Mary Watkins, PhD

Mary Watkins is founding co-chair of the M.A./Ph.D. Community, Liberation, Indigenous, and Eco-Psychologies Specialization at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, CA. She works at the interfaces between Euro-American depth psychologies and psychologies of liberation. Her recent books include Mutual Accompaniment and the Creation of the Commons, and the co-author of Toward Psychologies of Liberation and Up Against the Wall: Re-Imagining the U.S.-Mexico Border. She worked as a clinical psychologist for two decades, before moving to community-based work. In addition to her teaching, she currently works with forced migrants seeking asylum and with people “inside” prison who want to learn about liberation psychology.

Alisa Orduña 

Alisa Orduña is a seasoned community development practitioner dedicated to ending homelessness among persons of African and Indigenous descent with twenty-five years’ experience working in the nonprofit and government sectors.  She applies a depth-psychology praxis through an Afro-Feminine Indigenous spiritual approach to her life practice of addressing the root causes of homelessness through fostering a sense of belonging for all. Alisa is a graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana, the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and Pacifica Graduate Institute where she earned her doctorate in Depth-Psychology with a concentration in Community, Liberation, Indigenous, and Eco-Psychology. Her dissertation is titled: Osun Consciousness: Unearthing Anti-Black Biases in the Los Angeles Homeless System Soul as reflected in the Sacred Histories of the African American Experience. She is now founder and managing principal of Florence Aliese Advancement Network, LLC.

• Mental health and physical health professionals, including: clinicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, peer specialists, recovery support specialists, housing specialists, nurse practitioners, wellness support workers, coaches, holistic practitioners

• Students

• Activists

• Family members and advocates

• Anyone who works or plans to work with people experiencing mental health-related challenges

We provide the option of enrolling for at the General ($20) or Supporter ($40) rate to ensure the sustainability of IDHA’s work and enable us to create more accessible, cutting-edge training content.