DEI Partners

DEI Junior Fellows

DEI Fellows

DEI Senior Fellows

DEI APA Minority Fellow

Postgraduate Fellows

Dr. Veronique Thompson (she/her/hers)
DEI Director, Clinical (PsyD) Program

Dr. Veronique Thompson is a licensed clinical psychologist, tenured faculty member of the Wright Institute and director of clinical training at Carl B. Metoyer Center for Family Counseling in East Oakland. She received her BA in psychology from Spelman College in Atlanta and her PhD from U.C., Berkeley. Her advanced professional training has been in Narrative Therapy and Social Justice Therapy.

Dr. Thompson is originally from the East Coast. She was raised in a working-class, large extended family, in Boston. She is first-generation college, an avid dancer, a yoga enthusiast, and a plant-based eater. She lives in Oakland, in a multigenerational family home with her mother, sister, son, nephew and cat.

Her core professional interests lie within African-American and other communities of color, helping to increase positive mental health and to train others who share this commitment. She brings this same commitment to her work in the office of DEI, helping the Wright to fulfill its mission of “Educating Clinicians to [a more socially just] Society.”

Dr. Marriam Zarabi (she/her/hers)
Postgraduate Fellow

Marriam Zarabi, PsyD, graduated from the Wright Institute in 2021 and works for the DEI Office as a Postgraduate Fellow. Dr. Zarabi completed her postdoctoral hours at the Wright Institute Berkeley Cognitive Behavioral Clinic and the DEI Office. As a Postdoctoral Fellow, she supervised the Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Race-Based Stress, a group therapy service for clients of color experiencing racial discrimination in various contexts, including but not limited to the twin pandemics of racialized violence and Covid-19, providing culturally responsive DBT interventions. Her research, teaching and clinical focus includes addressing race-based stress, advancing health equity, and translating Western clinical interventions in service to diverse populations and in pursuit of culturally responsive care. Farsi is her first language. Serving as a DEI Fellow following the inception of the DEI Office, it is an honor to collaboratively broaden the nature and scope of working as a Clinician to Society.

DEI Senior Fellows and Fellows

Guadalupe Espinoza
Fourth Year, Senior Fellow

Guadalupe Espinoza is a fourth-year doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at the Wright Institute in Berkeley. She identifies as a second-generation Mexican-American and is bilingual and bicultural. She received her B.S. in psychology from the University of La Verne in 2017. Her clinical training includes working with children and adolescents in public schools in Oakland, California, and college students at Mills College at Northeastern University. Guadalupe is dedicated to working with marginalized communities and advocating for their needs within and outside clinical settings. Passionate about supporting high school students and first-generation college-bound individuals, Guadalupe served as a mentor for 2022-2023 school year for The Wright Institute Psychology Internship Program. This program, overseen by Wright Institute faculty member Dr. Anastasia Kim, aims to assist first-generation college-bound students in learning about psychology and potential career paths. This year, she has taken on a new role as a co-program manager. Guadalupe's dissertation research revolves around exploring the relationship between familismo and career development in first and second-generation Latinx individuals who are the first in their families to graduate from college.

Esther Mou
Fourth Year, Senior Fellow

Esther Mou is a 4th-year PsyD student at the Wright Institute whose main interests include supporting the healing of marginalized folx in communities of color, supporting the mental wellness of immigrant and international students, and working to destigmatize mental health issues in East Asian communities. She identifies as Taiwanese-American herself, and is passionate about having reflective conversations about AAPI identity, AAPI discrimination, and the collective healing of the AAPI community through a compassionate and multicultural lens. She is currently undergoing clinical training at the College Wellness Program, and loves working with college students, families, and children in the CAPS and community mental health settings. Esther is also an avid foodie, a connoisseur of boba milk tea, and a proud momma of two cats.

Sredha Shine
Fourth Year, Senior Fellow

Sredha Shine is currently in her fourth year in the clinical psychology doctoral program at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. Sredha’s identities as an immigrant and South Indian woman drive her passion to make mental health more accessible to marginalized populations and work towards reducing the shame and stigma of mental health diagnoses prevalent in many communities. As part of her clinical training at the Wright Institute, she is currently working with children and families at Kaiser Oakland. Her dissertation focuses on understanding the experiences of 1.5 and second-generation Indian American survivors of sexual violence in the United States. In her free time, Sredha enjoys spending time with her loved ones, watching TV shows, and eating yummy food.

