Meet Your UAMFT Board of Directors
Lauren Barnes, PhD, LMFT
UAMFT President
Lauren_Barnes@byu.edu
Lauren Barnes grew up in Washington and Oregon. Dr. Barnes is currently the Director of Clinical Training and an Associate Clinical Professor for BYU’s MFT graduate program. She maintains a small private practice where she primarily works with individuals struggling with body image, disordered eating, and other comorbidities. Prior to her faculty appointment at BYU in 2013, she worked as a therapist at Center for Change. She is married to Aaron and they have two young children.
Tony Alonzo, DMFT, LMFT
UAMFT President Elect
Tony Alonzo is originally from Los Angeles, CA. He is currently the owner of Crossroads Therapeutic Services and enjoys assisting individuals, couples, and families as they work towards change. He received his master’s degree from Brigham Young University, and his doctorate from Loma Linda University. He has been privileged to work in a wide variety of professional settings, and appreciates the opportunities to learn from his clients over the last 20+ years as an MFT. When not working, he can be found playing guitar, hosting board game nights, and painting miniatures.
Ryan B. Seedall, PhD, LMFT
UAMFT Treasurer
Ryan Seedall is associate professor in the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Utah State University, having received his training from Brigham Young University (MS) and Michigan State University (PhD). He is an AAMFT Approved Supervisor and Clinical Fellow. His research focuses on understanding and improving relationship and change processes through examining interaction and support processes. He is also interested in protective family dynamics and prevention, including ways to reduce mental health disparities. He has conducted research on identifying specific interventions that are useful when working with couples (e.g., enactments) and therapist- and client-related factors that are strongly associated with process and outcome in therapy.
Marla Jean Willard, LMFT
UAMFT Treasurer Elect
Marla received her bachelor’s degrees from Weber State University and her Masters from University of Southern Mississippi (USM) in Marriage and Family Therapy. She has a passion for the community and the practice of Marriage and Family Therapy. Marla owns and runs her own private practice in Riverdale, Modern Family Therapy dba Willard Family Therapy where her clinical work is with individuals, families, and couples. Her love for helping others doesn’t stop with clinical work and carries over to her love for supervision and working with other therapists, both professionally and clinically. Outside of the office she loves gardening, plants, painting, reading, and spending time with her family. She is a forever student and believes you are never done learning.
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Dr. Megan Story Chavez (she/her), PhD, LMFT
UAMFT Secretary
Megan is happy to be back in Utah after pursuing career opportunities in other states. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the MFT program at Utah Valley University and loves interacting with the students at her alma mater. Her research focuses on the biopsychosocial-spiritual framework and she is currently working with students to complete a qualitative study on resiliency in mixed-faith couples. She has specialized training in Medical Family Therapy and has worked clinically in Utah, Texas, & Nebraska. In addition to her role as a professor, she works as a therapist at Progressive Paths Therapy in Orem. She specializes in working with interracial and interfaith couples as well as emerging adults with depression, anxiety, gender and sexual identity challenges, and relationship issues. Megan and her husband, Joel have two toddlers that keep them busy
Dr. Kayla Mennenga, PhD, LMFT
Board Member & Media and Communications Chair
Kayla grew up in Waco, Texas but calls Utah home. She is currently the Co-Owner and Clinical Director of Grace Therapy & Healing in Provo. She received her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Abilene Christian University and her PhD from Brigham Young University. Kayla has a strong background in working with pre-marital couples and couples who are working through betrayal and trust issues. Outside of therapy, Kayla loves sitting by a fire, practicing the piano, and enjoys a little adrenaline rush.
Aaron Jeffery, PhD, LMFT
Board Member & Membership Chair
ajjeffrey@gmail.com
Aaron Jeffrey is an AAMFT Clinical Fellow and AAMFT Approved Supervisor. He earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from Syracuse University in New York. After graduate school Aaron became an associate professor in a CACREP accredited mental health counseling program in Mankato, MN before moving to Utah in 2014. He practiced as an MFT in the Weber State University Counseling and Psychological Services Center and served as the Associate Director of Clinical Services. Aaron has done part-time private practice throughout his career and in 2022 left Weber State to build his clinical practice. He enjoys working with individuals and couples in building meaningful relationships in all aspects of life.
