UCLA STAND/ALACRITY External Speaker Series

Sang Leng Trieu is the Program Director for STEP Up Ohlone Mental Health Program at Ohlone College where she oversees mental health education and student engagement programs. She has been working at Ohlone since 1999. Her work in institutions of higher education spans seven campuses in Northern and Southern California, serving in faculty and student affairs roles. She holds two graduate degrees in public health. Sang is trained in public health. As a marathon runner, she has raced in all 50 states and seven continents.

Nicole Johnson, RN, MSN, is the Director of Student Health Services at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo and the President of the Health Services Association for California Community Colleges (HSACCC). At Cuesta College she oversees the health services program, ensuring students have access to comprehensive health services including mental health support. She has been in this role at Cuesta College since 2018. Her leadership for HSACCC involves leading the organization in their mission to support and foster student access to quality health service programs within the California Community Colleges system. She also serves as the chair for HSACCC's research team, which aims to build evidence that supports college health research to improve student learning and engagement. She holds a master's degree in nursing and spent several years working in critical care nursing before shifting into the education sector. When she is not working, she loves hiking and fostering animals for her local shelter.

Becky Perelli has served California community colleges for over twenty years, first as Director of Student Health Services at West Valley College, then at City College of San Francisco. As an advanced practice nurse in community and mental health she has elevated the issue of student mental health, which included representing the California community colleges (CCCs) in establishing the statewide Mental Health Discrimination Reduction Strategic Plan as well as testifying in support of targeted higher education funding during the launch of Proposition 63, which has recently become ongoing. Currently she consults with colleges in efforts to enhance health and wellness programs. She remains a strong proponent of the public health model as foundation for student success in the California community colleges.

Dr. Stephen Schueller is an Associate Professor of Psychological Science and Informatics at UC Irvine. As a clinical psychologist and mental health services researcher, Dr. Schueller studies how technology can improve mental health services by expanding access and improving accessibility. His work includes the development, evaluation, and implementation of digital mental health products in diverse settings and populations. He is also the Executive Director of OneMind Psyberguide.org.

He received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, Riverside, his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed his clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Schueller’s research has been supported by National Institute of Mental Health, the Jacobs Foundation, Pivotal Ventures, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He has received Rising Star Awards from the Association for Psychological Science and the International Society for Research on Internet Interventions, and a Mid-Career Investigator Award from the Association from Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Tech Special Interest Group.

Dr. Ed Watkins is Professor of Experimental and Applied Clinical Psychology at the School of Psychology, University of Exeter. He trained as a chartered clinical psychologist at the Institute of Psychiatry, London, and then held a joint research position between the Institute of Psychiatry and the Medical Research Council – Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit. He has specialist clinical training and expertise in cognitive therapy for depression. He currently works as a researcher, teacher, and clinical practitioner, and directs SMART Lab (Study of Maladaptive to Adaptive Repetitive Thought), specialising in psychological research and treatment for depression and anxiety. His research programme focuses on worry and rumination, utilising both experimental methods to understand its mechanisms and then clinical process-outcome research to translate these experimental findings into improved psychological interventions to treat and prevent depression and anxiety. He has been funded by the Wellcome Trust, UK Medical Research Council (MRC) Experimental Medicine Award, European Commission FP7,European Commission H2020 and a NARSAD Young Investigators Award. Current research includes examining diet and behavioural change to prevent depression and obesity; the use of therapy targeting rumination to improve outcomes for depression and anxiety, the use of e-therapies to prevent depression and anxiety, tested in UK, Netherlands, Sweden, and Hong Kong, the use of innovative trial designs to disentangle the active ingredients of internet-delivered CBT, and the development of personalized digital self-help interventions to prevent poor mental health in young people. He was awarded the British Psychological Society's May Davidson Award 2004 for outstanding early-career contribution to the development of clinical psychology, was a member of the Wellcome Trust Expert Review Group for Cognitive Neuroscience and Mental Health 2011-2014, and is a current member of the UK NICE guidelines review board for adult depression.

He received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of California, Riverside, his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and completed his clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.

Dr. Schueller’s research has been supported by National Institute of Mental Health, the Jacobs Foundation, Pivotal Ventures, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He has received Rising Star Awards from the Association for Psychological Science and the International Society for Research on Internet Interventions, and a Mid-Career Investigator Award from the Association from Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Tech Special Interest Group.