Who We Are
Colleen Young, MA, LMFT
Maggie Mills, MS, CN
Alex McKee, MS, RD
I am from Tacoma and hold years of experience working in education and mental healthcare settings. I identify as a cis, omni, able-bodied, Chicana. Due to my personal and professional background, I am passionate about compassionate mental healthcare and am honored to be a part of an organization offering healing and liberation to all bodies.
Virginia “Gigi” Alcalde,
MA, LMHCA, RDN, CD
She/Her/Hers
Registered Dietitian/
Mental Health Therapist
Hello, my name is Gigi Alcalde. I work as a dietitian and therapist at Liberating Jasper and in my private practice Embody Nutrition & Integrative Therapies. My education and training include earning a bachelor’s degree in Dietetics and Nutrition from Florida International University and completing a dietetic internship at Bastyr University where I also earned a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. In addition, I have studied and completed various teacher trainings in mindfulness, yoga, and meditation and have taught these disciplines in private and public settings since 2013. I’ve worked in eating disorder treatment facilities at the PHP, IOP, and now OP level of care since 2018 supporting adolescents and adults with medical nutrition therapy and nutrition counseling, as well as facilitating group therapy such as meal support, and mindful movement groups. I am guided by the philosophy that we all embody the innate potential for healing which can be tapped into given the necessary support. My mission is to provide person-centered, compassionate, culturally sensitive, trauma-informed, and weight inclusive care to my clients as I support them with their mental health goals and healing their relationship with self, food, and body. I offer nutrition counseling and mental health therapy using evidence-based, integrative (mind-body), and mindfulness-based modalities. I work with a wide range of conditions including eating disorders, disordered eating, anxiety, and depression. I am bilingual, fluent in English and Spanish and work with adolescents and adults.
I hold a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology and a doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University. I am licensed as a Mental Health Counselor and Naturopathic Physician in WA state. My therapeutic approach is trauma informed and emphasizes caring for the whole person, honoring the body's innate capacity to heal, and the role of harm reduction in recovery. I recognize that systems of oppression negatively impact mental and physical health and seek to name and repair where healthcare causes harm.
My clinical experience includes counseling students at community college counseling centers, counseling English and Spanish speaking patients at a rural health clinic, and practicing biofeedback and naturopathic primary care as a student clinician at a teaching clinic. My style is to reflect clients’ strengths and partner with them to identify goals for therapy. I utilize modalities such as Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills, biofeedback, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR). These approaches involve opening up to uncomfortable sensations, emotions, and thoughts while practicing behaviors that increase resilience and are aligned with what matters to clients.
I am white, cis gender, and queer. I enjoy reading, spending time with my spouse and our cat, being in nature, and engaging with movements for social justice.
I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate and Certified Nutritionist and hold a Master of
Science in Nutrition and Clinical Health Psychology from Bastyr University, a school for natural medicine. I draw from a variety of theories and modalities in conducting psychotherapy depending on each individual’s needs, including acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, somatic psychology, clinical neuroscience, mindfulness, and Buddhist philosophy. I am also a firm believer in the principles of humanistic psychology, that each person has the innate potential to self-direct their growth towards healing when given supportive conditions. As such, I place an emphasis on each client’s strengths and inherent wisdom.
I identify as white, European American, Buddhist, able-bodied, smaller-bodied, queer, and gender
expansive. I also have lived experience with management of and recovery from mental health
difficulties, including disordered eating and body distress. Prior to joining Liberating Jasper, I worked as a therapist and case manager at Seattle Counseling Service, a community mental health agency that specializes in serving the LGBTQ+ population. Within that setting, I had the opportunity to work with clients who held marginalized identities which I do not share—including people who were black, indigenous, people of color, transgender, larger-bodied, disabled, and neurodivergent—and I strive to acknowledge and understand the impact of how differences in identities and power influence the safety and style of the therapeutic relationship. I have also worked with clients in both individual and group formats with concerns around disordered eating and body dissatisfaction. I am especially passionate about approaching these struggles from a Health at Every Size and intersectional feminist lens in recognition of how systems of oppression create barriers to accessing medical care and disrupt our relationships with food, eating, community, and embodiment.
