BEAM Career Fair – Keynote Speaker, Presenters, and Workshops

Director, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health

Lisa Wong, Psy.D., is the Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) as of February 28, 2023, after serving as Interim Director since July 2022. Prior to this role, Dr. Wong was LACDMH’s Senior Deputy Director overseeing the Department’s clinical programs and community-based services over a broad range of settings throughout Los Angeles County. 

Concurrent with her Senior Deputy Director role, Dr. Wong was also the interim Chief of the Full- Service Partnership (FSP) program, a 24/7 intensive outpatient service aimed at helping clients at risk for homelessness, incarceration, and hospitalization, among other negative life outcomes. 

Starting in the County as a student over 30 years ago, Dr. Wong spent more than two decades working in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles providing care to some of the County’s most vulnerable and high-risk individuals experiencing serious mental illness and homelessness. Prior to her current role, she served as the Mental Health Clinical Program Head Over Downtown Mental Health Center general outpatient services, CalWORKs/GROW, and Prevention & Early Intervention programs before becoming a Service Area Chief over Service Areas 2 and 3. Dr. Wong has also served as Acting Chief for Outpatient Services. 

Dr. Wong earned her Psy.D. from the Pacifica Graduate Institute and her M.A. in clinical psychology from California State University, Los Angeles, and she is a lifelong advocate for vulnerable populations and social justice issues. 

Lizzie Rodriguez is a community psychologist, restorative practitioner, hospitality executive, and educator.  She is the Chief Operating Officer of the Santa Barbara Hotel Collection, overseeing the management of 4 hotels in beautiful Santa Barbara, Ca.  Lizzie is the founder of the Restorative Community Network, a coalition of individuals and organizations committed to working together to address complex social issues contributing to individual and community harm. Lizzie earned her MA in the Community, Liberation, Indigenous, and Ecological (CLIE) Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute.  Her research includes measuring the efficacy of trauma healing and reconciliation programs on the wellbeing of individuals and communities in post-conflict Central African settings.

In this presentation, Lizzie will share her unconventional path toward her vocation along her unique ability to bridge her passions for hospitality and restorative practices creating meaningful systems change.  She hopes to inspire you to Bring Education, Ambition, and Meaningful Work to your career development.

At Pacifica Graduate Institute, he graduated with an M.A. in Mythological Studies with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology. In his studies he was particularly moved by the confluence of esoteric traditions, systems theory, and quantum physics. As a naturally curious person, enjoys acquiring new knowledge, improving systems, and creating innovative solutions to prickly problems. In his spare time, he enjoys fly fishing and dancing with his wife, Dana, and young son, Jack. Oh yeah, and reading!

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