Jacqueline Duong
Fourth Year, Fellow

Jacqueline Duong is a fourth-year clinical psychology doctoral student at the Wright Institute with a focus in child assessment. She is a first-generation Vietnamese-American with a passion for treating neurodivergent populations. Jacqueline graduated from Santa Clara University with a BS in Psychology with a Minor in Dance as well as an MA in Counseling. Furthermore, she has experience employing the following therapeutic techniques: dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) skills, crisis de-escalation, creative dance, applied behavioral analysis (ABA), Floortime, interpersonal psychotherapy, and social skills training. Currently, she works as a neuropsychological assessor at Stanford's Brain Development Lab and as an advanced assessment trainee at Fremont Hospital. In her free time, Jacqueline enjoys dancing, rock climbing, painting, crocheting, painting, and cooking. She is thrilled to join the DEI Office as a fellow!

Omali Senaratna
Fourth Year, Fellow

Omali Senaratna is a fourth-year clinical psychology student at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. She received her B.S. in Psychology from The University of California, San Diego. Omali's intersectional realities as a second-generation Sri Lankan- American drive her passions for equitable accessibility to healing and empowerment of the holistic self within systemic structures. With previous experiences in community mental health, school-based settings, and home therapy, Omali strives to provide culturally humble, trauma-informed care to diverse and under-resourced communities. She collaborates from relational, social justice, existential, and feminist perspectives. Omali is currently placed at the UC Berkeley CAPS Career & Wellness Internship. She enjoys nature adventures and moments with friends and family in her free time.

Summer Hadla
Third Year, Fellow

Summer is a third year doctoral student in the clinical psychology program at the Wright Institute. She identifies as Muslim American and Arab American. She received her B.A. in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley in 2019 before taking time off to teach elementary-aged children at an Islamic school in Brentwood. Summer has a passion for helping others. Specifically, she is interested in working to help educate and support incarcerated Muslims. She has worked for the Tayba Foundation, helping create a program that provides support to women who are reentering into society after incarceration. She is also completing her dissertation on faith after incarceration for Muslim converts. Summer works from a trauma-informed lens, and hopes to one day become a forensic expert witness and support those who have not been given equal opportunity. She currently is working at Adventist Health in Vallejo, an inpatient hospital that provides acute psychiatric care for children, adolescents, and adults. As a DEI fellow, Summer hopes to bring awareness and reduce stigma of religion at the Wright Institute while also encouraging open dialogue and discussion about difficult topics. Outside of school, Summer enjoys spending time with her family and friends, going to the beach, reading, cooking and baking, and trying new foods!

Karina Williams
Third Year, DEI Fellow

Karina Williams is a third-year graduate student working on her PsyD at the Wright Institute. She identifies as a first-generation Caribbean American and in the future she hopes to serve marginalized communities, people of color, and those who have less access to resources or mental wellness. Her clinical training has consisted of supporting the high school students of Sylvester Greenwood Academy and working with LGBTQ+ and HIV-affected adults through the UCSF Alliance Health Project. This year, she is enjoying working with children and disability-impacted families at Through the Looking Glass in Berkeley. Beyond her clinical work, Karina is a passionate reader, writer, roller skater, Animal Crossing player, and —most importantly— a bird mom.

Ivy Capshaw (she/her)
Third Year, DEI Fellow

Ivy is a third-year doctoral student at the Wright Institute with a BA in psychology from San Francisco State University. She is a bicultural Mexican-American woman who is dedicated to promoting social justice in her clinical work and studies. Committed to providing accessible mental health care to marginalized communities, her primary focus lies in aiding traumatized children and individuals impacted by the carceral system towards healing. Her clinical experience includes working with adults with substance use and co-occurring disorders in a community mental health setting, and adolescents with varying mental health concerns in a school-based setting. Ivy’s current practicum placement is with Carl B. Metoyer Center for Family Counseling. Her dissertation research delves into the narratives of young adults who experienced parental incarceration during their early childhood years.

