Squaw Valley Academy
Olympic Valley, CA

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Squaw Valley Academy
Welcomes Thiessen

Squaw Valley Academy is excited to welcome Erica Thiessen, LPC, NCC as Admissions Associate and Primary Therapist. She will add experience and leadership to our current clinical team. Erica has worked both as a lead peer group counselor as well as a wilderness counselor at The Academy at Swift River. For the last 8 years, she was the Clinical Director at Second Nature Blue Ridge. Erica has seen the value of experiential, hands on interventions with students who are struggling with school and social and family life.

Erica believes in a strength-based approach, trusting that each student has the tools within to find the right path towards healing and connection with their family. Erica has come to specialize in trauma recovery, depression, self-harming behaviors, eating disorders, sexual identity issues, adoption, grief, oppositional defiance, and family systems. When working in the woods with students, Erica feels that using the resources of nature is ideal to assist kids in realigning their mind, body and spirit. She is also celebrating the recent adoption of her black lab puppy, Sierra. Erica will be joining our clinical team on-campus at the beginning of August after finishing her duties at Second Nature, Footsteps.

We would also like to welcome three new faculty members. Justin Lees will be our Learning Specialist for the 2014-15 school year. Mr. Lees has worked in special education for the last 5 years in various private schools. He specializes in IEP accommodations, technology integration, and helping teachers create standard-based lesson plans. Mr. Lees has his Master's in Education from Providence College. Gregory Vickery will be our AP Math and Science teacher for this coming year. Mr. Vickery comes to SVA from an east coast boarding school where he taught Math and Science. Before teaching Chemistry and Physics, Mr. Vickery was a consultant for several environmental firms. He received his master's in Physics from Colombia University and is in the process of obtaining his doctorate degree in Physics from the same institution. Rčne Lemieux will teach several sections of mathematics this year. Mr. Lemieux comes to SVA with 15 years of experience in private boarding schools. Mr. Lemieux has a degree in Applied Mathematics from UCLA.

Squaw Valley Academy is a transitional, college-preparatory boarding school located at Lake Tahoe, CA. For more information on our program, contact Steve Goslee, Admissions Associate, at admit@sva.org or (530)583-9393.