OUR TEAM

Sonja Whitaker

MS, LMFT

Clinical Director

Sonja has lived in Seattle (almost) all her life, so rain and moss are in her DNA. She grew up in a family business, has worked in non-profits and higher ed, and finally landed in the field of mental health. The roles of wife, mom, daughter, and friend are the most important parts of her life, but the process of becoming a therapist and walking alongside people as they process trauma, loss, and mental health challenges has made her life even more meaningful. She spent many years working in a large community mental health agency as a therapist and a supervisor. In joining The Healing Center, she gets the opportunity to journey with people through grief, which is the reason she entered the field of mental health.

Lillian

Program & Operations Manager

Lillian first began working with non-profits while in a work study program at The University of Washington. While there, she started working with non-profits through a work study program. Lillian received a Bachelor of Arts, double majoring in Economics and Political Science. After graduating in 2019, she spent a year serving with AmeriCorps. In that position, Lillian worked as a mentor at a local school, helping students to achieve their academic and social goals.  Since joining The Healing Center in March of 2021 as part-time administrative support, Lillian has since gotten more involved in The Healing Center’s leadership.  She is proud to serve now as a full-time Program & Operations Manager.

Megan Frisk

Communications & Administrative Associate

Megan is currently completing her certificate in American Sign Language and has plans to get her Bachelor’s in ASL interpreting. Megan’s professional background includes experiences in administrative support, and she is excited to be bring those skills to this position in a nonprofit setting. After supporting loved ones through their grief journeys, Megan is passionate about The Healing Center’s mission and is proud to be able to support our programming.

Jourdan Cruz

MSW, LICSW

Program Therapist

Jourdan is a clinically trained social worker, with specializations in dementia care, geriatrics and Veteran’s mental health. He has received training and supervision in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, brief interventions in inpatient and outpatient settings, as well as, grief and bereavement interventions. He has experience with both individual and group work.

Jourdan’s therapeutic orientation can be categorized as cognitive-behavioral with positive psychology techniques. He also draws upon Gestalt psychotherapy techniques, and motivational interviewing to assist clients in maintaining and improving mental and functional wellbeing.

Saara Williams-Majid

MSW, LSWAIC

Program Therapist

Saara is a multi-lingual therapist whose work is rooted in accessibility and racial justice. Saara received their master’s in social work from UW, Seattle with a focus in multigenerational family practice, and their BA in social sciences with a focus on gender, race, and ethnicity. They have received the Annual Community Builder Award from MASGD, been named as one of the 2021 Husky 100s at UW, and received an honorable mention for Social Justice Champion at Ryther. Saara hopes to attain their PHD in the near future.

Mary Jackson

M. Ed., CC

Program Therapist

With a Bachelor’s Degree in Educational Psychology, Mary worked for many years as a counselor in public schools. She first came to The Healing Center as a client after the sudden death of her husband. Recognizing how much The Healing Center’s groups helped her, Mary began volunteering with partner loss groups for several years at Camp Erin and Providence grief support programs. She is passionate about The Healing Center’s program and feels fortunate to become a clinician for partner loss groups.

Mary is blessed to have both her sons and their families living nearby and loves gathering family and friends together. She has raised four labs for service dog organizations and is now working with a sassy young Black Lab who she hopes will go on to become a therapy dog.

Allison Mastrangelo

MSW, LICSW

Children’s Program Therapist

Allison is a licensed clinical therapist with more than 10 years of experience providing clinical and case management services in inpatient and hospital settings, outpatient clinics, schools, and in hospice care. Allison’s approach to facilitating groups involves fostering community, utilizing evidence-based psychoeducation through a trauma-informed lens, and encouraging healthy mindsets in healing and rebuilding.
She feels incredibly grateful to be working with wonderful families she meets through The Healing Center.

Adam Heffley

Managing Partner, CRE8 Capital LLC

Adam Heffley, Founder and Managing Partner at CRE8 Capital. Adam brings over 15 years of experience in the banking industry and is a licensed real estate broker. Most recently Adam served as Senior Vice President of commercial lending for 1st Security Bank and holds a BA in Business Administration from the University of Washington.

Kimberly Kelly

Community Giving Consultant

Kim Kelly has a background in advertising and marketing, with an emphasis on film and video production. She comes to us as a former volunteer facilitator for Children Grieve, Too – a grief and bereavement program. She has also volunteered as a facilitator for two of the kids’ groups that meet monthly at the Healing Center. As the mother of two children, and having lost her own mother at the age of six, Kim understands the importance of the Center’s mission to support grieving families in their time of need. Kim is a graduate of the University of Washington.

Amanda Lanzarone

Program Officer

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Amanda has served in multiple roles at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation cutting across health, development, policy, and advocacy. Prior to the foundation, Amanda served at the Council of Foreign Relations and at the United Nations in New York. Amanda holds an M.A. in International Relations and a B.A. in Political Science and French.

Amanda’s journey with The Healing Center began as a client when her husband, Keating, suddenly passed away in 2017. The Healing Center lent her and her young daughter critical and compassionate support; the staff, volunteers, and peer clients were her lifeline. Amanda is a passionate advocate for The Healing Center’s services and is truly dedicated to advancing the mission.

Crystal Tetrick

VP, Health Systems & Policy

Kauffman & Associates, Inc.

Bio coming soon!

Maygan Wurzer

Director & Owner

All That Dance

Maygan Wurzer is the Director and Owner of All That Dance, a Seattle dance studio which has grown from a small business to the largest dance school in the state of Washington since its opening 23 years ago. All That Dance offers comprehensive, body positive dance education in many different dance genres for students ages two years old through adult. Building on her experience as a public school educator, Maygan has helped develop curriculum for the many different styles of dance offered at All That Dance and has grown her staff to include over 20 of the city’s best dance educators.

Maygan’s proudest accomplishments are two amazing teenage boys. She is a former client at the Healing Center having attended Eary Group, Transitions, and Perspectives after her husband died in 2012.

Shannon Treverton

Human Resource Leader

Vulcan (retired)

Shannon has had a 20 year career as a Human Resource Leader working with employees in a variety of capacities including recruiting, change management, employee engagement, and performance management just to name a few. She spent most of her career at Alaska Airlines, but joined Paul Allen’s company, Vulcan, before deciding to stay home with her two kids. Having lost her husband in 2012, Shannon and her kids learned first-hand how The Healing Center can help grieving families.

Sidney Blanks

Director of Marketing

The Lookout at Lake Chelan (retired)

Sidney brings 20+ years of marketing and project management experience in the hospitality industry to The Healing Center. Having lost her sister in a plane crash in 2001, she understands the heartbreaking path of grief and the importance of receiving support during this critical time. Sidney and her husband were introduced to The Healing Center in 2017 during one of our fundraising events. Although she wasn’t a client at The Healing Center, she has joined the board with the intention of supporting our mission of offering hope and support to those who have experienced loss.