Meet the Staff

The Counseling Center provides mental health services to students and is staffed by licensed and experienced professionals skilled in handling a variety of presenting concerns. We are dedicated to providing a safe, affirming and culturally informed space in order for all Mines students to feel seen and valued.

Director

 

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Sandra Sims, PsyD

Sandra Sims (she/her)
Licensed Psychologist
email: ssims@mines.edu
Originally from Bethlehem, PA, Sandra received her bachelor’s degree from Penn State University. She went on to earn her master’s and doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from Florida Tech. Her background encompasses work in community mental health, juvenile and criminal court systems, managed care, private practice and employee assistance programs. She has been at Mines since 2004 and truly enjoys this amazing community. For fun and renewal, Colorado camping and outdoor endeavors take the prize.

Associate Director

 

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Jennifer Hannon, LCSW

Jennifer Hannon (she/her)
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
email: jhannon@mines.edu
Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Jennifer received her bachelor’s degree from The University of Kansas. After graduation, she spent time backpacking across Europe and immersing herself in different cultures. Jennifer went on to earn her master’s degree in clinical social work from Loyola University Chicago. She began her career working in both inpatient and outpatient mental health settings in Chicago and later in Denver. Jennifer has over 20 years of clinical experience providing treatment for a variety of mental health conditions and has been at Mines since 2007. When not at work, she enjoys spending time with her family, laughing with friends, having fun in the mountains, traveling, and walking the family dog (aka “the beast”). Jennifer is proud to be working with the Mines community and our extraordinary students!

Associate Director of Training & Embedded Services

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Sterling Fabinski LCSW, LAC

Sterling Fabinski (she/her)
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Addiction Counselor
email: sfabinski@mines.edu
Sterling Fabinski grew up in southwest Wyoming and moved to Denver, Colorado in 1996. She attended technical school to become a CAD drafter and was employed by a precast concrete company where she met her husband. She later decided to leave the construction industry and earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Denver in 2005. Sterling is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Addiction Counselor and has over 15 years of clinical experience in providing mental health and substance abuse treatment to adolescents, adults, couples and families. Sterling has a love for travel, having spent time in Thailand, Italy, China and Mexico. She enjoys spending time with her husband and four kids, walking her dog on the trails around Golden as well as skiing at Eldora and Winter Park.

Counselors

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Dorothy Demers, LPC

Dorothy Demers (she/her)
Licensed Professional Counselor
email: ddemers@mines.edu
Dorothy grew up in Crested Butte, CO and received her BA from Middlebury College in 2008 where she also competed on the varsity ski team. After taking time to work and adventure in Vermont, Montana and Colorado, Dorothy received her master’s degree from the University of Colorado at Denver in 2015 and is a licensed professional counselor in Colorado. Professionally, she is passionate about working in higher education and takes special interest in men’s issues, student athletes, substance use concerns, international and graduate student challenges, and providing integrated health care. Personally, Dorothy enjoys getting outside to ski, hike, raft, as well as travel, gardening, and goofing off with her two young sons and partner.

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Rick Cohen, LPC

Rick Cohen (he/his)
Licensed Professional Counselor
email: rcohen1@mines.edu
Originally from Chicago, Rick has been a licensed professional counselor for over 20 years, working with children, teens and adults in hospitals, schools and outpatient clinics. Rick moved to Boulder in 1993 to pursue the Colorado lifestyle- skiing, rock climbing and hiking. He worked as an outpatient therapist in Boulder and founded the Family Institute in Arvada in 2006. Rick has lived in beautiful Golden since 2005, raising his 2 boys, and spending much of his time hiking, gardening, playing guitar and traveling to tropical destinations.

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Justin Male, LPC

Justin Male (he/him)
Licensed Professional Counselor
email: jmale@mines.edu 
Originally from California, Justin is proud to call Colorado his home. After completing his Master’s Degree at Azusa Pacific University in 2005, Justin has been blessed to reside in this beautiful state. Over the last 15 years, Justin has had the opportunity to work in a variety of clinical settings providing individual, family and group psychotherapy, behavioral intervention, social skills training and executive function coaching. As a Licensed Professional Counselor, Justin has specialized in working with neuro-diverse populations including individuals impacted by ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorders. He has additionally specialized in providing treatment for young adults who struggle with digital media overuse. Justin recognizes the unique challenges impacting today’s college students and is passionate about supporting young adults during this transformative time in their lives. He is a strong believer in practical application and helping individuals gain the necessary skills to realize positive change and personal growth. In his free time, Justin enjoys spending quality time with his wonderful wife and three kids, playing guitar, attending Rockies games, fly fishing and enjoying the great outdoors.

