Melanie Lantz, SAS Co-Chair

Melanie is thrilled to have this opportunity to be the Co-Chair of SAS. She is originally from Allentown, Pennsylvania, and received a B.A. in Psychology from Cedar Crest College in 2009 with minors in Religious Studies and Health and Wellness. She is very fond of her Alma Matter! Melanie also holds an A.S. in Psychology from Lehigh Carbon Community College. She is a third year student at UAlbany and enjoys her practicum site and teaching Principles of Career and Life Planning. Melanie's research interests include influences of racism, media influence, spirituality, mindfulness, and the process and treatment of addiction. Aside from school, she enjoy spending time with her husband and her animals, traveling, reading, and watching television.

Katharine Shaffer, SAS Co-Chair

Katy is excited to have this opportunity to work with SAS as Co-Chair! Katy received her Regent's B.A. from Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, WV and her M.S. in Counseling from the University of Baltimore. Katy is a second year doctoral student and her research interests include process-outcome, supervision, career and gender. Her loves (other than counseling psychology, of course!) are music, art in all forms, reading, college football, hockey, spending time with friends and family, traveling, cooking, and hosting social events.

Ke Fang, SAS Secretary/Historian

Ke is excited to take on the role of secretary/historian for SAS. As a fourth year doctoral student, Ke is enjoying all aspects of her doctoral training at SUNY Albany. She works as a counselor at a college counseling center, an instructor of a multicultural psychology class, and an active researcher interested in diverse populations’ help-seeking attitudes.

Erin Ring, SAS Membership Coordinator

Erin is a third-year doctoral student at the University at Albany. Originally from the Midwest, she received a B.A. in psychology and women's studies from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN. Her research interests include social justice and prevention, specifically feminist and multicultural perspectives and issues surrounding interpersonal violence. In her spare time, Erin enjoys running, seeing live music, taking road trips, and feeding her caffeine addiction at local coffee shops.

Snehal Kumar, SAS Membership Coordinator

Snehal is a second year doctoral student from Bangalore, India. She graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa with a Bachelors in Psychology. Snehal is interested in understanding the ways in which identities affect the therapeutic process. More specifically, she would like to learn more about the relation between gender and coping mechanisms, particularly in communities that adhere strictly to traditional gender roles.

Alexa Hanus, SAS Network Coordinator

Alexa is a third year doctoral student at the University at Albany. Originally from northern Minnesota, she graduated with a B.A. in psychology from Minnesota State University, Moorhead, and received a Master's degree in counseling psychology from Towson University in Baltimore, MD. Her research interests include the psychological effects of racism and the process by which individuals become aware of and address prejudice beliefs and attitudes.

I-Ching Grace Hung, SAS Network Coordinator

Grace was born in Taiwan and raised in Toronto, Canada. She received her M.Ed. in Counseling & Human Services from Lehigh University and joined the SUNY Albany Ph.D. Counseling Psychology program in 2010. Her research interests involve the intersection of Buddhism and psychology, particularly in the processes and outcomes of psychotherapy. Her other passion in life revolves around food, often exemplified in her difficulty refusing sugar or carbs.

Duane G. Khan, SAS Newsletter Co-Editor

A doctoral student of counseling psychology at the University at Albany, Duane holds a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies and Psychology from Florida International University (2006), and completed his master’s training in mental health counseling at Nova Southeastern University (2008). His graduate level work has focused on psychotherapy and/or research in substance abuse, trauma, minority stress, and supervision of psychotherapy. Duane understands these areas within a developmental framework and strives to integrate a multicultural lens in all of his work. His doctoral dissertation focuses on negative mental health outcomes due to the effects of minority stress on the identity development of GLB people of color.

Matthew Worhach, SAS Newsletter Co-editor

Matt is a second year doctoral student at the University at Albany. He received his B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY. Matt's research interests center around social justice and multiculturalism, with specific focuses on feminist
psychology, LGBT issues, and oppression related to body size. When Matt isn't busy with academics, you can find him cooking, running outdoors, painting, drawing, and baking a multitude of cookies.

Brett Swords, SAS Outreach Coordinator

Brett is a fifth year doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program at the University at Albany. He earned a B.S. in Psychology at York College of Pennsylvania, located in his hometown of York, PA. He has greatly enjoyed clinical work and teaching classes while at the University at Albany. Thus far, his research has concentrated primarily on the experience of harmful or inadequate clinical supervision. In his spare time, he enjoys trying to stay physically active, watching movies, traveling when possible, and spending time with friends.

Robert Carnicella, SAS Programming Coordinator

Robert graduated from Hanover College in 2006 with a B.A. in Psychology and graduated from Indiana University in 2008 with a M.S. in Counseling and Educational Psychology. Robert is currently a fourth year doctoral student at the University at Albany, SUNY in the Counseling Psychology program. His primary areas of interest include career counseling and psychological assessment.

Heidi Hutman, SAS Programming Coordinator

Heidi is a first-year doctoral student at the University at Albany. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Heidi received her B.A. in psychology and her M.A. in counseling psychology from McGill University. Her research interests include clinical supervision and social justice and in particular, the ways in which trainees' multiple identities and social locations influence their supervisory and training experiences. Upon completion of her doctoral studies, Heidi intends to pursue an academic career that integrates her research interests and allows her to train and mentor future generations of helping professionals.

Cathy Lee, SAS Treasurer

Cathy Lee is originally from Taiwan, and moved to the U.S. as a teenager. She received a B.S. in Psychobiology from University of California, Los Angeles, and she also obtained a MFT degree from San Diego State University. She is currently a fourth year doctoral student in the Counseling Pscyhology program at the University at Albany, SUNY. Her research experience and interests include counseling process-outcome research for family and couples, issues related to immigration and acculturation among Asian Americans, and the phenonenon of parachute kids.

Laura Kortz, SAS Web Coordinator

Laura is a third year student. She earned a BS in psychology from Brooklyn College/CUNY, an MLS from Rutgers University and an MA in counseling from New Jersey City University. Prior to coming to UAlbany, Laura was a librarian for over a decade and worked at The New York Public Library and Teachers College/Columbia University. Her research interests include therapist use of technology, development and vocational identity of adults who become counselors at mid-life and work/life balance of psychotherapists. In her spare time Laura enjoys hanging out with friends, photographing nature and architecture and buying and selling furniture on craigslist.

Faculty Advisors


Micki Friedlander, PhD
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Michael Ellis, PhD
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