland as a child and adolescent advocate and educator, and worked in research on topics such as domestic violence, cognition, and speech perception. While at Northeastern, Kori developed interests in forensic psychology, violence, homicide, and neuropsychology.

Following her bachelor’s, Kori moved to California to earn her Master of Science in criminology from California State University, Fresno. As a graduate assistant at Fresno State, Kori spent much of her time teaching, both as a teaching assistant for the department of Criminology and as a CAHSEE tutor with the Teaching Fellows Foundation.  While at Fresno State, Kori earned the Department of Graduate Studies Research Merit Award and the Graduate Studies Travel Grant to present at the American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting in St. Louis, MO in November, 2008. Kori was also named the Outstanding Graduate Student in the Department of Criminology and was awarded the California State University, Fresno Graduate Medalist for the College of Social Sciences. Kori’s thesis at Fresno State evaluated the validity of the criminological concept of the Macdonald Triad. Kori is currently pursuing her Doctor of Forensic Psychology in the California School of Forensic Studies at Alliant International University.

Kori’s responsibilities at IVAT include grant writing and compliance, research, policy, and program evaluation. She also assists in the coordination of the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan. Kori enjoys reading, yoga, and traveling.

Malou Indon
Marketing and Events Coordinator

Malou Indon is the Marketing and Events Coordinator of the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma (IVAT), in San Diego, CA.  She has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from St. Louis University, Philippines.  Prior to joining IVAT she spent more than 19 years in the pharmaceutical industry.  She started as a Medical Representative before being promoted as a Medical Communication Specialist.  In both positions, she was responsible for the execution of national, regional and local promotional activities specific to the Anti-Asthma and Anti-Infective markets.  She received several recognitions for excellence in sales.

In 1997, Malou was promoted as the Continuing Education Officer for Cardiology, responsible for market shaping and expansion by providing Continuing Medical Education (CME) modules, programs related to Hypertension and smoking cessation.  Her other responsibilities were planning and implementing scientific lectures locally and internationally, product launches and managing key opinion leaders and providing development programs for speakers.  She worked with various medical societies, including WHO Non-Communicable Diseases Department for programs related to hypertension management and Smoking Cessation Campaign in the Philippines.  In 2002 she advanced as a Medical Education and Development Group Manager to handle Continuing Education programs in Diabetes.  She was also designated as the local gatekeeper for the Asia Pacific and International Global Opinion Leaders’ in Diabetes Management Program.

Stephany Hamrell, M.S.
Program and Volunteer Coordinator
Stephany’s varied professional background provides an array of interests and skills that fit well into her support role in IVAT’s current growth needs.  In addition to a bachelor’s in anthropology/psychology, a master’s in marketing professional services – including education, and a secondary teaching credential in English, she brings over a decade of experience in public/private at-risk education and another decade in corporate marketing.  Her outreach interests include the human/animal bond movement (emphasis on treatment/therapy/ prevention over analysis of the cruelty link) and Native American DV/IPV issues, especially around the youth. 

From her experience in art as a previous gallery co-owner (the largest modern masters gallery in the western US) and a Native cultural arts curriculum developer for SWAIA’s summer program  in Santa Fe,  she has become interested in increasing the personal and public art exhibits at IVAT conferences.  Art therapists will attest to the power of art to heal and to communicate deeply seated emotions and beliefs that when shared can help enhance understanding within the viewer as well.  She also enjoys working with our incredible cadre of dedicated IVAT volunteers, who help ensure our annual successes.

Andrew Peterson
Office and Bookstore Manager
Andrew Peterson joined the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma as the Office and Bookstore Manager in October 2009. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin in December 2008, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Business. At the university he served on the executive board of the UW Pre-Law Society and helped low-income residents connect with legal assistance through the Family Court Assistance Project. He also worked as an intern in the Wisconsin State Assembly, where he interacted with various state agencies, constituents, and local media.

In his spare time, Andrew enjoys surfing, running, and exploring San Diego. He is looking forward to attending law school in Fall 2010.

Patricia Smith
Training & Continuing Education Coordinator

Originally from the West Coast, Patricia is glad to be back.  Over sixteen years ago, she joined in the service provider role almost by accident, but realized it was meant to be.  Since coming into this field, she has never looked at a day and thought “why am I here?”  As a survivor of 18 years of domestic violence, she can’t imagine not doing this work.    

Patricia has over 16 years of experience in direct and indirect service in programs regarding violence against women.  She has been a direct service provider, as well as in a supervisory capacity in residential programs, to include emergency shelter and transitional living facilities.  She has extensive experience in handling crisis and has forever been a problem solver, both personally and professionally. 

