Personal Stories

 WSASP is pleased to present a series of videos highlighting the personal stories of school psychologists from diverse backgrounds and fields.  Please feel free to use these stories in presentations using the power point templates below in the NASP Exposure Project. Please click on the names of school psychologists below to access videos with their personal stories. 

Sara Aguilar is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist who attended Eastern Washington University. She is currently working at the Marysville School District. She enjoys collaborating with teachers and specialists at the Tier II level to increase student success in General Education. Additionally, Multicultural School Psychology is another interest, as she is from a multicultural background herself. 

Arick Branen is a school psychologist in Tacoma Public Schools.  In his first career, he owned a pizza restaurant for 13 years.  He later worked as a school counselor before deciding to professionally retrain as a school psychologist.  Arick uses his business background in many ways, including serving our association as the WSASP Treasurer and co-coordinating the WSASP Annual Fall Conference. 

Dr. Jill Davidson is a nationally certified school psychologist and works in North Kitsap School District. She has served in multiple leadership roles in WSASP, including several terms as WSASP President.  She shared her personal story as a woman of transgender history in the NASP Communique (will require NASP login). Jill is active on the WSASP Govermental and Professional Relations Committee. 

Dr. Laurie Engelbeck is a nationally certified school psychologist and works in the Issaquah School District. She was originally trained as a clinical psychologist and worked in mental health settings, including a self-contained special education program, and in medical settings, before re-specializing as a school psychologist.   She is currently the President of the Washington State Association of School Psychologists.  

Dr. Laurie Harrison respecialized as a school psychologist after training as a Counseling Psychologist.  Laurie recently moved to Eastern Washington after working in Snohomish School District.  She is now a school psychologist in Spokane Public Schools.  Laurie is the chair of the Retention and Recruitment Committee for WSASP and serves as the SCOPE newsletter editor. 

Julia Martin is a nationally certified school psychologist and is a recent graduate from Eastern Washington University's School Psychology Program.  She is completing her first year as a school psychologist in Spokane Public Schools.  While she was a graduate student, Julia served as her program's NASP student leader and participated in the Multicultural Affairs Committee.  She now serves on the WSASP Retention and Recruitment Committee and introduced WSASP to the NASP Exposure Project.   

Ryan Neitzel is a nationally certified school psychologist and is passionate about working with students with disabilities, as he personally has a specific learning disability.  Ryan works in the Issaquah School District.   

Dr. Tracy Pennington is a nationally certified school psychologist who currently works in Tacoma Public Schools. Prior to her 24 years as a school psychologist, she worked with chronically mentally ill older adults in a community based housing program. Tracy has been active in WSASP serving as an area rep, past president, and currently with the Professional Development and Mental Health committees.

Darion Roth-Drummond is a third year student in the Eastern Washington University School Psychology Program and is completing his internship in the Wapato School District.  

Monique Thacker is a nationally certified school psychologist and and works in the Lake Stevens School District.  Monique gained extensive mentoring Native American students while completing her graduate training in Utah. Monique currently serves as lead psychologist in her district and is an active member of several district teams, including the MTSS team, Prevention Intervention team, and Social/Emotional Learning team.Monique serves as the WSASP Secretary and is a member of the Retention and Recruitment Committee.