Jim Azar, Director

Jim Azar is the director of the Center for Counseling and Student Development and the co-director of the training program.

He came to Roger Williams University in July 1990 after serving as a staff psychologist at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Northampton, MA.  He has a master's degree in experimental psychology and a doctorate degree in counseling psychology from Michigan State University.

He serves as the chair of the Sexual Assault and the Eating Disorder Task Forces and the co-chair of the Alcohol Task Force and the Student-At-Risk Committee.

His professional interests include health and sports psychology, philosophical psychology, developing systematic approaches to issues such as sexual assault, eating disorders and suicide prevention, training and supervision, spirituality, and psychotherapy from a Buddhist perspective.

His hobbies include long-distance running, yoga, visiting baseball parks and diners, and cooking. He is a licensed psychologist in Rhode Island.

Carolyn Dennett,  Assistant Director

Carolyn Dennett is a licensed psychologist.  She received a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and a M.S. in Counseling and Human Development from the University of Rochester.

Prior to coming to RWU, she worked as a clinician at the Bridgewater State College Counseling Center.  Her training experiences include working at community clinics, college counseling centers and in hospital emergency rooms providing crisis interventions.

Her professional interests include women’s issues pertaining to growth and development, couples and relationship counseling, and program development.  In her free time, she enjoys going for long walks and spending time with friends and family.

Jim Woodruff

Jim Woodruff is a licensed psychologist and co-director of training. He received his Ph.D. in counseling psychology from the University of North Texas, his M.A. in clinical psychology from Central Michigan University, and his B.A. in sociology from the University of Vermont.

Prior to coming to RWU in 1986, he had worked at several mental health clinics and at a VA medical center where he primarily treated Vietnam veterans suffering from PTSD. His professional interests include the process of change, relationship issues, men's issues, and training and supervision. Jim enjoys golfing, fishing, friends, and humor.

Romelyn Valdez Woodruff

Romelyn Valdez Woodruff is a board certified Clinical Specialist in Adult Psychiatric & Mental Health Nursing and a licensed Mental Health Counselor. She received her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Central Michigan University and her B.S. in Nursing from the University of Vermont.

She came to RWU in 1986 from Northampton, MA where she was a psychotherapist at Smith College Counseling Services. She has had clinical positions in community mental health centers and inpatient psychiatric settings. Her professional interests include healing and the process of change from an Eastern philosophical and spiritual perspective, cross-cultural counseling (bi-racial, multi-ethnic, LGBTA), women's issues, relationship issues, and mind-body psychotherapy.

Her personal interests include studies in spirituality, meditation, reading, and spending time with her husband and children. She has been an adjunct faculty in the Holistic Counseling Master's program at Salve Regina University since 1997.

Nancy Hood

Nancy Hood is a licensed clinical social worker with an MSW from Boston College and a Bachelor's degree in music from Boston University. She has received training in Psychosynthesis and Spiritual Psychology from the Concord Institute and in EMDR (Level II).

She came to Roger Williams University in 1980 having worked for Family Services. For ten years she taught a Women's Issues course as an adjunct faculty member for the Social and Health Services program at Roger Williams University.

Her professional interests include trauma work, bereavement and performance enhancement. Most of all she appreciates the opportunity to help others connect to a deeper sense of self. Her additional interests are music and social justice.

Stefanie Lava

Stefanie Lava is a post-doctorate fellow at the Roger Williams University Counseling Center.  She earned a Psy.D. in clinical psychology from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology.   She received her B.A. in psychology and journalism from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Stefanie has previously worked as a psychotherapist in a middle school and as a therapist in an adult inpatient psychiatric unit.  For the past two years Stefanie has been a therapist at the Roger Williams University Counseling Center.

Stefanie’s professional interests include attachment theory, relationship issues, and sibling dynamics.  Her personal interests include spending time with friends and family, traveling, and reading.

Nate Johnson

Nate Johnson is a psychology intern at the Roger Williams University Counseling Center.  He is a fourth year Psy.D. student in clinical psychology at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology and earned his Masters in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Nate has previously worked in a residential treatment program for teenage girls, a pastoral counseling agency and a psychiatric hospital for older adults.  His professional interests include group therapy, family therapy, addiction and aging issues.  His personal interests include sailing, kayaking and travel.

Linda Suriyakham

Linda Suriyakham is a psychology intern at the Roger Williams University Counseling Center.  She received an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience from the Psychology Department at the University of Chicago, as well as a B.A. in Neuroscience from Pomona College.  Since moving to the East Coast, she has been attending the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology to obtain a post-doctoral Certificate of Respecialization in Clinical Psychology.

Previously, Linda has worked as a clinician in a psychiatric inpatient unit for adolescent girls, as well as doing home-based therapy with families in the Early Intervention program.  Her professional interests include lifespan development and cultural influences on psychotherapy.  Her personal interests include camping, cooking, and playing the violin.

Mary Beth Kilinski

Mary Beth Kilinski is a psychology intern at the Roger Williams University Counseling Center. She is a third year Psy.D. student in clinical psychology at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology. She earned her B.A. in psychology from St. Anselm's College in Manchester, N.H. and pursued a career in business before returning to psychology.

Previously, Mary Beth has worked as a psychotherapist at a private practice, at an adult partial-hospitalization program and at an elementary school. Her professional interests include systems work, depression, bereavement, relationship issues and mind-body connection. For fun, Mary Beth enjoys dance, strength training, reading about homeopathic medicine, cooking (and eating) and spending time outdoors.