Chair: Nida Mirza, Psy.D.
Dr. Nida Mirza (she/her) is a licensed clinical psychologist who works in private practice in the San Francisco Bay Area, providing psychotherapy services to adults from diverse backgrounds. She also works on content development and testing for the mobile mental health team at the VA’s National Center for PTSD.
Dr. Mirza is serving her fourth year as a board member on the DoSAA Executive Committee and is an ad hoc reviewer for AAPA’s peer-reviewed academic journal, the Asian American Journal of Psychology. She also advises mental health tech startups in Silicon Valley by providing consultation about behavioral health, outreach strategy, and cultural humility.
Dr. Mirza completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Kaiser Permanente and her pre-doctoral internship at the Carson Center for Adults and Families. She obtained her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the PGSP-Stanford Psy.D Consortium and her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Wellesley College.
Co-Chair: Rose Dhaliwal, M.S.
Rose Dhaliwal (she/her) is a Clinical Psychology Doctoral Candidate (PsyD) at the University of La Verne, located in the greater Los Angeles area. She recently completed her pre-doctoral internship at Metropolitan State Hospital. Rose grew up in San Jose, CA, and received her B.S. in Psychology, with a minor in philosophy, from Santa Clara University. After graduation, she worked in the public sector in San Jose for a few years, where her work focused on community engagement, public relations, and policy advising on education, youth, neighborhood services, and the environment. In her doctorate program, Rose’s research has focused on LGBTQ+ asylum seekers and the experiences of transgender and gender-expansive youth of color involved in legal systems. Her clinical training and interests are focused on transition-age youth in correctional and child welfare settings who have significant exposure to adverse childhood experiences.
As a child of immigrants from Punjab, Rose believes in the importance of understanding how bicultural identity and intersecting identities impact the lived experiences of communities of color. As Chair-Elect, she aims to highlight these important topics to facilitate dialogue among DoSAA members and foster connections with organizations focusing on similar topics. In her spare time, Rose enjoys spending time with her loved ones, going on hikes with her dog, dancing, and exploring new places.
Chair Elect: Sonia K. Bajwa, MSW, LCSW
Sonia K. Bajwa (she/they) is a Counseling Psychology Doctoral Candidate (PsyD) at Carlow University, located in Pittsburgh, PA. She completed her internship at University of Pittsburgh’s Counseling Center where she serves as a staff clinician and training coordinator. Sonia grew up in Pittsburgh and received a dual B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy. She has worked throughout VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and private practice. Her doctoral research is focused on attachment styles, parental styles, and biculturation in a South Asian American population, and recent clinical areas of focus have been university students and multicultural considerations in care. Sonia continues to value relational psychodynamic and psychoanalytically-informed approaches to care.
As Chair-Elect, Sonia aims to support learning, engagement, and connection within DoSAA membership, and foster connection across AAPA divisions, and various entities across the United States. Sonia particularly appreciates summer, traveling, advocating for underserved and minoritized groups, and quality time with self and others.
Student Representative: Himadhari Sharma
Himadhari Sharma is a 4th year Counseling, Clinical, and School psychology doctoral candidate, with an emphasis in Counseling Psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, working with Dr. Andrés Consoli. She grew up in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, and received an undergraduate in business with a specialization in marketing from the University of Minnesota (Go Gophers!). After which she worked in the healthcare service industry and was part of the board of directors for a non-profit reproductive and mental health clinic. She completed her master’s in psychology with an emphasis in clinical psychology from New York University (NYU). There she worked on research in the realm of hearing voices, looking at various topics, such as stigma, within the general population, and gained experience in an intensive outpatient clinic for eating disorders. She has had international experience as well through her work with multiple organizations in Bangalore, India. Her current interests include multicultural psychology, access and utilization of mental health services among minoritized populations (especially South Asian communities), cross-cultural/international psychology, culturally salient and indigenous treatment/therapy methods as well as bi-lingual psychological services (Hindi/Urdu-English).
