Spirituality: A Powerful Force in Women's Recovery
September 15-16, 2003

Speaker Biographies

Geneva Berns, MAT, is currently on the Franciscan Leadership Team in Rochester, Minnesota. She was the Supervisor of Pastoral Care at the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California from April 1990 to June 2000. She is a well known, international speaker and educator, with more than thirty years experience in addressing the issues of today’s living. Geneva has conducted workshops, retreats and seminars throughout the United States and internationally. She presents topics on issues including addiction, abuse, self-esteem, empowerment, spirituality, and grief and loss. She recently completed three video tapes on the topics of grief and spirituality as part of the Betty Ford Center Series. Ms. Berns holds a Master’s Degree from St. Michael’s College in Vermont, and is a trained pastoral counselor. She is certified as an elementary teacher and a chemical dependency practitioner.

Stephanie Covington, PhD, is co-director of the Institute for Relational Development and the Center for Gender and Justice. She is a clinician, author, organizational consultant, and lecturer. Recognized for her pioneering work in the area of women's issues, Dr. Covington specializes in the development and implementation of gender-responsive services. She has conducted seminars worldwide on addiction, sexuality, families, and relationships for health professionals, business and community organizations, and recovery groups. The seminars, both practical and sensitive in approach, provide professionals with a valuable opportunity to learn new skills for dealing with personal, institutional, and societal changes as we move into the twenty-first century. Among the many articles and books written by Dr. Covington are A Woman's Way through the Twelve Steps and its companion workbook; Awakening Your Sexuality: A Guide for Recovering Women; and Leaving the Enchanted Forest: The Path from Relationship Addiction to Intimacy. Most recently, she is the author of a comprehensive treatment curriculum entitled Helping Women Recover: A Program for Treating Addiction, with a special edition for the criminal justice system.

China Galland, MA, is the award-winning author of The Bond Between Women; Longing for Darkness, Tara and the Black Madonna; and Women in the Wilderness. A Professor in Residence at the Center for the Arts, Religion, and Education (CARE) at the Graduate Theological Union, she is also the Founder and Director of Images of Divinity (IOD), an independent project sponsored by CARE, a non-profit Center within the Graduate Theological Union. IOD locates, gathers, and introduces (through varied media forms) female images of the divine, into mainstream American culture in order to build bridges between diverse peoples, cultures, and traditions. China is focused on producing ways to demonstrate concretely how this material is relevant to the situation and needs of incarcerated women and girls. She has pioneered multiple applications of her cross-cultural, religiously plural material and created programs and conferences for universities and galleries as well. Additionally, China lectures internationally. In 2003, she was featured in a PBS one-hour documentary feature, “Women of Wisdom and Power: the Power Within,” along with Jane Goodall, Gloria Steinem, and a handful of other women change-makers. In 2002, she was featured in a DVD entitled Stabat Mater on the French composer Francois Poulenc’s “Litany to the Black Virgin.” China and the two other authors featured are the world’s leading authorities on the subject of the Dark or Black Madonna.

Barbara Kappos, MSW, currently serves as the Director of Bienvenidos Family Services located in East Los Angeles. She has served in this position for the past thirteen years and has organized and implemented over 40 community-based programs. Ms. Kappos has dedicated over 20 years of her life to the war on poverty and continues to facilitate and advocate for women and their families afflicted by poverty. She is an expert in the area of family strengthening, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and community mobilization, and she has been instrumental in building an infrastructure for culturally competent, family-focused programs that build on the strengths of the Latino community.

Dusty Miller, EdD, clinical psychologist, consultant and writer, is the director of ATRIUM Institute and Co-Director of the Willing Spirit Retreat Center in Massachusetts. Along with numerous journal articles, Dr. Miller has written the following books: Women Who Hurt Themselves; Addictions and Trauma Recovery: Healing the Body, Mind and Spirit; and Your Surviving Spirit: A Workbook of Spiritual Resources for Coping with Trauma. She also developed a trauma and addictions model that has been successfully implemented in a variety of settings, including rural and urban community-based projects, recovery facilities, and prisons.

Rosalinda Ramirez, MA, has a Masters degree in counseling and spirituality, and she is a certified drug and alcohol counselor, clinical supervisor, international intercultural trainer, and NIDA trainer of trainers. Currently, she is the Executive Director and CEO of the Auditory-Verbal Center of Atlanta, and Founding President of Ravenspeaks, Inc., “A Resource for Authentic Personal & Professional Development.” Current contracts include Hazelden, Wisconsin Association on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, and CDC. Ms. Ramirez has conducted trainings at numerous and varied conferences and agencies throughout the world. She also has published in the U.S. and Europe and has received numerous awards.

Tracie R. Robinson, MA, is a certified dance and movement therapist with over 20 years of training in dance including modern, ballet, jazz, African and improvisation. She uses dance and movement to facilitate synergistic change during the course of structured and/or authentic movement, which allows one to express their personality and emotional concerns via a modality that incorporates the verbal aspects of psychotherapy through body language. With an A.D.T.R (Academy of Dance Therapist Registered) license, Tracie trains, teaches, supervises and provides therapy in a private practice. She is also certified in providing specific movement therapy for cancer survivors. Tracie uses dance as a tool to bring about holistic healing in clinical populations including adult substance abusers, children with emotional and psychological trauma, geriatrics, survivors of sexual and/or physical abuse, and people suffering from eating disorders and depression. She recently opened a private practice while continuing to provide services as a consultant for the Center for Mental Health, Inc., Anacostia Center for Psychotherapy and Counseling, and various other agencies in the Washington, DC area.

Sherry Smith-Hampton, MSW, is currently the Assistant Director of Bienvenidos Family Services. Early in her career, her interest in the lives of her students as a secondary teacher led her to the field of social work. Her expertise and her passion lie in the direction of helping parents understand all aspects of child development and the importance of attachment and bonding in strengthening the family circle. In addition to her administrative duties, staff development continues to be a goal realized through trainings and events that enhance service delivery to the families served by Bienvenidos.

Thea Sullivan, MFA, MAT, is a published poet and writer who has been teaching creative writing and personal growth workshops in the Bay Area for many years. Past venues have included The Writing Salon, The Delancey Street Foundation, The Academy of Art College, and Unity Church. Her signature class, The Intuitive Voice, teaches participants to tap into the deep intelligence of their natural creativity. She has recently completed a nonfiction book entitled Swim the river: Writing and the sacred journey to the center of self.

Sweets S. Wilson, PhD, LADC, CDVCIII is a clinical social worker, licensed alcohol and drug counselor, and certified domestic violence counselor with over fifteen years of experience in the field of clinical social work with children, adolescents, and adults. Dr. Wilson provides psychotherapy in individual and group settings, conducts substance abuse evaluations, and supervises clinical services with direct care staff. She also set up and directs a small independent counseling and substance abuse agency where she guides the efforts of other professionals. Dr. Wilson brings an understanding and holistic approach to the very difficult subject of spirituality, which all counseling and health care staff must ultimately encounter.