DEI Junior Fellows

Shah Shepherd
First Year, Junior Fellow

Shah Shepherd is a 1st-year PsyD student who was born in Portland and raised in Alaska. Living in the Bay area for over 10 years, Shah received an AA–T in Psychology and AA in Behavioral Health Sciences from City College of San Francisco before transferring to UCSD and receiving a BA in Psychology with a minor in Human Developmental Sciences. Formerly a hairstylist, he has worked in many capacities. His most recent role includes supporting Homeless TAY youth as a Case Manager. Shah’s interests are understanding the lived experience of underrepresented communities as he develops skills to foster an integrative healing and coping environment. He plans to work with individuals struggling with trauma, PTSD, and personality disorders. During his spare time, he can be found dancing, traveling, baking cookies, eating with friends, composing poetry, or fussing with his plant babies.

Ayo Olu-Odumosu
First Year, DEI Junior Fellow

Ayo Odumosu is a first year clinical student at the Wright Institute. Ayo is a daughter of Nigerian immigrants who aims to work with BIPOC, Queer, and Immigrant communities. She is currently placed in the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Clinic and is excited to work in a community based clinic that provides accessible and affordable mental health services.

DEI Partners

Alma Karina Riggs (she/hers/ella)
Second Year, Partner

Alma immigrated to Texas at eight years old from Tamaulipas, México. She continued to spend the summers there with her maternal grandmother after immigrating, where she discovered the Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud. Today Alma remains exploring psychoanalytic literature with an interest in applying social justice principles to psychodynamic therapy. After spending a year training at WI Recovery Clinic, Alma will continue at the Homeless Prenatal Program in San Francisco, empowering homeless and low-income families, particularly mothers motivated by pregnancy and parenthood, through offering psychotherapy services in English and Spanish. This year, Alma is the Wright Institute Students of Color Group and Consulta Clínica co-leader. Alma attended St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, where she graduated with honors in psychology and history. She enjoys writing poetry in Spanglish to give voice to the journey of immigration from México to the United States and supporting DEI initiatives.

Anthony Ramirez
Second Year, Partner

I am a second-year doctorate Junior Fellow at the Wright Institute, and have been in California since the beginning of my undergrad. My clinical experience commenced early in my undergrad and included working with clients diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, varying in age and level on the spectrum. My research focus will include LatinX cultural factors in the validity of assessments and treatments for ASD in terms of misdiagnosis and accuracy of language.

APA MFP Fellows

Yves-Yvette Young, MPH
Third Year

Yves-Yvette Young, MPH is an American Psychological Association MFP Fellow and a third-year doctoral student at The Wright Institute. She graduated from Xavier University of Louisiana with a BS in Psychology and obtained her MPH from the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. Prior to pursuing her doctorate, she worked as a Research Scientist and focused on global health and birth equity research.

Yves-Yvette has a strong interest in working with neurodiverse children and families in BIPOC communities. Her clinical training experiences have included working with high school and college students in Contra Costa County and she has also worked with adults across the lifespan at the Berkeley CBT clinic. She is currently a doctoral trainee at Pacific Clinics where she conducts neurodevelopmental diagnostic evaluations for children and is also a neuropsychological assessor in UCSF’s Learning, Engineering & Neural Systems (brainLENS) Lab. She is committed to working within underserved communities with those who face the most barriers to accessing high-quality, equitable, and culturally competent mental health care.

Grace Liu
Second Year

Grace Liu is a second-year doctoral student at the Wright Institute. She received the Minority Fellowship and aims to work with BIPOC communities in healthcare and community settings. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.S. double major in biology and psychology where she also worked in a research lab that examined the effects of DBT on mothers with Borderline Personality Disorder. Grace aims to provide trauma-informed care to various populations, including adolescents and older adults. Her interests include the intersection of physical disabilities and age with psychology, decreasing the mental health stigma in Asian communities, and trauma processing. In her free time, Grace loves cooking, gardening, and running.