Dr. Pittman is a licensed clinical social worker who completed his MSW at Portland State University in 2007 and PhD at Smith College in 2016. He is the Program Coordinator for Mental Health Social Work and Integrated Mental Health Services at the VA San Diego Healthcare System. He is also the Director of the eScreening program for the VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health; Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California (UC), San Diego; and a Consultantwith the UC San Diego Dissemination and Implementation Science Center (DISC).Dr. Pittman has expertise in Dissemination and Implementation Science (D&I) and mixed methods. Dr. Pittman has collaborated with Dr. Ayers to provide treatment for hoarding disorder to older adults in San Diego County and to implement her innovative treatment program at organizations across the country.
Dr. Jessica Zakrzewski is a UCSD T32 Geriatric Mental Health Postdoctoral fellow working under the mentorship of Dr. Twamley and Dr. Ayers. She completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in neuropsychology at the University of Florida. She is a graduate of the Brown Psychology Internship Training Program.
Her research interests center on intersections between psychiatric disease and neurocognition in older adults, with a particular emphasis on chronic hoarding disorder and anxiety. She hopes to better understand how psychiatric disease effects neurocognitive aging processes and to develop interventions to help offset cognitive and functional decline in later life.
Alexis received her Master’s in Social Work from San Diego State University in 2018. Since then, she has been working with Dr. Ayers and individuals struggling with hoarding disorder on a variety of projects, including: CREST Community Program, the VA research study, ‘Cognitive Rehabilitation and Exposure Training for Veterans with Hoarding Disorder’, the VA research study, ‘Functional and Cognitive Rehabilitation of Hoarding Disorder’, and the UCSD study, ‘Cognitive Rehabilitation and Exposure Therapy for Geriatric Hoarding’. Alexis is passionate about the work that she does and the participants she is able to support.
Michelle holds a B.A. in Human Development and a M.R. in Family Life and Youth Development. Her career experience has consisted of work in a variety of diverse research settings, serving in various coordinator roles. Equipped with a deep understanding of the challenges that individuals and families face in their journey’s to lessen clutter, she has a passion for working with individuals to create a profound, positive influence in their lives.
Mariah Cook, BA
Mariah graduated from the University of San Diego (USD) in January 2022 with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Chemistry. She has published research in the Journal of Child and Family Studies, focusing on the relationships between child and parental mental health. She plans to pursue a MD or PhD degree with an interest in women and children's health.