She has worked serving adult & children’s needs, sexual violence victims, and served in an outreach capacity.  She has been a presenter for a number of years, to diverse audiences on a variety of topics regarding violence against women on a state, as well as national level.  She has presented to professionals such as law enforcement, medical providers, attorneys, and social workers. 
Patricia has worked with incarcerated women and teens, both male and female.  She has started programs from the ground up, such as the Adopt-A-Family for the Holidays program which is in its 14th successful year;  assisted in the first in the Big Bend of Florida area Spanish speaking support group, and International Thanksgiving just to name a few. 

She has served as the Battered /Formerly Battered Women’s Caucus Chair – Florida, and the Women of Color Caucus Chair as an agency Chair in Tallahassee, Florida.
This work is important to me so that my children and grandchildren will have a better chance in having a life without violence.

Robert Geffner, Ph.D. is a licensed clinician (Psychologist and Marriage & Family Therapist in both California and Texas) and directed a full-service private practice mental health clinic in East Texas for over 15 years prior to relocating to California 11 years ago. In this capacity, he regularly conducted custody and/or visitation evaluations for the courts, did evaluations of child abuse and domestic violence cases for criminal and civil courts and Child Protective Services (CPS), as well as supervised visitations in his clinic. He conducted evaluation (state and federal), and treatment programs for both victims and offenders of child abuse, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence. He also provided counseling and mediation to families involved in custody disputes or child maltreatment, and regularly conducted psychological and parenting evaluations. Dr. Geffner has trained mental health professionals, judges, attorneys, and others concerning appropriate procedures to use in these types of evaluations for over 20 years. Since relocating, he has been involved in the development and presentation of training programs that meet the requirements for domestic violence training for custody evaluators in California and in other states, and has conducted training workshops concerning appropriate procedures and techniques for custody and psychological evaluations for children and adults, as well as the relationship and dynamics of family violence and child maltreatment with respect to child custody, criminal, or personal injury cases.

Jonathan Venn, Ph.D., is Clinical and Forensic Supervisor at Alliant International University. He is a licensed Clinical and Forensic Psychologist in the State of California. He holds two Diplomates from the American Board of Professional Psychology: one in Clinical Psychology and one in Forensic Psychology. These are the highest levels of recognition in these professions. Jon has 38 years of experience in providing psychological services. He graduated from Northwestern University with a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. He has been licensed since 1983 and he is licensed in four states. He has been a Naval officer, he has served on the staff of a Fortune 500 corporation and he has served on the faculties of five universities. He has been employed by two state agencies and as a small business owner he has held a number of state and federal contracts. He has testified 200 times in criminal, juvenile, disability and personal injury proceedings. He has published original articles on clinical and forensic psychology in peer-reviewed journals. His research interests include the detection of malingering. Currently he is providing a variety of clinical, assessment, educational and forensic services.

Jennifer B. Rhodes, Psy.D. is a New York State licensed psychologist currently pursing her license in the state of California. She received her undergraduate and master’s degrees in Liberal Arts and Child Development from Sarah Lawrence College in 2001 and 2003, respectively. Dr. Rhodes received her master’s degree in School Psychology and doctorate degree in School and Clinical Child Psychology from Yeshiva University in 2008. Prior to graduating, Dr. Rhodes trained at NewYork Presbyterian Hospital, Westchester Division; Bellevue Hospital; the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Early Childhood Center; and the NYU Child Study Center. She completed an APA Accredited Internship in Clinical Psychology at Tulane University where she worked as a member of the Tulane Infant Team. As a member of the Tulane Infant Team, Dr. Rhodes provided intensive assessment and treatment of maltreated infants and toddlers in foster care. In 2009, Dr. Rhodes completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Infant Mental Health and Child Forensic Psychology at Tulane University where she continued her work with the Tulane Infant Team. Additionally, Dr. Rhodes received specific training in child custody evaluations and divorce meditation, as well as in parenting coordination. Dr. Rhodes has presented at the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts annual conference and has consulted with judges, attorneys, and forensic psychiatry fellows on issues related to attachment and young children. Dr. Rhodes’ current research interests focus on the intersection of Infant Mental Health and child forensic psychology. Dr. Rhodes joined the forensic consulting team at the FVSAI, functioning under the supervision of Dr. Geffner as a postdoctoral fellow in forensic psychology, in August 2009. In addition, Dr. Rhodes is an Adjunct Instructor in the Psy.D. program and in the Infant-Preschooler Mental Health Certificate program at Alliant International University.