Communications Chair: Geetanjali Vij, MA
Geetanjali Vij, MA is a pre-licensed mental health clinician providing clinical and school-based services in the San Francisco Bay Area. A 1.5 generation Punjabi American cis-gender woman and bay area native, Geetanjali enjoys working with local organizations to provide psychoeducational workshops and resources to the community (adults, adolescents and families).
Geetanjali completed her pre-masters clinical practicum with the Boston Public Schools district where she provided school-based mental health services to a high school-aged population (individual, family and group therapy). She obtained her master’s degree in mental health counseling with a certificate in positive youth development from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Davis in Middle East/South Asia Studies. Her interests include Indian folk & film music, bullet journaling, and cooking. She is fluent in Punjabi and Hindi/Urdu.
Finance Officer/Treasurer: Dr. Mandeep Tumber-Bhela
Dr. Mandeep Tumber-Bhela (she/her) is a licensed Clinical Psychologist who works within a telehealth private practice and the Department of Psychiatry in Adult Services at Kaiser Permanente, Roseville (CA). She identifies as a Punjabi/Indian-American, Sikh, cis-gender, tri-lingual (Punjabi, English, Hindi), immigrant, female, and mother with a goal of increasing awareness related to Mental Health within communities of color. She attempts to bridge gaps in care through training, research, serving the general population within the contexts of therapy/assessment and Physician Wellness resiliency care.
Dr. Tumber-Bhela received her Bachelor’s degree at the University of Washington, Tacoma and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Palo Alto University (previously known as Pacific Graduate School of Psychology) in 2014 with an emphasis in health psychology. She completed her dissertation on the relationship between bicultural identity integration, maladaptive parental styles and depression among immigrant adults. Dr. Tumber-Bhela completed her clinical pre-doctoral internship at Kaiser Permanente, Fresno (APA-accredited) and a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry in Adult Services at Kaiser Permanente, Roseville. Dr. Tumber-Bhela is deeply committed to teaching, recruitment and retention practices related to health professions, specifically within the context of equity, inclusion and diversity. She currently serves as Diversity Chair for the Sacramento Valley Psychological Association, as well as Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Liaison (one of two) for the Northern California Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Training Programs. Please feel free to connect with me at mandeeptumberbhela@gmail.com or www.drtumberbhela.com.
Secretary/Historian: Shilpa Reddy, Ph.D.
Shilpa Reddy, Ph.D. is the Mental Health Director for the VISN 21 Clinical Resource Hub, a Veteran Affairs (VA) virtual mental health team that serves Nevada, parts of California and the Pacific Islands. She completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship at the SFVAHCS with an emphasis on Psychosocial Rehabilitation, with experience working across a number of clinics and sections. She has experience in providing individual, couples and group interventions by TeleMental health (TMH) She has training in CBT, ACT, Emotion Focused Couple’s therapy and Cognitive processing therapy. Upon completing her post-doctoral training, she was faculty at the Felton Institute of Research and Training and where she provided virtual training and consultation to community mental health professionals across California counties in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Behavioral therapy for psychosis.
Her experience over the last 20 years spans three different countries (U.S., India, and Australia) and she brings a deep awareness of diversity issues that influence health and illness. In the past, Shilpa has served as the chair of the Mental Health Diversity Council (SFVA), chair of the psychology continuing education committee (SFVA), Assistant Director of externship training (SFVA), board member of the San Francisco Psychological Association as Diversity Committee chair and Local Advocacy Network Chair. She currently serves on the executive committee as secretary of the Asian American Psychological Association’s Division of South Asian Americans (DoSAA). Outside of her work, Shilpa enjoys spending time with family and friends, going on long walks with her dog, hiking around the many trails in San Francisco, traveling, dancing, and reading.
Membership Chair: Pratima Pathania, Psy.D.
Pratima Pathania, Psy.D., Membership Chair, is a Postdoctoral resident at Kaiser Permanente in Sacramento, CA. She received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Wright Institute in 2021. Her areas of interest include multicultural and social justice-oriented work with marginalized communities, especially in hospital and medical settings.