TAMFT is supportive of our new and emerging clinicians, offering student discounts on membership and conference registration, along with student-specific programming at the Annual Conference. TAMFT also offers discounted rates on its Exam Preparation Materials to student members. Student members may also take advantage of our Student Community Forum and our Supervisor Search directory.
Students can also join the Texas Student Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (TSAMFT). TSAMFT serves several purposes:
- to establish and maintain a link with TAMFT,
- develop leadership and connections among MFT students,
- to encourage interaction among MFT programs in the state of Texas, and
- to coordinate communication among university-based student associations for MFT and between those student associations and the TAMFT board.
TSAMFT hosts a general membership meeting each year for students at the annual TAMFT conference. This meeting includes the chance to network with other MFT students across the state and to interact with currently licensed and practicing clinicians.
To learn more about TSAMFT, contact the current president Lisa Salazar. You may also visit our TSAMFT page to connect with students.
Meet Our Student Board
President: Lisa Salazar
Lisa Salazar received her Master’s degree at the University of Houston-Clear Lake in 2003, and is currently in the doctoral program for marriage and family therapy at Loma Linda University. Lisa is a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed professional counselor in private practice, located in Houston, Texas. She has served as a Teacher’s Assistant for a Loma Linda doctoral course. She is a Founding Member for TAMFT and has served on the Education Committee for the past two years, currently serving as Co-Board Liaison and Board Liaison for the TAMFT Mediation Taskforce Committee. She is also a Clinical Member for AAMFT and an Ad-Hoc Reviewer for the Minority Fellowship Program. She is excited to serve as President and hopes to offer valuable input from a student and LatinX perspective, as well as helping current students in their journey toward full licensure.
President-Elect: Hannah McKinnies
Hannah McKinnies is a 3rd year Marriage and Family Master’s Student at Capella University. She is looking to graduate in May of 2022. She has been a member of TAMFT for 2 years. She is active on the legislative committee, as a student member, and been a member of the TSAMFT for 2 years as well. Hannah is currently the president-elect and is working toward completing her hours for her license. Hannah is excited to offer her perspectives from being a parent and background in special needs therapy as well as a student. Hannah also has experience working as a resident advisor at a local hospital in Houston, Tx. She is excited to bring her perspective to help other students navigating through graduate school.
Treasurer: Laura
Laura is a botanist, herbalist, and professional gardener who has realized that all paths have led her to her life's work, to become a licensed counselor. She spent many years wearing the primary hat of mother to her now-teenage children and is excited and passionate about this new direction. Forever an obsessive reader of memoirs, she cannot get enough of taking in people's life stories and relating them to how our basic humanity ties us all together. She is currently in the graduate program at Lamar University for Marriage, Couples and Family Counseling.
Secretary: Kat
Kat graduated cum Laude (B.A. in Psychology) in 1995 from Point Loma Nazarene University after which she was commissioned in the United States Air Force as a behavioral scientist. In 2013, she earned her M.A. in International Relations specializing in Conflict Resolution. She retired as an officer in 2015, but continues to work for the Air Force as a contractor. In 2017 she began to pursue an MS in Marriage and Family Therapy at Northcentral University with the goal of working with LGBTQ+, consensual non-monogamous, and other families with alternative sexuality identities. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with Circle of Arms to help advocate for mental health awareness.
Social Media Manager: Luke O’Steen
Before graduating Cum Laude (B.A. Family Studies) from Lubbock Christian University in the Spring of 2019, Luke volunteered as an intern with Lubbock County Detention Center's Step Up program. By Fall 2019 he began pursuing his M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy at Texas Wesleyan University where he maintains a 3.5 GPA. During that time, Luke also worked as a Reentry Specialist for Pathfinders of Tarrant County, providing intensive case management via federal grant. Luke’s neurodivergent (ADHD) brain gets excited about critiquing therapy as an institution, stays curious about ways to decolonize the profession, and seeks to give power away for free. His favorite way to waste time is cuddling with his partner and his two-year-old puppy, Atlas, or playing Dungeons and Dragons with his best friends.
