Dr. Debra Kotler Named "Business Woman of the Year" by Fresno Nonprofit

San Francisco – February 15, 2006 --  Dr. Debra Lynn Kotler, Executive Director of the Golden State Psychology Internship Association (GSPIA), which is headquartered on Alliant’s Fresno campus, has been named one of the ten top businesswomen of the year for 2005-6 by the The Marjaree Mason Center (MMC) is the only program of shelter and comprehensive supportive services for women and children victimized by abuse and homelessness in Fresno County.

The Marjaree Mason Center feted Dr. Kotler and the nine other women who received the award at a televised luncheon attended by nearly a thousand people. Dr. Kotler, who holds a PhD in Psychology, works through GSPIA to set up internships for Alliant doctoral students in forensics and psychology.

While developing hands-on skills in their areas of specialties, the students also provide services to under-served communities and to individuals in state prisons, developmental centers, community colleges, and nonprofit organizations. They have worked with organizations across the state, including Kaiser Permanente, the Sonoma Developmental Center in Sonoma and the Fairview Developmental Center in Los Angeles.

The other nine women honored by the Marjaree Mason Center were Elizabeth Egan, Carolyn Kovalski, Mary Lopez, Cynthia Merrill, Ceselia Lomeli-Perez, Marge Traver, Dr. Cheryl Waterhouse, Grace Yang and Dr. Silvia Ybarra. 

Following the award, Dr. Kotler was profiled by the Fresno Bee in the article that appears below.

Debra Lynn Kotler
(Updated Sunday, October 23, 2005, 8:33 AM)

Debra Lynn Kotler thought her career as a psychologist and teacher was over when she was diagnosed with a neurological disorder that robbed her of one of her vocal cords.

The symptoms associated with spasmodic dysphonia occurred during her second pregnancy, and progressively got worse. "I was trying to read 'The Three Little Bears' to my 2-year-old and the words wouldn't come out. Tears were going down my face," she recalls.

Doctors removed one of her two vocal cords, which left her voice weak. But in typical fashion, Kotler learned to live with the effects of the rare, Parkinson's-like disorder.

She continued to work in psychology — and even returned to the classroom, teaching a course with the aid of a device that amplifies her voice.

Along the way, Kotler, 46, developed and expanded the Golden State Psychology Internship Association, a program that places students in their last year of pre-doctoral training into paid internships.

The program, operated through Alliant International University, is the largest of its kind in the state, she says. Thirty to 40 students have been placed in paid internships statewide each year since 1996.

Kotler used to perform psychological screenings on applicants for law enforcement jobs, and debrief people involved in crisis situations. She has continued in that vein by stepping forward to be the California Psychological Association representative to a disaster response team for Fresno and Madera counties.

Only three psychologists in the two counties are certified in mental health to respond to a disaster such as a hurricane, and Kotler is trying to increase that number. Depression, nightmares, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder are among the reactions to a crisis.

Already, one of her interns is heading to Houston to work with Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

Kotler's associates say she works tirelessly, even bringing monthly speakers to Alliant University. She can be spotted slicing bread and setting out fruit at 6:30 a.m. before people show up for the events.

Her assistant, Kathy Thompson, says: "She is a warm, unimposing person who is much more comfortable in the background making things happen, but without her in the background, our community would definitely be [worse off]."

—Sanford Nax