NADT Executive Board   2009-2011 President Kate Hurd, RDT/BCT President-Elect Nisha Sajnani, RDT Vice-President Lisa Merrell, RDT Secretary Bobbi Kidder, RDT/BCT Treasurer Mary DeBastiani, RDT NADT Board Members     2009-2011 Membership Deb Mier, RDT Communications Nadya Trytan, RDT/BCT Education Heidi Landis, RDT Government Affairs Randy Mulder, RDT Ethics Maria Hodermarska, RDT Eastern Region Mark Beauregard, RDT Central Region Elizabeth Muckley, RDT Western Region Gary Raucher, RDT/BCT Canadian Region Bonnie Harnden, RDT See Bios and Pictures Below.         Kate Hurd, RDT/BCT, LCAT, Incoming President of NADT. She has served on the NADT Board for the past six years, four years as Vice President and two years as President-Elect. She was the Conference Chair for the NADT National Conference in 2001, the Program Chair in 1999, and a member of the Program Committee in 1995. She is the Clinical Director of the Institute for the Arts in Psychotherapy, where she has a private practice and oversees the Certificate Program in Developmental Transformations in New York. She has previously taught Developmental Transformations as Training Director of Institute West in San Francisco, at the Drama Therapy Programs at NYU and CIIS, as well as in Europe. She is a former director of Goddard Riverside's The Other Place, a day program for the homeless and formerly homeless with mental illness. She received her RDT in 1997 and her BCT in 2004. She is a graduate of the NYU Drama Therapy program. Nisha Sajnani, RDT, Ph.D, President-Elect.  She has served on the board of the NADT for the past three years in the capacity of Canadian representative and most recently, in the capacity of Ethics Chair. She has assumed the leadership of several important organizations over her student and professional career that have prepared her to assume the position of President-Elect. While undertaking graduate studies in Drama Therapy, Nisha served on the Board of Governors for Concordia University and as president of the Graduate Students Association where she advanced policy to protect the rights of teaching assistants. Nisha is the founder and past-president of the Creative Arts in Counseling Chapter of the Canadian Counseling Association. She has also provided leadership within an international arena having served as an official delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations where she contributed to the development of gender specific policy instruments. Nisha currently works with the Post Traumatic Stress Center in New Haven, CT where she works with individuals, families, and community groups suffering from internalized, relational and systemic/collective trauma. Nisha is committed to fostering interdisciplinarity and grounded theory within our field and would welcome the opportunity to serve our community in the capacity of President-Elect. Lisa Merrell, MA, RDT, LCAT, Vice President. She is co-founder of The Creative Therapies Center in Providence, RI, working primarily with male and female sexual offenders, as well as survivors of physical and sexual abuse. She is currently helping to develop programs for women transitioning out of prison using Drama Therapy to help break the "revolving door" cycle of recidivism for many women. In addition, she leads improvisational storytelling and reminiscence groups at area nursing homes. Lisa and her husband, Travis, were co-chairs of the 25th Anniversary Annual Conference of the NADT, held in Newport, RI in 2004. She helped form the New England Chapter of the NADT and is serving her second term as Secretary of the Chapter. Lisa is a graduate of NYU's Drama Therapy program. Bobbi Kidder, MA, RDT/BCT, Secretary.  She is an instructor at Rogue Community College, Executive Director of Southern Oregon Impact Theatre, Director of Josephine County Drug Court Theatre, and an actor with Comedy@6, a southern Oregon comedy improvisation troupe. She is the Western Region Representative for NADT and is the Chair of the Western Region Conference held June 19 and 20 of this year. She received the Asante Foundation "Applegate Award" for contributions to education in 2001, Zonta "Community Rose" award in 2003, and was a NISOD finalist in 2004. She has written the book ImaginACTION: Activities That Allow Students to Get Up on Their Feet and Moving!, the novel Big Window, and several articles about drama and creativity. Mary DeBastiani, RDT, Treasurer.  She is a graduate of New York University's drama therapy program where she served as the program assistant. During her time at NYU, she interned at North Central Bronx Hospital in an acute care psychiatric setting and also at Fishkill Correctional Facility working with incarcerated men in a medium security prison. Upon graduation, she moved to Atlanta, GA to work as a drama therapist in an acute care behavioral health hospital working with adults and adolescents with mental illness and addiction. She then returned to her passion of teaching and is currently working as an educator in an urban public school setting with adolescents in 8th to 10th grade. In 2006 she received the NADT Student Service award and has a strong love for the work of drama therapy in any occupation. She would be extremely honored to serve on the Board of Directors for the National Drama Therapy Association and would appreciate being considered to serve as Treasurer. Deb Mier, RDT, LCSW, Membership Chair.  She has served on the board of the NADT for two terms, initially as Central Region Representative and presently as the NADT Membership Chair. She resides in the vast Mid-West (Chicago) and is keenly aware of the isolation drama therapists can feel at times in communities that are just beginning to recognize drama therapy. As Central Regional Representative she and Liz Muckley, RDT created an area creative arts therapy network to combat isolation and promote connection. In her role as NADT Membership Chair she strives to explore how to further connect a growing community that is spread across the continent and around the world. Deb has been honored to serve our membership and welcomes the opportunity to continue to grow in her present role should she be re-elected. Nadya Trytan, MA, RDT/BCT, Communications Chair.  She has a private practice and works part-time on the mental health units at United Hospital in St Paul, MN. This includes work with inpatient adolescent, adult and geriatric populations as well as outpatient adults and adolescents. She is currently on the leadership team for MNCATA, The Minnesota Creative Arts Therapists Association. Her past work for NADT includes serving as Conference Coordinator for the NADT Midwest Regional conference in 2006, Dramascope Editor during 2003-2005 and member of the Bylaw Revision Committee and Regional Chapter Development Committee in 2002. She received her Master's Degree from Kansas State University and became a Drama Therapist through the alternative training route. Heidi Landis, RDT, Education Chair.  