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Consortium Faculty
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Program Co-Directors
Dr. Angela Laygo
Lead Psychologist, Co-Program Director, GBHWC
(671) 734-1089angela.laygo@gbhwc.guam.gov
Dr. Angela Laygo is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with over 8 years in the mental health field and is currently the clinical lead at the Department of Correction’s Mental Health Unit. She has a doctorate in clinical psychology from the American School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Laygo has experience in inpatient and outpatient settings providing therapy and conducting psychological evaluations. She has worked with a wide range of mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, as well as severe psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Dr. Ericia Leeper
Co-Program Director, WICHE Consultant, Mentor and Tiered Supervisor
(573) 690-8669eleeper@wiche.edu
Dr. Ericia Leeper (pronouns: she/her/hers) serves as the Co-Program Director of Guam-PIC. She has been involved with the program’s development and training since October 2021 through the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). She has previously served as Training Director or Co-Training Director and has been involved with internship training and program development at sites for over 20 years (e.g., at Fulton State Hospital and Oregon State Hospital). Additionally, she is also a Certified Forensic Evaluator with the Forensic Evaluation Service (FES) at the Oregon State Hospital. She has worked at OSH since June 2014. She received her doctoral degree from Forest Institute of Professional Psychology in 2004. She completed her internship at Westborough State Hospital in Massachusetts, and her post-doctoral training through the University of Massachusetts-Boston and Forensic Health Services. She has been completing court ordered evaluations, including fitness to proceed, criminal responsibility, and diminished capacity as a licensed psychologist since 2005. Her passion and clinical and research interests include developing and maintaining intern-centered internship training programs, training psychology interns, and increasing the knowledge and utility of Declarations of Mental Health Treatment (psychiatric advanced directives), including as a long-term solution in addressing the fitness to proceed crisis through diverting and decriminalizing those with lived experiences.
Program Faculty
Dr. Neal Bowen
Group Supervisor
Dr. Neal A. Bowen (pronouns: he/his/him) serves as a supervisor with Guam-PIC. He has over two decades of experience as a clinician, administrator, and leader in the behavioral healthcare field. He also currently works as the Principal for Alba Consulting, LLC, collaborating with several national consulting firms and with several direct clients. Dr. Bowen earned his Doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin following over a decade working in the field of protection of Human Rights in war zones. His studies in psychology were inspired by a Dutch psychologist he met while working amid two simultaneous civil wars on the island nation of Sri Lanka. While working towards his doctorate he founded the Sunrise Center in Austin, which provided mental health services to refugees and asylum seekers. He first worked as Assistant Professor of Psychology at Central Washington University (2002-2005), specializing in the treatment of psychological trauma and multicultural counseling. From there he was recruited to develop the Mental Health Department at Hidalgo Medical Services (2005-2019), a Federally Qualified Health Center serving the Rural and Frontier Southwest Corner of New Mexico. While there, he served as Chief Mental Health Officer, and he successfully guided the growth of the Department from a single part-time social work position to over 34 practitioners delivering evidence-based services in an integrated primary care environment, including the first licensed Crisis Triage Center in the State. Next, he was appointed by the Governor to direct the Behavioral Health Services Division in New Mexico (2019-2023), which is the single state authority for both mental health and substance use disorder services in the state. He guided the Division through a more than 100% increase in funding for publicly funded system, including obtaining congressionally directed funding for innovative programs designed to increase access to the behavioral healthcare (BH) system for under-represented groups across the state. He also guided the BH response to the COVID pandemic while serving on the Emergency Response Function 6 and Medical Advisory Team for the Governor. He also guided the publicly funded system to more than double the number of behavioral health professionals delivering services, and a more than 100% increase in the number of encounters delivered statewide. Additionally, he has served on many Boards (e.g., served as Vice President of the Washington Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development).
Dr. James Cooper-Nurse
Assistant Director, Adjunct Training Committee Member
(671) 647-1902james.cooper-nurse@gbhwc.guam.gov
Dr. James Cooper-Nurse (pronouns: he/him/his) serves as the Deputy Director of Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center. He has worked at GBHWC since January 2022 and was previously the Administrator for Children’s Services. He received his master’s degree in community counseling from Gonzaga University in 2006 and doctoral degree from the Regent University School of Psychology and Counseling in 2018. From 2006 to 2015, he had served as a Washington state Child Mental Health Specialist providing clinical therapy and supervision. From 2015 through 2021, he had served as a mental health program manager for Head Start and later, as the manager of the publicly funded youth behavioral health system in King County, Washington. His clinical and research interests include clinical and systemic elements to behavioral health workforce concerns, burnout prevention, and expansion of access to behavioral healthcare in historically oppressed communities.
Dr. Mary Fegurgur
Supervisor, GBHWC & DOC
(671) 647-5731Mary.Fegurgur@gbhwc.guam.gov
Dr. Mary Katherine Fegurgur (pronouns: she/her/hers) serves as the Co-Program Director of Guam-PIC. Mary has worked closely with consultants to establish the Guam PIC program since 2020. Mary Fegurgur is the GBHWC Lead Clinical Psychologist for the last 7.5 years. Dr. Fegurgur worked as an Associate and Tenured Professor of the MS in Clinical Psychology (MSCP) and Women and Gender Studies at University of Guam (2005-2014). In 2002, Mary received her doctoral degree from California School of Professional Psychology (Aka Alliant). She completed her internship at San Diego Children’s hospital psychiatry clinic and her post-doctoral training through Guam Latte Treatment Facility. Mary has extensive experiences in child and adult evaluations and therapies across multiple settings (e.g. inpatient, outpatient, residential, judicial and correctional). She has been providing graduate, pre-doctorate and post doctorate clinical trainings and supervision as a licensed clinical psychologist since 2012. Her clinical and research interests include cross cultural child and family assessments and treatment.
Dr. Brooke Pangelinan
Resident Member, Process Group Leader
brooke.pangelinan@gbhwc.guam.gov
Dr. Brooke Pangelinan (she/her) is a Post-Doctoral Resident at GBHWC. She earned her master’s degree in clinical psychology from the University of Guam and her doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Tulsa. She completed her APA-accredited child internship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Her research focuses on the impact of historical trauma on psychological well-being. Dr. Pangelinan conducts comprehensive psychological evaluations for children and adolescents to address a range of referral questions, including diagnostic clarification, developmental concerns, learning and behavioral difficulties, and trauma-related presentations. She has specialized training in autism assessment and is particularly experienced in conducting comprehensive evaluations for autism spectrum disorder. Her clinical work also includes delivering evidence-based treatments for behavioral difficulties (e.g., Parent-Child Interaction Therapy), trauma-related symptoms (e.g., Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Processing Therapy), and emotion regulation challenges (e.g., Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills groups).