Jesse Higgins, PhD, LMFT
Board Member & Continuing Education Chair
jesse@higginstherapy.com
Dr. Jesse P. Higgins is the Clinical Director for the Utah Juvenile Justice and Youth Services system. He received his MS in Marriage & Family Therapy from a joint program of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and University of Nebraska Medical Center. He also has a PhD from Utah State University in Human Development & Family Relations with specializations in adolescent development and parenting. He has practiced individual, couple, and family therapy for over 10 years and is a Clinical Fellow and Approved Supervisor with the American Association of Marriage & Family Therapy. On the weekends, he likes to read comic books and consume Snickers and gummy bears.
Jennifer Peterson (she/her), LMFT
Board Member & Conference Chair
jennifer@gracetherapy.com
Jennifer Peterson (she/her) received her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Brigham Young University, and currently works as a full-time clinician at Grace Therapy & Healing in Provo. She feels passionate about trauma-informed therapeutic interventions, preventing clinician burnout, and empowering clients to be more attuned to their somatic experience. When Jennifer isn’t helping clients, she enjoys being in the water, learning new and exciting recipes, analyzing relationships on dating shows, and spending time with her husband Jake. She is currently serving on the UAMFT board as Conference Chair.
Sarah Stroup, LMFT, RPT-S
Legislative Chair
sarah@monarchfamilycounseling.com
Sarah Stroup is a licensed marriage and family therapist, Utah state approved supervisor, and registered play therapist supervisor. She owns Monarch Family Counseling and is the co-founder of the Monarch Training Center. Sarah specializes in working with attachment through the lifespan and has a particular passion for working with trauma, kids, women, and first responders/military. She is also passionate about legislative issues as they relate to mental health and has a strong desire to protect our field, protect consumers, and ensure that her colleagues across the behavioral health spectrum are aware of how legislative items impact our ability to care for clients and provide quality therapeutic services.
When not at work, Sarah enjoys spending time with her family, hanging out with her dogs, crafting, and watching soccer.
Liza Telford, LMFT
Election Chair
lbtelford3@gmail.com
Liza studied at Argosy University and received her Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy from North Central University. She owns a private practice in Layton as an affiliate of the Aspire Counseling Network, where she is also a co-owner and Executive Board Member. She attributes her enthusiasm for the work she does in our field to the insights and tools gained through doing her own therapeutic work. She is passionate about helping individuals, couples and families navigate life's challenges.
Liza is a seasoned board and committee member having served on The Road Home annual Chili Affair event, the Aspire Network of mental health companies board of directors, and the Morgan Schools Community Council. Liza is at her best in a collaborative environment where clarity of communication and consensus drive organizational objectives.
She enjoys anything that involves spending time in the sun with her family and friends...on a mountain or a beach! She loves good food (sushi), mountain biking, hiking, reading, shopping, surfing, skiing, and traveling. She also loves to watch live theater (particularly Broadway musicals) and just about any type of dance.
UAMFT Advisors
Stacy Reynolds, LAMFT
Associate Board Advisor
Natalie Wennergren, MFTi
Student Advisor to the Board for Southern Utah
natwennergren@gmail.com
Natalie is a Marriage and Family Therapy student at Utah Valley University and an MFT intern at Connections Family Wellness. Natalie earned her Bachelors degree in Psychology from Utah State University as a non-traditional returning student. Natalie and her husband John, with their four kids, call Utah County home. Natalie especially enjoys working with couples and teenagers. Some specific areas of interest are faith crisis and expansion, mixed-faith relationships, unwanted pornography use, and ADHD. In her free time, she enjoys cycling, reading, and buying clothes she doesn’t need.
Kaitlyn Zito, MFTi
Student Advisor to the Board for Northern Utah
Kaitlyn Zito is a Master's student at Utah State University. She loves playing the cello and exploring National Parks.
UAMFT Staff
Celeste Esplin (she/her), LAMFT
Executive Director UAMFT
uamftadmin@gmail.comCeleste Esplin works in a group private practice at Arcadia Counseling in Lindon. She especially loves working with teens and couples, even though they occasionally give her headaches. Before graduating from BYU (go Cougs!), Celeste grew up on a dairy farm in rural Idaho, surrounded by potato fields, family, and cows. When not seeing clients, she enjoys a good show on Netflix, shopping at thrift stores, baking, piano, sewing, games, her dog Este, and all forms of potatoes.
If you are interested in serving on a committee or running for an elected board position, please email uamftadmin@gmail.com