I primarily work with adult clients and would be a best fit for individuals wanting to engage in therapy as a long-term process of deep personal, relational, and emotional exploration. In addition to disordered eating and body distress, I specialize in the treatment of anxiety, OCD, and PTSD.
Outside of work, I enjoy trying new cooking recipes, hiking, meditating, playing the violin, and relishing the Pacific Northwest scenery with my partner and puppy. I am delighted to be a part of the team at Liberating Jasper and look forward to working with you on your healing journey.
Leigh Shaw, MSW, LSWAIC
She/Her/Hers
Clinical Social Worker
Mental Health Therapist
I am a Clinical Social Worker/Therapist here at Liberating Jasper and in my own private practice, the Inner Counsel, PLLC. I am an educated, white, cisgendered, bi, alternative lifestyle affirming (poly, kink, group living, etc…), petite female-bodied provider striving to be conscious and accountable in the work of acknowledging my privileges. I deeply respect the authority of diverse lived experiences and am invested in the active dismantling of domination based paradigms be it in body, identity, relationship or society.
My work with clients is inspired by the nurturing of mind-body-spirit connection and informed by an eclectic approach tapping into the beauty of neuroscience, the skills of evidence based practices, mindfulness and movement, creativity, and the honoring of each person’s own capacity and desire to heal and grow. With my clients, we focus on the innate intelligence and wisdom of our bodies (somatic) through a trauma informed lens and invite into the space a conversation with lived experiences and relationships that have shaped our learning along the way. In an inclusive and supported space we nurture compassion, awareness and empowering narratives.
My passions include spending time with mama nature, stretching, eating good food, quality time with loved ones and fur babies, art & music making, writing and geeking out on new learning!
Angelina Lane, Student
She/Her/Hers
Mental Health Therapist Intern
Hi! I am an MSW student at UW and deeply grateful to be completing my advanced practicum at Liberating Jasper. I have been in body liberation work and peer organizing/leadership around eating disorders and related issues for eight years. My focus has been on advocacy with and for marginalized folks who are struggling with food and body issues. I am a revolutionary at heart and have a radically liberatory approach to healing our relationships with food, body, self, others, and the earth.
As a disabled, thin, cisgender Jewish woman, I navigate the complexities of identity with care as I work with clients. My approach to therapy is anti-oppressive, collaborative, trauma-informed, and strengths-based. Eating disorders are bio-psycho-social-spiritual conditions and I believe that recovery can be a process of opening up possibilities for healing, connection, and meaning that go far beyond just “fixing” the disorder. I am here to support you as you explore the path out of the narrow place of disorder and into life’s expansive possibilities.
Maggie Stang, MA, LMFTA
She/her/hers
Individuals, Couples and Family Therapist
Maggie loves accompanying clients on their body liberation journeys through a Health at Every Size® and non-diet approach. She earned her Masters in Spiritually Integrated Couples and Family Therapy at Seattle University. Maggie enjoys working with a variety of relationship constellations (couples, families, etc), as well as individuals (16 y/o and above). As a queer, cis-gender, white therapist, Maggie is passionate about accompanying clients as they begin to embrace and love their many intersecting identities. Maggie believes that healing trauma and pain in our own bodies can help our communities move towards liberation for all. In order to practice therapy from an anti-oppression and de-colonized lens, Maggie acknowledges her privileged identities and works to dismantle oppressive structures within herself. If you’re looking for a nurturing therapist who is genuine, wants the best for your unique life, and will challenge you for deeper healing, then Maggie might be a good fit!
