Board Directors can be reached by looking up contact information in their Directory profile.
Officers
President
Amy Clarkson, M.M.T., L.C.A.T., M.T.-B.C., T.E.P.
Amy provides psychodrama and music therapy services, training and supervision through her practice, Creative Flow Therapy Services. An adjunct faculty member at Montclair State
University, Amy teaches music therapy courses and coordinates pre-internship clinical training.
She engages groups in Bibliodrama within faith communities and provides Bibliodrama trainings. Amy has authored journal articles and book chapters and has presented at local and
national psychodrama and music therapy conferences.
Term of office: July 1, 2022 until June 30, 2025
Vice-President
Martica Bacallao, Ph.D., L.C.S.W., T.E.P.
I am committed to the certification process. The credential demonstrates dedication, motivation and verifies knowledge, skills, and abilities. I stand in favor of distance learning to satisfy requirements. I am inclusive of a broad range of educational backgrounds to qualify for certification. Global growth can expand certification, link people, bring diversity, and generate knowledge for the field. I am excited about the integration of psychodrama with other modalities. This would be my 4th round to serve on the board, bringing 12 years of experience and a positive light through the certification journey.
Martica is the director of the therapeutic youth program at the North Carolina Youth Violence Prevention Center dedicated to rural communities. She is a level 2 trained IFS therapist and a psychodramatist, harmonizing these modalities to work with relational complex trauma. Martica co-authored a book that applied the diamond of opposites to acculturation and mental health in immigrant families. She facilitates experiential bicultural skills workshops. Martica directs sociodramas designed for conflict resolution and to address the complexities of violence for school-aged youth.
Term of office: July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027
Treasurer
Lori Budman, M.S.S., L.C.S.W., C.P., P.A.T.
Lori Budman has been collaborating in interdisciplinary teams from a 25-year previous career in pharmaceutical research. After completing a 3-year Gestalt Therapy training program, Lori was drawn to psychodrama to expand her creativity as a Gestalt therapist and found a philosophy and methodology to live and work by in psychodrama. After becoming a CP and a PAT during the pandemic, she served as the co-chair of the 81st ASGPP conference (2023) at Fordham University. She also served on the ASGPP membership committee and has presented at ASGPP conferences in person and online. She is currently in private practice outside of Philadelphia offering clinical services and training workshops. In addition, she is an active member of the Delaware Valley Psychodrama Collective (DVPC).
Term of office: July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026
Secretary
Fredilyn Sison, J.D., C.P.
Fredilyn Sison, a graduate of Cornell University and New York University School of Law, is a co-author of the book, Trial in Action: The Persuasive Power of Psychodrama. She was awarded the Collaborators’ Award by ASGPP with her two co-authors. A public defender at heart, she represents indigent people accused of federal crimes in the Western District of North Carolina. She loves training lawyers on advocacy and communication skills. Improv and psychodrama are her passion and would like to help increase the numbers of people doing one or both. She lives in Asheville where she often encounters bears in her backyard even though she lives in the city.
Term of office: July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026
Directors
Ananta Chauhan, T.E.P.
I have worked with women, children and youth and their parents and teachers for over 25 years, taking a culturally sensitive and client centered approach. I believe that healthy balanced relationships with one another and oneself are essential to human happiness, and enhanced self-esteem empowers us to face life’s challenges. Together we can discover your strengths and find creative ways for you to lead a more fulfilling life. I use action experiential methods to enliven professional and personal life experiences and facilitate mindful, joyous living for all.
I co-create an environment of safety, care and trust, in which my clients can explore their issues and gain insights and clarity on creative healing ways to move past hurts and traumas. I work collaboratively with my young clients and their families to find meaningful shifts in everyday interactions to help augment the work done during a session.
I bring multicultural life experiences of transitions across countries and decades of research and knowledge base focused on Atypical Development, Difference & Dis/abilities. I welcome people from diverse backgrounds & abilities. My objective is to help create inclusive contexts within which everyone can feel safe and confident to learn, explore, & flourish.
Term of office: July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025
Louise Lipman L.C.S.W.-R., C.G.P., T.E.P.
Louise has been involved in the Psychodrama Community for 40 years. She served on the Executive Council of the ASGPP as Secretary, President-elect, President and chaired 6 conferences. Louise received the Innovators Award for the 12 Step Psychodrama Model, the Hannah Weiner Award for service to the ASGPP and the J.L. Moreno Award for 30 years of dedication to the field. She has a private practice in NYC, where she also teaches and trains therapists to be Psychodramatists. She also teaches Psychodrama to lawyers.
“I felt honored to previously serve on the ABE and would love to return. At heart I am a Psychodrama nerd. Psychodrama has been pivotal to my professional and personal life. I want to give back. I have been a Psychodrama Trainer for over 30 years. Coaching students for CP and TEP exams has given me an understanding of the preparation, anxiety and hard work that goes into this process. I bring that experience to help in the development of the exam. I want it to be inclusive: noting different training methods, diverse cultures and the various disciplines we come from, while maintaining high standards.”
Term of office: July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2027
Siyat Ulon, M.D., T.E.P.
Siyat Ulon, a trained psychiatrist and anthropologist, has researched the effectiveness and the empathy of psychodrama. He offers psychodrama training in his private clinic and a national medical center, and has introduced psychodrama in the countryside since 2007. As a co-founder of the Formosa Institute of Psychodrama, he collaborates with colleagues in creating diverse psychodynamic perspectives and transcultural training.
Term of office: July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026
Executive Director
Jasmin Jimenez, M.B.A., M.A.
Hey, I am Jasmín Jimenez. I started my professional career with City Year, an education nonprofit, before pursuing a dual degree MBA and MA in Art Business. Since then, I have continued to build my skills in people-focused roles in the creative, corporate, and technology sectors. My recent experiences as a Product Designer for Colibri Counseling and Invisible Strengths have allowed me to focus on projects that make an impact by understanding user needs and utilizing this knowledge to create efficient processes and better experiences. As the incoming Executive Director, I am excited to use design thinking in collaborating with the Board to support members.