Alumni Spotlight
Pilar Moreno: 2025 Marriage, Family & Child Counseling Alumni
Where are you now? Tell us a little about the work you're doing.
I currently work at UCSF Citywide on the "CASC Team (Community Assessment & Services Center). where I provide therapy, case management, and mental health support to some of San Francisco’s more disenfranchised and underserved community members who are involved with the criminal justice system. Many of the clients I work with face complex mental health, substance use, housing, and other challenges. A big part of my work is building relationships with clients, providing ongoing therapeutic support, connecting them with resources, and helping them work toward stability and their personal goals. I really value being able to support people who often face significant barriers to accessing care and resources.
Is there anything you'd especially like us to highlight?
Something I’m especially excited about is my work with transitional-age youth (TAY) through San Francisco’s Young Adult Court (YAC). YAC is a collaborative court that brings together the legal system, probation, mental health providers, and community partners to support young adults involved in the justice system. In my role with UCSF Citywide, I provide therapy, case management, and support to young adults who may be navigating mental health challenges, substance use, housing instability, and other barriers. What I really appreciate about YAC is that it recognizes that young adults have different developmental needs and takes a more trauma-informed and supportive approach. I value being part of a team that looks beyond a person’s legal involvement and focuses on their strengths, goals, well-being, and ability to build a more stable future.
Looking back, is there anything about your experience in the SF State Department of Counseling that has stayed with you or influenced your work?
One thing that has stayed with me is the love and commitment to community that I experienced at SF State. I was educated in the same community where I live and work, and that has made my work feel especially meaningful. The Department of Counseling helped strengthen my commitment to serving San Francisco’s diverse and underserved communities and giving back to the city that has been such an important part of my personal growth.
News
SF State's Counseling Department Launches Alumni Association
Alumni in the Spotlight
Rajani Levis (M.S., Counseling, '05)
Rajani Venkatraman Levis, MFT, PPS, CTS is a writer, counselor-educator, psychotherapist and community builder. As a bi-cultural, multilingual woman of color, she skillfully navigates the intersections of trauma, with race, culture, class and other facets of diversity in her writing, teaching and psychotherapy practice.
Born and raised in India, Rajani earned an undergraduate degree in Business from her home country and a Master’s degree in Counseling (2005) from San Francisco State University, with a dual specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy, as well as School Counseling. She first encountered EMDR therapy as a client, and then did her basic training in 2011. She quickly went on to become certified in EMDR and became an EMDRIA Approved Consultant in 2015. In 2016, Rajani authored the chapter "Placing Culture at the Heart of EMDR therapy" and co-authored (with Laura Siniego) "An Integrative Framework for EMDR Therapy as an Anti-oppression Endeavor" for the Springer book "Cultural Competence and Healing Culturally-Based Trauma with EMDR Therapy: Innovative Strategies and Protocols."
During the evening of March 16, the Counseling Department announced the launch of the newly formed Counseling Alumni Association. The announcement correlated with the American Counseling Association Conference & Expo taking place at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown San Francisco. Amongst the tall glistening buildings, counseling alumni reconnected with old friends, heard from emeriti faculty and enjoyed music by local artists, PHNX. The Counseling Alumni Association plans to provide more events in the near future including social gatherings, CEU events and other outreach opportunities in pursuit of building a vibrant community of SF State counselors.
Counseling Alumni Reconnect at Bay Area Mixer
The Counseling Student Association (CSA) hosted its first two alumni mixers in the Bay Area, one in Oakland and another in South San Francisco. The CSA invited alumni to join them for a relaxing evening to reconnect, update each other on their careers and have great conversation. The first mixer took place at the Cat House in Oakland on Feb. 2. Fifteen people attended, with alumni from graduating classes spanning from 1969 to 2016. The second mixer was held at the Hometown Heroes Mixer in South San Francisco on Feb. 3, and was attended by 20 people representing the graduating classes of 2010 through 2016.
Members of the Department of Counseling and CSA were thrilled with the turnout and look forward to many more opportunities to engage with their alumni.
Meet the Faculty
Back Row (left to right): Tiffany O'Shaughnessy, Molly Strear, Julie Chronister, Elif Balin, Derrick Bines, Cynthia Martinez, Patricia Van Velsor,
Front Row (left to right): Sandra Fitzgerald, Kwong-Liem Karl Kwan, Rebecca Toporek