I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate and hold a master’s degree from
Northwestern University in clinical mental health counseling. I provide individual counseling to adults and I am passionate about helping people form trusting relationships with their bodies through the Health at Every Size® and Body Trust® models of treatment. As a cisgender, white, heterosexual woman it is my goal to acknowledge my privileges and the pathologies created by racism, sexism, bigotry, ableism, anti-fat bias, and diet culture. Through continued learning and my own lived experiences I strive to appreciate the intersectional lenses through which each
individual experiences the world. I want to create a space where clients feel empowered to forge their own paths to recovery. Through collaborative, evidence-based interventions I hope to help clients cultivate self-compassion and curiosity. My areas of focus also include existential approaches to grief and traumatic loss. I believe the value of this work lies in cultivating not just compassion within ourselves, but a more compassionate world.
Ashley Marrow, LMHCA
She/Her/Hers
Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate
As a counselor, my goals are to support you in cultivating radical self-love, embodiment, and a new appreciation of the innate wisdom and synchrony of your mind and body. My sessions are often a collaborative exploration that toggles between our many relationships; to self, to others, and to our world.
I approach counseling from an interpersonal neuroscience foundation, which means I believe we heal through relationships as social animals, and that ALL our behaviors are adaptive and intelligent strategies that keep us safe, even if we may hold judgments towards them. I believe that in acknowledging and befriending our many Parts, we can find empowerment through Self-leadership. I am also rooted in the frameworks of HAES, intuitive eating, and body liberation which celebrates body diversity, self-trust, rest, and pleasure, while acknowledging the primary role of white supremacy, ableism, and capitalism in perpetuating the definition and ongoing oppression of othered bodies. As a white, cis, straight, neurotypical, and able-bodied person, I will always work towards undermining hierarchy and interrupting these internalized messages.
I also approach things through my own identity as an existentially agnostic person. I believe that making our own meaning and defining life on our own terms is an important part of retaining power in a world that often feels chaotic, absurd, and violent. I support clients in creating or connecting to meaning, ritual, and myth in a modern world, as well as the expansive and transformative power of personal and collective grief.
As a human outside the therapy room I love travel, kayaking, baking cookies, journaling, tarot cards, creating new Skyrim characters annually, and my dog, Oberon.
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I am a Registered Dietitian and Washington State Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist. I received my Master of Science in Nutrition Degree from Bastyr University & completed my Dietetic Internship at Sea Mar Community Health in Seattle.
As a multi-racial, cisgendered, petite female-bodied provider I am dedicated to dismantling systemic racism & prejudice towards marginalized peoples (POC, LGBTQ+, larger-bodied) in health-care. I deeply respect the diversity of cultures, HAES body ideology & individuals lived experiences & the vital connection this has on body-mind nourishment. As a provider, my passion is to support & empower clients on their journey away from mainstream body oppression to positive food relationships & body peace
Lorraine Chu is a Registered Dietitian and New York and Washington State Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist. She received her Master of Science in Nutrition Degree from Hunter College in New York, NY, where she also completed her dietetic internship.
Lorraine is passionate about helping others find a sustainable way of eating that makes sense for them and their individual lifestyles, that emphasizes self-compassion and does not fixate on the scale. She practices a Health at Every Size (HAES) approach, which celebrates body diversity and supports people of all sizes, focusing on adopting healthy behaviors rather than hitting a certain number on the scale. She combines this belief with an intuitive eating approach, working with others to let go of fear or emotional ties towards certain foods and instead help them enjoy all foods. She believes that everyone’s experiences and journey with food is completely their own and enjoys helping others find a healthy and happy lifestyle that works for them as an individual.
Lorraine has experience working with all ages, from hosting nutrition and cooking classes for children to emphasizing competent eating to helping adults & seniors with disordered eating recovery, diabetes, gastrointestinal disease, cancer and renal failure. Lorraine is currently based in California and practices virtually at Liberating Jasper. She loves cooking, reading, learning new things and visiting national parks.
