ABOUT US

Michele Solloway, PhD, MPA, SEP, DBC, LMT/BCMBT, is a national expert in understanding how trauma impacts our lives, with a focus on how to prevent trauma and heal from it. She has integrated various areas of her research, practice, and community work to focus on child and family health, health care for marginal and vulnerable populations, and trauma reduction/resilience building She has over 30 years’ experience in neuroscience, health services, and policy research with a more recent focus on childhood trauma and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Dr. Solloway is also a nationally certified transformational life coach and healing arts practitioner with training in Somatic Experiencing™, polarity, craniosacral, and massage therapies, and energy medicine. In this capacity she maintains a private practice. She is also Chair of the SEI Board of Directors, an ACEs master trainer for the state of Maryland, a member of the Maryland State Trauma-Informed Care Commission, and a member of the Maryland Essentials for Childhood & State Council on Child Abuse and Neglect.

Michele’s mission: My mission is to expand the reach of SE and SEI, improve knowledge about and accessibility to SE services around the world, build the scientific evidence for SE, and be an ambassador for SE and SEI to the public through leadership, research, education, direct services, and participation in public, non-profit, and governmental activities to create trauma-informed and responsive systems of care. I seek to continually grow and enhance my capacity for self-reflection, self-regulation, compassion, presence, and gratitude.

Sangeeta Fernandes, PhD, is the director of the American Academy of Ophthalmic Executives, serving a specialized group of 4,000 practice executives and physicians within the San Francisco-based international association of 30,000 ophthalmologists. In her previous work, Dr. Fernandes specifically studied mental health and sexual trauma among marginalized populations, including at risk for HIV. Her work focused on finding pathways to provide risk education and inspire health efficacy in populations challenged by socio-cultural and economic inequity. She has over 15 years of experience working in and with academic and research institutions in international public health. Sangeeta has begun Somatic Experiencing® training. She holds deep respect for the mission of the Foundation for Human Enrichment and the Somatic Experiencing® Trauma Institute and hopes to apply her experience in association management in service of furthering this mission.

Sangeeta’s mission: To use my skills and experience in association management, membership growth and strategic planning to support the mission of SEI in service of a global and diverse community.

Rebecca M. Stahl is the Executive Director of the Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts at the University of Baltimore School of Law. Rebecca previously represented children in child welfare cases in Los Angeles, County California and in Tucson, Arizona. Rebecca was a Fulbright Scholar in New Zealand and earned a Master of Law degree from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand and studied the role of lawyers for children in family court cases. Rebecca has presented at a variety of international conferences focused on children’s rights and family law on topics ranging from the role of lawyers for children to trauma. Rebecca coauthored, Representing Children in Dependency and Family Law: Beyond the Law, a book focused on the psychological issues lawyers for children need to understand to represent their child clients and has published articles on the role of children’s representation, including a recent one on trauma, published in October 2020 in Family Court Review. Rebecca is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner and came to Somatic Experiencing from a background in yoga and seeing trauma manifestations every day in court. Rebecca melds SE and law and teaches trainings around the world to help lawyers navigate trauma manifestations in themselves and in their clients. Rebecca is a non-cishet Jew who believes in the power of community as the focal point for growth and healing.

Rebecca’s mission: To help grow a larger community that shares the language of Somatic Experiencing with each other and the world, my mission is to be present, to listen, and to hold a large container for the SEI community with wholeheartedness, openness, integrity, and inquisitiveness.

Sergio Ocampo, BEng., MA, LMFT, SEP, is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice in Los Angeles, CA. He has served as an SE Assistant since 2017.

Prior to his involvement and completion of Somatic Experiencing training, Sergio worked and studied internationally for nearly 10 years. He received a scholarship to study and restore Renaissance art in Florence, Italy, and later moved into employment opportunities in the petroleum and automation industries, enabling him to travel and work in other parts of Europe as well as Africa. Sergio is fluent in Italian, Dutch, Spanish and English. Upon returning to America, Sergio joined the financial services industry in roles as a stockbroker and financial advisor. Later, he created his own business enterprise specializing in media and electronics for the sports and film industries.