Faculty

Director, Wilderness Therapy

Deb Piranian

Deb is director of the Wilderness Therapy concentration in the Transpersonal Counseling Psychology Department and has worked as a psychotherapist, in private practice, in a psych hospital and in wilderness therapy settings. She has been a consultant in leadership and team development for businesses and organizations. As a senior Outward Bound Course Director, Deb specialized in wilderness therapy and multinational mountaineering programs. She has more than twenty-five years of climbing experience. Her publications include an article on climbing and meditation and she has presented at conferences on contemplative training for therapists and diversity issues within the field of wilderness therapy.

Assistant Director, Wilderness Therapy

Kate Mazuy
MA, Naropa University, Transpersonal Counseling Psychology

Kate is a certified Hakomi therapist working in private practice and a teacher in training for the Hakomi Institute.  She is the Assistant Director of Naropa’s MA in Wilderness Therapy program. She is also a teacher for Matrixworks/ Living Systems Institute.  Kate draws from her experience of over 18 years of facilitating wilderness experiences to help create an environment where individuals and groups can establish deeper connections with themselves, others, and the earth.  She is passionate about helping people discover their hidden potential and joy.  Her experience includes working with trauma, EMDR, life transitions/ rites of passage work, self-esteem, depression, anxiety, and extreme emotional states.

Academic Advisor, Wilderness Therapy

Anne-Marie Cory
BA, University of Montana
MA, California Institute of Integral Studies
MA, New College of California

As academic advisor, Anne-Marie works closely with Wilderness Therapy students as they navigate trials and celebrate triumphs along the academic journey. Before coming to Naropa, Anne-Marie worked with teens and adults in residential treatment and facilitated nature-based rites of passage with pre-teen girls and college students. In addition to her job, farming and poetry are her passions. 

Internship Coordinator, Wilderness Therapy

Jody Hicks
MA, Naropa University

Jody graduated from Naropa’s Transpersonal Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Wilderness Therapy. She has worked with a variety of populations in diverse settings, including wilderness work with emotionally challenged youth, intensive outpatient programs for teens and adults struggling with addictions, emergency mental health services for adult, after school programs for K-4th grade girls, homeless women, and half-day long intensives for families. In addition to her current work at Naropa in the Wilderness Therapy department, Jody has a private consultation/psychotherapy practice in Boulder. For more information about Jody, please visit www.jodyhicks.net.

Katie Asmus

MA, Naropa University

Katie Asmus comes to the department with twenty years of experience leading groups in therapeutic and educational wilderness programs. Katie has also worked extensively with survivors of abuse and trauma. In addition to her work at Naropa, Katie has a private psychotherapy practice in Boulder, Colorado, and mentors students through Prescott College Adventure Psychotherapy/Education program. She facilitates workshops nationally on somatic intervention for trauma, wilderness and creative art therapies and Right Use of Power as ethics for helping professionals. For more information about Katie, please visit www.namastehealers.com.

Deborah Bowman
BA, University of Kansas
PhD, The Union Institute

Dr. Deborah Bowman is a professor and founder of the Transpersonal Counseling Psychology and the Wilderness Therapy programs at Naropa University. Deborah is a licensed psychologist and certified Gestalt therapist who has worked with individuals and groups for more than twenty years. She is a trainer with the Boulder Psychotherapy Institute offering post graduate education and supervision. Deborah was president of Boulder Graduate School, has worked for Boulder County Hospice, Boulder County Social Services and instructed with the National Outdoor Leadership School. She is co-author of When Your Spouse Comes Out, soon to be published by Haworth Press. 

John Davis
BA, Wake Forest University
MA, University of Colorado, Boulder
PhD, University of Colorado, Boulder

John Davis is director of the low-residency MA in Transpersonal Psychology program at Naropa. A professor and former chair of the Transpersonal Counseling Psychology department, he teaches transpersonal psychology and ecopsychology. John is the author of The Diamond Approach: An Introduction to the Teaching of A.H. Almaas and entries on Transpersonal Psychology and Wilderness Rites of Passage in the Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature, as well as a number of articles and book chapters on transpersonal psychology, ecopsychology, wilderness rites of passage, and research methods. His primary interest is full human development and self-realization with a special focus on the intersection of spirituality, psychology, and the natural world. In addition to his work at Naropa, John is an ordained teacher of the Diamond Approach of A. H. Almaas and a staff member of the School of Lost Borders, where he trains wilderness rites of passage guides and leads wilderness retreats.

Read John Davis’s article, "An Overview of Transpersonal Psychology." For more information, visit www.johnvdavis.com.

Jody Radtke
BS, University of Wisconsin
MA, Naropa University

Jody is the Program Director at The Women's Wilderness Institute in Boulder, www.womenswilderness.org.  Her career in the outdoor field spans over 20 years of teaching experiential education, leading self-discovery retreats and facilitating wilderness therapy programs. In 2004 she received the Outward Bound Exceptional Staff award. She has also worked as a national safety reviewer and staffing manager. Her many outdoor adventures include, ice climbing, mountaineering in New Zealand and Europe, and a 50-day unsupported canoe expedition within the Arctic circle.

Caroline M. Roy
MSW, University of Denver

Caroline is the executive director of Rocky Mountain Equi-Rhythm: Horses Balancing Hearts, an equine assisted growth and learning program in Boulder, Colorado. She is currently a business analyst for the Ohio SACWIS project, which is implementing a case management system for child welfare in Ohio. Caroline worked as a probation officer in Boulder County for ten years and was the team lead of a SB-94 Diagnostic Assessment team, a multi-agency collaborative team that assessed high-risk youth in the Juvenile Justice System. Caroline is a horsewoman and is certified in Equine Assisted Psychotherapy.

Joe Soma, MA, MS, CHT, LPC
BA, Biochemistry, University of Scranton
MS, Biochemistry, University of Scranton
MA, Counseling Psychology, Naropa University

Joe has a degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from Naropa University, an MS in Biochemistry from the University of Scranton, is a certified Hakomi therapist, and is certified in EMDR.  He is currently in private psychotherapy practice with offices in Boulder and Denver where he works with individuals, couples, and families.

Joe is a senior adjunct faculty member at Naropa University where he teaches a wide variety of classes in the graduate program.  Joe also teaches the MatrixWorks method of working with groups as living systems and has been facilitating groups for the last 13 years.

He has worked in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors as a software engineer, project manager, product manager, departmental manager, and technical director in the high tech, educational delivery, entertainment, and social service industries.