Greetings! I am a current graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with an emphasis in somatic therapy through Prescott College. I feel incredibly grateful to participate in my clinical practicum and internship at Liberating Jasper. My passion for working with individuals on the path to body liberation began by teaching trauma-informed yoga at an eating disorder clinic for two years. Through this experience, I became affirmed in my desire to take part in dismantling the systems, both internal and external, that encourage the oppression, domination, and devaluing of certain bodies over others. As a white, pansexual, petite, cisgender woman, I am committed to evaluating the ways I hold privilege and how this inevitably expresses itself in and outside of the counseling room.
I am drawn to Gestalt, person-centered, trauma-informed, and acceptance and commitment-based perspectives on counseling. These perspectives manifest in my desire to create a space that is client-lead, culturally appropriate, unconditionally accepting, safe, and welcoming to all parts of an individual including, but by no means limited to, one’s body, mind, emotions, behaviors, relationships, and dreams. I am actively exploring and inspired by concepts of pleasure, ease, Earth-based wisdom, and community/collective wellbeing. I look forward to walking alongside you in process of healing.
Hello! I am a licensed mental health counselor and a Nationally Certified Counselor through the National Board for Certified Counselors. I hold a masters degree from Northwestern University and bachelors in anthropology from Western Washington University. I provide trauma informed and fibromyalgia focused psychodynamic and somatic counseling to folks of all sizes for any concern. I’m passionate about helping folks heal their relationship with their body through a Health at Every Size model. My prior work focused on counseling folks in the intersection of fibromyalgia, mental health, and disordered eating. I also specialize in working with athletes who struggle with performance and body image.
My identity as a chronically ill, fat, woman of color has impacted my life in many ways. As a therapist, it’s important that I help my clients of marginalized identities, as my own, feel empowered in their bodies and health through their culture. The heart of my identity and counseling style is the mind-body-spirit-culture connection and decolonizing our lives. Along with being a therapist, I am a third generation Eastern medicine energy healer. My roots are in traditional (pre-colonial) Filipino practices. This involves ancestral/intergenerational communication and healing, Earth-based spirituality, soul embodiment, and other shamanic practices.
In my free time, I love spending time with my cats, swimming in our lovely Washington lakes, watching sports, and training for my next triathlon. I’m excited to be a part of the Liberating Jasper team and I can’t wait to walk beside you in your healing process!
Charlene Koutchak, MS, RD, CNA
She/Her/Hers
Registered Dietitian
Hello, I’m a Registered Dietitian here at Liberating Jasper and at my private practice, Fireweed Nutrition. Being a cis-gender biracial Inupiaq (Alaska Native), it is my wish for everyone to know they have a right to a fulfilling relationship with food and their body, free of shame. My work with individuals is rooted in anti-oppression training that includes the core elements of Health at Every Size® and the Body Trust® models of treatment. I help people who long to feel at home in their bodies but are burdened by the constant messages that they are never enough or not doing enough. As a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor who believes in embodiment with no strings attached, my passion is in supporting people to create a sustainable space where they are free to explore what their body truly craves, without food or diet rules.
I am here to help my clients across all cycles of life know that they deserve pleasure and satisfaction around food and their body, regardless of the societal stigma that accompanies aging.
I humbly recognize that I am doing this work on land traditionally inhabited by indigenous nations including the Puyallup. I give thanks to them for being stewards of this area and for continuing to teach me how to better serve others with generosity and respect.
Charlene is currently seeing individuals 18 years and above.
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Hello! I am a Master of Social Work student at the University of Washington, where I am honored to be training to become a mental health therapist. I am a white, cisgender, heterosexual, chronically ill woman who lives in a larger body. As someone who is deeply committed to body liberation work, I'm thrilled to be at Liberating Jasper this year. I am currently the intake coordinator, and love the opportunity to help connect people with the right provider for them. I look forward to talking with you.