Brenda Aranda, M.A. is a fifth year clinical psychology Ph.D. student at the Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant International University (AIU). She has a masters depress in psychology from CSPP at AIU. She has completed 15-hour training on intimate partner violence and 15-hour training on child abuse. She has co-authored some peer reviewed journal articles concerning family violence and custody and book chapter concerning child abuse and custody issues and will be a co-presenter at the International Conference on Violence, Abuse, and Trauma this year on the topic of child custody evaluations. Ms. Aranda has extensive clinical training in providing psychological services (i.e. individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, and assessment). She is also an Assistant Editor for four internationally disseminated journals: Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, the Journal of Child and Adolescent Trauma, and the Journal of Emotional Abuse. She has previously been an editorial assistant for the Journal of Child Custody. She has been a member of the forensic consulting team at the Family Violence & Sexual Assault Institute (FVSAI), functioning under the supervision of Dr. Geffner for the past three years.

Leslie Gretter, M.A. is a doctoral candidate in the Clinical Psychology program at the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant International University. She is a fourth year Psy.D. student currently completing her dissertation, a qualitative investigation of child custody evaluators, and will graduate in 2010. Ms. Gretter is a graduate of Northeastern University, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 2002. Ms. Gretter has completed a clinical practicum at the Center for Autism Research, Evaluation, and Service (CARES) providing behavioral therapy to children with Autism spectrum disorders as well as supporting their families. In her first clinical internship Ms. Gretter provided group and individual therapy to inpatients and outpatients at Bayview Hospital. At Bayview Hospital Ms. Gretter was also responsible for conducting psychological evaluations and worked closely with supervisors, psychiatrists, and hospital staff in her role as Lead Testing Intern. Additionally, Ms. Gretter has also worked at The Italian Home for Children, a residential treatment program for children with severe emotional problems, The Brookline Center, with seriously mentally ill adults, and New Alternative’s Foster Family Agency, providing support to high-risk adolescents and their foster families. Ms. Gretter joined the forensic consulting team at the Institute of Violence, Abuse, and Trauma (IVAT), as an Intern under the supervision of Dr. Geffner, in July of 2009.

Tonya Oliver, M. A. is a fourth year clinical psychology doctorate student at the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant International University (AIU). She has a Master’s degree in psychology, and a current emphasis in forensic psychology. She earned a Bachelor of Arts, Psychology and a Bachelor of Criminal Justice from New Mexico State University. Ms. Oliver completed her research practicum at Chadwick Center for Children and Families at Children’s Hospital, in which she reviewed commonly utilized trauma measures for accuracy in interpretation and scoring. Through her continued work at this site, she also is currently working on an article evaluating the efficacy of the Trauma Assessment Pathway. Ms. Oliver completed her clinical practicum, and is currently working as a staff member, at Jary Barreto Crisis Center during which she conducted assessments, conducted individual and group therapy and provided crisis intervention to people with acute mental illness. Ms. Oliver completed her clinical internship, in which she conducted assessments, individual, and group therapy for offenders who were either on parole or probation. She has been a member of the forensic consulting team at the FVSAI, functioning under the supervision of Dr. Geffner since May, 2008.

Paul Paris, M.A. is currently a student in the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program at the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) at Alliant International University (AIU), where he received his Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology. His practicum was completed at Jary Barreto Crisis Center, where he is currently employed as a counselor, providing inpatient short-term psychotherapy, intake assessment, crisis intervention, and social services for acutely symptomatic psychiatric adult clients. His first clinical internship was at North Central Mental Health Clinic, a county outpatient psychiatric clinic for adult clients, were he provided intake assessment and individual & group psychotherapy to clients, including dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and cognitive behavior therapy (CBT). Mr. Paris also has prior forensic experience at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was the assistant to the forensic evaluation service on a locked, inpatient psychiatric unit from 2002 to 2004. He began his final clinical internship in July 2009 at IVAT, where he is providing psychological testing, forensic evaluation, and psychotherapy under the training and supervision of Dr. Robert Geffner and Dr. Jonathan Venn.

Monique Oglesby is a 5th year doctorate student in the Psy.D. Program at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. She has an emphasis in Forensic Psychology and obtained her Master’s Degree in May 2006. She has completed the 3 mandatory 40 hours of training for custody evaluators, as well as the 15 hour training on Intimate Partner Violence. She has also completed semester courses in Forensic Psychology, School Violence Prevention, and Clinical Inference Forensics. Ms. Oglesby was a co-presenter at the International Conference on Violence, Abuse and Trauma in 2007 and 2008 on the topic of child custody. She has practicum experience conducting individual and group therapy and crisis intervention. She completed her internship in which she conducted assessments, individual, and group therapy for offenders who were on parole or probation. Ms. Oglesby continues to work as a Psychosocial Rehabilitation Specialist at Vista Balboa Crisis Center for the past two years. She has also worked at the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma as a Conference Assistant and/or a Special Projects Assistant for the past three years. She has been a member of the forensic consulting team at the Family Violence and Sexual Assault Institute at Alliant International University for the past two years under the supervision of Robert Geffner, Ph.D., ABPP, ABPN.