Gina has been a licensed mental health professional for 24 years and has focused her career on working with children, youth, and their families. She completed clinical internships at the Utah State Hospital (Children’s Unit) and at the Division of Child and Family Services (Special Needs Adoptions). After receiving her MSW she worked at her local public mental health center as a school-based therapist for two elementary schools, where she provided individual, group and family therapy, coordinated services between the mental health and education sectors, and implemented social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. She then worked at a residential treatment center for adolescents who had offended sexually, where she provided individual and group therapy for the youth, as well as family services such as family therapy and group family therapy. Gina also helped with program development and implementation, interfaced with the local high school where her clients attended, and studied the impacts of trauma on adolescent development.

For the last 12+ years, Gina has worked with a local company to provide training to educators about how to teach students SEL skills and how to be resilient. Most recently she has been enlisted to provide these trainings at prisons around the United States to both staff and inmates, which has been a very interesting and rewarding experience. In 2017, Gina completed a PhD in Educational Leadership Foundations. Her dissertation focused on SEL and how to engage parents in the process of learning SEL skills alongside their children. She currently serves on her local school board and has a passion for working with individuals and communities who have traditionally been underrepresented and underserved.

Gina has been married for 10+ years and has two young children. Her hobbies include spending time at the local rec center doing weight lifting and indoor cycling classes, finding great deals on Amazon for things she doesn’t really need, and trying to find time to sleep.