She is a Registered Drama Therapist (RDT), Licensed Creative Arts Therapist (LCAT) and Certified Psychodramatist (TEP). Currently Heidi is the program manager at Creative Alternatives of New York, where she runs a variety of therapeutic drama groups with many different populations including refugee children and adults, adults on the autistic spectrum and youth in residential settings. In addition, Heidi is the Drama Therapy Liaison at the Psychodrama and Creative Arts Therapy Institute in NYC where she is also in private practice. Heidi is an adjunct professor at The College of New Rochelle and has presented workshops and classes at many national conferences and institutes, including the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama and the National Association of Drama Therapy and The Alcoholism Council of New York. Heidi is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, The Moscow Art Theater School and The Boston Conservatory and completed her RDT through the alternative track. Randy Mulder, RDT, Government Affairs Chair.  He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association for Drama Therapy as Government Affairs Chair. He has represented NADT on Capitol Hill for the past two years advocating for drama therapy and the arts in healthcare. Randy has established significant relationships with government affairs chairs from other national creative arts therapies associations. He and the Government Affairs committee are creating an advocacy training program for NADT. On the state level, Randy has established ongoing communication with a key administrator in New York State Board for Mental Health Practitioners and chairs NADT's newly formed NY State Task Force instituted to address the pressing issues of licensing. Professionally, he has spent the past decade working in prisons throughout New York State and created a theatre arts program at Beacon Correctional Facility for Women. Randy is a Department of Justice contractor with the Feeral Detention Center's Psychiatric Unit in Philadelphia. Since 2002, Randy is artistic director of Village Playback Theatre, and recently on faculty at the International School for Playback Theatre. Maria Hodermarska, Ethics Chair.  She is a Licensed Creative Arts Therapist (LCAT), a Registered Drama Therapist (RDT) and a Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor (CASAC). Her drama therapy work has been in community-based mental health programs and alcohol/substance abuse treatment programs serving un-served or under-served populations. Ms. Hodermarska has been an adjunct assistant clinical professor in the Graduate Program in Drama Therapy at NYU since 1995. She is a faculty member of the Institute for Drama Therapy in New York City. She is the former Education Chairperson for the Board of Directors of the National Association for Drama Therapy. Ms. Hodermarska would be honored to be serving the NADT in the position of Ethics Chair. She is currently serving as a member of the Ethics Committee. Mark Beauregard, RDT, LCAT, Eastern Region Representative.  He is a graduate of NYU, currently working with adolescents in the South Bronx of NYC. During his career he has worked in various psychiatric settings with adults, adolescents and children. He also feels strongly about growing his focus on gender and sexuality issues. Mark believes that being an active member of the community is important, and has worked on the Tri-State Chapter of NADT for the past four years, first as its Recording Secretary and currently as its Vice-President. He is also currently the Conference Chair for the 2009 NADT Conference coming in November, as well as the recent Eastern Region Conference. Mark believes strongly in drama therapy and is inspired by the incredibly creative and skilled people that are called to it. It would be an honor and pleasure for him to serve the NADT membership on the Board in a time of such potential for growth. Liz Muckley, RDT, LCPC, Central Region Representative.  She has been a practicing Playback Theater artist for almost 20 years. In the beginning of her practice, she was in the world of professional theater. Her interest in Playback's healing power eventually led her to enroll at CIIS in 2003. She is now a Creative Arts Therapist and Program Manager at a day treatment center for people with severe mental illness on the north side of Chicago. Liz is very interested in holding "virtual" gatherings to bring the central region's members together despite the many miles that separate us. Such gatherings can go a long way to sustain, nurture and enliven individual practice and contribute to the growth of our field. Gary Raucher, RDT/BCT, Western Region Representative.  He is currently completing a two-year term as Vice President of NADT, and served as Co-Chair (with Jess Miller) of the 2008 National Conference in San Francisco. His interest to now run for Western Regional Rep reflects his desire to help drama therapists throughout the Western Region coordinate and marshal resources into more effective communication networks and projects that build public awareness of the drama therapy field. He would like to see the western region more actively represented on the NADT Government Affairs Committee, and coordinate with local chapters of other CAT associations regarding advocacy for the Creative Arts Therapies. In his professional life, he is a core faculty member of the Drama Therapy Program at CIIS in San Francisco, where he also maintains a part-time private practice in drama therapy and is a licensed MFT. He is a senior member of the Institute for Developmental Transformations West, and edits a weekly E-newsletter, The DT Tickler, which publicizes drama therapy events in Northern California and the Bay Area. He thanks you for considering his candidacy. Bonnie Harnden, MA, RDT, AT, Canadian Representative. She joined Concordia University as a full-time faculty member after working for eight years as a part-time instructor with the Department of Creative Arts Therapies and 12 years at the Montreal Children's Hospital's Department of Psychiatry. There, she worked on the Emergency follow up team with children, adolescents and families in crisis. Bonnie specialized in building resiliency with children and high-risk youth, and working with parents to build and strengthen attachment patterns and family communication. Bonnie is currently involved with research involving adolescents diagnosed with borderline personality disorder and is also investigating the use of play therapy and its effectiveness in alleviating the symptoms of depression in children. Bonnie has published several articles on the efficacy of outpatient creative arts therapies in the treatment of suicidal adolescents and their families. In addition, Bonnie is completing her training as a psychoanalyst and is in private practice with individuals, couples, and families.   Click here for a list of our former Boards