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Lucy Mull, LCSW, LAC

Lucy Mull (she/her)
Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Addition Counselor
email: lmull@mines.edu
Lucy is a licensed clinical social worker who received her master’s degree in social work from Boston College. Lucy provides individual and group therapy while specializing in psychological trauma treatment. She enjoys supporting university students through this time of life that can be both incredibly challenging and richly formative. Her favorite therapy modalities include Internal Family Systems and EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) as well as general somatic and mindfulness treatment approaches. In her free time, Lucy gets outdoors as much as possible by backpacking, hiking, hammocking, couloir climbing, and Nordic or downhill skiing.

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Kimberlee Yalango, Ph.D.

Kimberlee Yalango (she/her)
Licensed Psychologist
email: kyalango@mines.edu
Kim was raised in a small town in Pennsylvania where she grew up loving the outdoors. She received her Master’s degree in Counseling from Wake Forest University in North Carolina and her doctoral degree in Counseling Psychology from University of Denver. Her clinical training and experience has primarily been at university counseling centers and she strongly values supporting young adults as they explore and develop their identities. Kim is passionate about social justice and increasing her own cultural awareness and humility as a therapist. She enjoys working with the LGBTQ+ community, first generation college students, and eating disorders/body image.  In her free time, Kim enjoys hiking/camping, reading, cooking new dishes, and seeing live music.

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Kristin Williams, LPC

Kristin Williams (she/her)
Licensed Professional Counselor
email: kawilliams@mines.edu
Kristin is originally from West Virginia, and moved west to Colorado in 2004 for the endless days of sunshine. Kristin completed her Masters degree from Denver Seminary in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) in the state of Colorado. Having worked in higher education for most of her career, Kristin has a passion for working alongside students in helping them in their identity development, career planning decisions and direction, and dealing with transitions, motivation, and relationships. Kristin focuses on helping individuals understand and move through issues that keep them from achieving the level of health and wellbeing they desire in their lives. In her free time, Kristin loves all things outdoors including skiing, hiking, tennis, and paddle boarding. You can also find her plotting her next travel adventure, and spending time with her husband and kids around Golden.

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Megan Shih, LCSW

Megan Shih
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
email:megan.shih@mines.edu 
Megan grew up in Northern California, and lived there until moving to Chapel Hill, NC. After receiving her Master of Social Work from UNC Chapel Hill, she moved to Colorado due to her love of the mountains and outdoor adventures. Megan has worked in various university counseling centers throughout her career and specializes in working with attachment issues, grief/loss, identity development, relationship issues, students of color, and trauma. As a daughter of Taiwanese immigrants, Megan comes to the field of counseling from a lens that incorporates family of origin, culture, and the greater social context that we are part of. Outside of work, Megan loves cycling, running, reading books, eating food, and spending time with her loved ones.

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Cassie Rodriguez, LPC

Cassie Rodriguez
Licensed Professional Counselor
email: cassie.rodriguez@mines.edu
Cassie grew up in Florida, where she received her Masters in Mental Health Counseling.  After visiting Colorado her whole life, she felt ready for a change, and left the beach for the mountains. Cassie has worked with college students most of her career, specializing in helping clients with symptoms of anxiety, depression, self-esteem, history of trauma, and relationships challenges.  It is one of her great passions to create unconditionally safe spaces for people going through a hard season of life, empowering them to get “unstuck” and have new coping skills that not only help them through, but help them thrive. Outside of work, Cassie loves rock climbing, hiking, backpacking, experiencing new places, and time with her cute dog and loved ones. 

Clinical Outreach Coordinator

 

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Katey Parsons, LPC

Katey Parsons (she/her)
Licensed Professional Counselor
email: kateyparsons@mines.edu
While Katey was born and raised in Northwest Indiana, she spent many of her young adult years in Missouri. Katey earned her undergraduate bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Missouri State University, where she was a student athlete on the women’s cross country and track team; then attained her master’s degree in Educational and Counseling Psychology from University of Missouri-Columbia and eventually her LPC. In 2009 Katey was the last of her family to finally migrate to beautiful Colorado where she opened a private practice and worked part time at a small non-profit counseling agency. Most recently Katey has worked for Jefferson Center as the Red Rocks Community College Clinician from 2013-2021, providing counseling to the students, outreach and educational programming to the RRCC campus, and co-founded the RRCC Peer Counseling Program.  Clinically, Katey has specialized in trauma therapy and those with suicidal thoughts. Kate is trained in EMDR Therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization, and Reprocessing) CAMS (Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality).  Katey is also a Certified Peer Educator Trainer through the Bacchus Initiative of NASPA and a Mental Health First Aid Trainer since 2017.

