SAMD Leadership Council Members

Karen Jackson, Ph.D., Chair

Karen Jackson, Ph.D. has been a member of CPA since 2005 and she has been on the leadership council for SAMD since 2009.  Dr. Jackson has been involved with issues of social justice for most of her life and all of her career.  She has a private practice with a specialization in trauma; volunteers with Healthright International; is the Department Psychologist for the Denver Fire Department; and consults and provides training for the peer support program at West Metro Fire and Rescue.  While all forms of social justice and human rights are important to her, she also identifies herself as a feminist. 

Mary Ann Watson, Ph.D.

Mary Ann Watson, Ph.D. has been licensed as a psychologist in Colorado since 1975, with specialty areas in human sexualtiy and cultural diversity. She serves as Assistant Chair of the Department of Psychology at Metropolitan State College of Denver. Her professional development activities have been devoted to the conceptualization and production of films for the college and university classroom. Many of these 17 films are on her specialty topics and are distributed by Films for the Humanities and Sciences. Her most recent endeavors include three films that explore the concepts of happiness, the meaningful life, and cross-cultural comparisons between students and faculty in the U.S. and Ethiopia. She has served on the organizing board of SAMD since its inception.  

Crystal Joy, Psy.D.

Crystal Joy earned a Psy.D. from the University of Denver in 2008 and became a Licensed Psychologist in October 2009.  Dr. Joy currently works as an adjunct faculty at the Metropolitain State College of Denver and Argosy University, Denver.  Her areas of specialty include psychotherapy with children, adolescents, and families; trauma; diversity; and evaluation of childhood disorders.  Her hobbies include reading, crafting and all things outdoors.  When not in the Denver area, Dr. Joy is likely to be found playing in the mountains of Colorado.  She currently serves on the Leadership Committee for the Society for the Advancement of Multiculturalism and Diversity (SAMD) with the Colorado Psychological Association (CPA), Communications Committee with the CPA and editor for The Colorado Psychologist (TCP), the bimonthly newsletter for CPA.