We are delighted to announce the appointment of six new members to the DDPI Worldwide Board of Directors.
Lorren Arezio, María José Cumsille, Fiona Duncan, Sez Morse, Ravi Sharma and Gretchen Wilhelm will all join this month for varied terms of up to 2 years.
They have been appointed after our open application process and Board vote earlier this year, and step into places vacated by Carol Frazier, Susan Scott, Ellie Williams and Michelle Hogeterp, our outgoing Board co-chair.
Lorren Arezio is a Clinical Psychologist and DDP Practitioner, Consultant and Trainer, based in Brisbane, Australia. She currently works in private practice and has co-chaired the Australia Steering Group and Global Development Committee. Lorren writes: “Growing in Australia has come with many challenges, but I am excited to be on the Board to bring these experiences to help us build a bigger lens, especially as DDP reaches into new spaces across the globe where a broader voice is needed”.
María José Cumsille, Clinical Psychologist, DDP Practitioner, Consultant and Trainer, has 25 years experience working with children and their families impacted by developmental trauma. Based in Chile, she is a Global Development Committee member and helps run the DDP Special Interest Group for Latin American and Spanish speaking countries and/or cultures. María José writes: “I joined the Board because relationships change lives, and I want more people around the world to have access to the kind of healing that happens when we feel truly seen, safe, and connected… My hope is that we continue building bridges across languages, cultures, and systems, while staying grounded in the curiosity, playfulness, compassion, and connection that make DDP so special.”
Fiona Duncan is the Head of Training and Development for Moore House Group in East Lothian, Scotland. She has worked in residential childcare, the emergency ambulance service and the further education sector. Her experiences working with care-experienced young people have deeply influenced her current focus on staff learning and development and she is “delighted to be joining the DDPI Worldwide Board”.
Sez Morse, Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, is a DDP Practitioner, Consultant and Trainer based in Brighton, UK. She was a founding director of DDP Connects UK & Ireland, member of the DDP Global working group and RESJ, Community Development and Professional Standards committees, from which she is now stepping down as chair. Sez writes: “I believe DDP has not only a strong pull but is developing an immense reach and as a DDPI Worldwide board member I am looking forward to widening, deepening and strengthening that reach wherever it is sought and wherever it is needed. ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to far, go together’ (African proverb)”.
Ravi Sharma is the co-founder and CEO of My Tribe Homes, a group of therapeutic children’s homes in Kent, UK, and has over 15 years experience in business across real estate and operations. My Tribe Homes embeds DDP, relational and trauma-informed practice at a systemic level to create therapeutic and transformative environments for children and their caregivers. Ravi writes: “My hope is that we continue exploring how deeply relational ways of being can become embedded not only within therapy, but within whole organisations and communities. I feel honoured to join the DDPI Worldwide Board and look forward to contributing where I can, whilst learning from colleagues whose work has already had such a profound impact within our homes. “
Gretchen Wilhelm is a DDP Practitioner, Psychologist, professional Counselor, and Clinical Supervisor based in Staunton, VA, in the United States. For 40 years she has worked with children and families impacted by developmental trauma, and is currently advocating for policy and regulation changes in the State of Virginia, promoting DDP and other attachment-focussed approaches. Gretchen writes: “My hope is that, as DDP continues to grow, it will be more widely practiced in North America and other needed areas of the world. With ongoing organizational and research-based efforts, I foresee a very bright, sustainable future for DDP”.
They join our current Board members: co-chairs Jacqueline Lynch and Billy Smythe, Anne Benson, Louise Faulkner, Tiziana Frau and Dr Mariëtte Henning-Pugh. Full biographies can be found on the DDPI Worldwide Board of Directors page.
DDPI Worldwide Board, top-left to bottom-right, Jacqueline Lynch, Billy Smythe, Lorren Arezio, Anne Benson, María José Cumsille, Fiona Duncan, Louise Faulkner, Tiziana Frau, Mariëtte Henning-Pugh, Sez Morse, Ravi Sharma and Gretchen Wilhelm.
DDPI Worldwide extends its heartfelt thanks to our outgoing Board members, whose wisdom and dedication have been invaluable to our growth and moving the organisation forward.
Our Board is made up of 12 members, based in 6 different countries, with diverse experiences and training in DDP, and who come from varied professional backgrounds reflective of our community.
