BAAD Vice President
Angela Tatum Fairfax, PhD, LPC, BC-DMT, NCC is a 2003 graduate of Drexel University/Hahnemann Creative Arts in Therapy-Dance/Movement Therapy program. She is in private practice in Wilmington, Delaware and works in a culturally diverse Behavioral Health hospital in North Philadelphia providing dance/movement therapy groups for people with chronic mental disorders and/or substance abuse problems. She is the first Black person elected to the American Dance Therapy (ADTA) Board of Directors and serves as the Chair of the Multicultural and Diversity Committee (MDC). She supervises graduate level interns in dance/movement therapy training, guest lectures at Drexel University, and provides workshops and in-service training on creativity and spirituality. Angela is a dancer, choreographer, teacher, and licensed minister of dance. You may reach her at [email protected] or www.goodfruitexpressivearts.com.
Angela Tatum Fairfax, PhD, LPC, BC-DMT, NCC is a 2003 graduate of Drexel University/Hahnemann Creative Arts in Therapy-Dance/Movement Therapy program. She is in private practice in Wilmington, Delaware and works in a culturally diverse Behavioral Health hospital in North Philadelphia providing dance/movement therapy groups for people with chronic mental disorders and/or substance abuse problems. She is the first Black person elected to the American Dance Therapy (ADTA) Board of Directors and serves as the Chair of the Multicultural and Diversity Committee (MDC). She supervises graduate level interns in dance/movement therapy training, guest lectures at Drexel University, and provides workshops and in-service training on creativity and spirituality. Angela is a dancer, choreographer, teacher, and licensed minister of dance. You may reach her at [email protected] or www.goodfruitexpressivearts.com.
BAAD Director of Community Outreach, Social Media and Social Activism
Lindsay Howard, BC-DMT, CKYT - RYT200 is currently working at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Drexel University with a Masters in Creative Arts Therapy - Dance Movement Therapy in 2013. She organizes with the Movement For Black Lives centering healing justice work and holding leadership in The Healers For Liberation Network. Her everyday clinical work focuses on combating the stigmas and "isms" of mental health wellness presented in black and brown communities, encouraging the development of safe spaces for Women of Color trauma programs, connecting with Ancestral healing and advocating for more socially conscious therapy practices. Along with being a Board Certified Dance Movement Therapist, Ms. Howard is a Certified Kemetic Yoga Teacher, Holistic Health Consultant, Community Organizer, dancer and choreographer. Her work continues to breathe, stretch and move through her health and wellness company,
MovU, LLC www.letlifemovu.org.
Lindsay Howard, BC-DMT, CKYT - RYT200 is currently working at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C. She graduated from Drexel University with a Masters in Creative Arts Therapy - Dance Movement Therapy in 2013. She organizes with the Movement For Black Lives centering healing justice work and holding leadership in The Healers For Liberation Network. Her everyday clinical work focuses on combating the stigmas and "isms" of mental health wellness presented in black and brown communities, encouraging the development of safe spaces for Women of Color trauma programs, connecting with Ancestral healing and advocating for more socially conscious therapy practices. Along with being a Board Certified Dance Movement Therapist, Ms. Howard is a Certified Kemetic Yoga Teacher, Holistic Health Consultant, Community Organizer, dancer and choreographer. Her work continues to breathe, stretch and move through her health and wellness company,
MovU, LLC www.letlifemovu.org.
Director of Student Relations
Romain Diaz, MA, LPC, majored in kinesiology at Penn State University for her bachelor degree studies and is a graduate of Drexel University Dance/Movement Therapy program. Romain’s thesis research is focused on “Praise dance: It’s form, role and experience in supporting mental health for dancers of an African American congregation". Romain is working as a Dance/Movement Therapist with children and adolescents in an inpatient psychiatric hospital and daycare. Romain also conducts a psycho-educational multi-family groups designed for child/adolescent patients and their families/support systems to build healthier relationships through discussions, activities, and art and movement therapy. Romain's research interest is the connection between dance/movement therapy, spirituality, and dance to improve mental health in various settings for African Americans. Contact her @ [email protected].
Former Director of Afro-Latino Relations (Position Currently Open)
Photo:
Jennifer Samuel, 2010
Maria “Mara” Rivera, MA, MS, BC-DMT, LCAT was born and raised in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico. She currently works as a dance/movement therapist in New York and has acquired extensive experience working with children, adolescents, and adults with severe mental disorders and emotional disturbances. She is a dancer, choreographer, and songwriter working independently and most recently with Ase Dance Theatre Collective(pronounced Ah-shay), a New York City-based neo-folkloric performance ensemble. Maria has also traveled to Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica to research traditional dance forms and religion, which have highly contributed to her belief in traditional dance as a healing vehicle. Recently, she has re-explored her own traditional roots of Afro-Puerto Rican bomba dance, using its improvisational element to restore and maintain physical, emotional, and spiritual health. In 2008 and 2010, Maria served as co-faculty at the New School in NYC, for the summer course: “Intercultural Issues in Creative Art Therapies”, in which Afro-Caribbean dance was used as the vehicle to explore these themes; currently she teaches Intro to DMT at Queens College. Formerly Mara served as the ADTA Public Relations Chair for the New York State Chapter and is very interested in conducting research to create bridges between dance/movement therapy and African based forms of healing.