In her spare time Katey enjoys chasing after her young son, spending time with family, skiing, hiking, following College Football and Basketball as well as the Broncos and Nuggets, and playing as much softball in the summer as her knees and schedule allow.

Case
Manager

 

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Julie Price

Julie Price (she/her)
email: jmprice@mines.edu
Julie joined the Mines Wellness Center staff in 2012 as the Office Manager, then shifted to the Counseling Center Case Manager in 2018. She grew up in Des Moines, Iowa and attended college at the Art Institute of Colorado gaining an Associate’s Degree in Photography. Along with photography, Julie enjoys Pilates, snowboarding and being walked by her dog ^.^

Wellness Center Operations Coordinator

 

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Jeremiah Harberg

Jeremiah Harberg (he/him)
email: jharberg@mines.edu
Jeremiah is an outdoor enthusiast – turned – indoor administrator passionate about making students feel welcomed through professionalism and caring. He has worked at Mines since 2015 and has more than a decade of experience working with students in a mental healthcare setting. As the front desk manager, he is responsible for greeting students, scheduling dental and counseling visits, and answering Wellness Center department inquiries. When he isn’t working, you’ll find Jeremiah backpacking and snowboarding in the Rocky Mountains, playing City Skylines and binging on Netflix Sci-Fi.

Wellness Center Office Manager

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Christine Harders

Christine Harders (she/her)
email: christineharders@mines.edu
Christine was born and raised in Colorado and is a third generation native.

Christine has 25 years of combined knowledge and background with certificates/degrees in office management and practice in medical, dental and counseling offices.

She is excited to Manage our Student Wellness Center that comprises multiple Student Life direct service programs/departments: Student Wellness Promotion, Counseling Center, Dental Clinic, and Student Health Insurance, as well as the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX.

She has a passion for helping others and working in higher education.

Christine loves spending time with her husband and two daughters in the great outdoors, camping, fly fishing and photography.

Clinical Interns

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Melissa Linden

Melissa Linden 
email:
Originally from North Carolina, Melissa received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UNC Wilmington before making a cross-country move to Colorado in 2015. Over the past 8 years here in CO, her work experience has included a variety of behavioral health clientele; ranging from teaching in the public school setting, providing behavioral intervention therapy at an autism center, and working with families in the child welfare system. Melissa is studying Social Work at the Metropolitan State University of Denver to earn her Master’s degree. Her goal is to become an LCSW and work with clients in the clinical setting. In her free time, Melissa’s heart is anywhere outdoors – she loves hiking with her dog Tula, camping and backpacking with friends, catching all of the sunsets, and admiring the Colorado wildflowers. She practices self-care through rollerskating, baking, painting, thrifting, and journaling. Melissa appreciates each and every unique relationship she forms with her clients and is eager to support the CO School of Mines students as empowered individuals in their life journey.

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Cate Rush

Cate Rush (she/her)
email:
Cate grew up in Bucks County, PA and earned her BA from CU Boulder in 2022 with degrees in political science and religious studies. From there, Cate went on to the University of Denver where she is currently a student working towards earning her Master of Social Work. Cate is passionate about eating disorders and addiction, the challenges of being a student in higher education, relationships, and navigating young adult life. In her free time, Cate can be found spending time outside with her dog Otis either rock climbing, skiing, hiking, camping, or hanging out somewhere in the back country. Cate enjoys reading, spending time with her friends and family, and discovering new lakes around Colorado. 

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Sierra Barnicle

Sierra Barnicle
email:
Originally from Middlebury Vermont, Sierra received her bachelors in psychology from the university of Denver in 2022. During her time at DU, Sierra worked in the Fox Psychology Lab where she studied self-harming behaviors in young adults. She was able to conduct her own research questions surrounding marginalized groups’ experiences in therapy. After graduating, Sierra spent a gap year traveling in Asia, Europe and South America and living in Bellingham, Washington. She is currently a social work graduate student at the University of Denver who aspires to be a therapist with her own private practice. In her free time, Sierra enjoys mountain biking, yoga, knitting, and spending time cooking and sharing a good meal with friends and family.