Wright Institute Students of Color Present 2022 Multicultural Symposium: Community Care

From April 22 to May 1, 2022, the Wright Institute Students of Color Group (WISOC) will host their 18th annual Multicultural Symposium. This year's theme, "Community Care," highlights and celebrates the diverse communities represented by WISOC. Due to the continued uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2022 Multicultural Symposium will once again be held mostly online, and the events of this year's symposium will be centered around collective healing during uncertain times.

The Symposium will begin on Friday, April 22 with presentations from the current Psychology Internship Program (PIP) cohort members. On Saturday, April 23, Amy Ma will present "Taking Time to Fill Our Cup: an Immersive Practice of Meditation" an event about nurturing personal and collective resilience and healing. The next weekend, on Friday, April 29, faculty member Allison Briscoe-Smith, PhD, will present "Community Care in Action," a discussion about techniques, tools, and barriers to community care. The next day, WISOC will hold an open mic event, where creatives at the event will share their work. The symposium will conclude that weekend with a hike and picnic in Joaquin Miller Park.

Presenter Bios

Allison Briscoe-Smith, PhD

Dr. Briscoe-Smith earned her undergraduate degree from Harvard University. She then received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of California, Berkeley. She then went on to continue her specialization in trauma and ethnic minority mental health through internship and postdoctoral work at University of California San Francisco/San Francisco General Hospital. She has combined her love of teaching and advocacy by both serving as a professor and by directing mental health programs for children experiencing trauma, homelessness or foster care. Much of her work has been with schools, as a clinician, consultant and trainer. Currently she is the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and a half-time faculty member at the Wright Institute Clinical Psychology Program. She provides consultation and training to bay area nonprofits and schools on how to support trauma informed practices and cultural accountability. Learn more at her website.

Psychology Internship Program

Psychology Internship Program (PIP) partners with local high schools in the Bay Area to provide internships to enhance the students' awareness and knowledge about higher education, graduate school training, and career options in clinical psychology. Through a culturally affirming mentorship model, PIP aims to increase the number of historically underrepresented students in higher education and in the field of psychology.

Amy Ma

Amy Ma earned her B.A. in International Relations, East Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and is currently a doctoral student in clinical psychology at the Wright Institute. Amy has over 15 years of business experience in the hospitality, healthcare and non-profit industries. She continues to work as a consultant at the Garrison Institute, a not-for-profit, non-sectarian organization exploring the intersection of contemplation and engaged action in the world. While at Garrison, Amy managed and executed programs and retreats for many leaders of the industry including Mind & Life Institute, Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, Naropa University, and worked with Western teachers including Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Krishna Das, Dr. Dan Siegel and Rupert Spira and many Eastern spiritual teachers. During the pandemic, she developed programs at the Garrison Institute to bring contemplative practice to specific marginalized populations including creating programs serving the BIPOC community offering guided meditation practice led by respected meditation teachers. In addition, she created a program dedicated to supporting seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic that has served over 3,000 people by way of meditation, breath work and connection.

For more information on "Community Care," please read the event flyer.

Click these links to register and attend the events of "Community Care":



Click here to learn more about the Wright Institute's Doctor of Clinical Psychology (PsyD) program.
Click here to learn more about the Wright Institute's Master of Counseling Psychology (MA) program.