Hilary Kennedy Appointed Mental Health Counselor
The school welcomes Hilary Kennedy, MA, LMFT, LPCC, as its new mental health counselor dedicated to supporting faculty and staff. Kennedy was hired as part of the School’s People First Strategic Initiative, which identified the addition of a mental health counselor for faculty and staff as a top priority.
Kennedy brings extensive experience delivering trauma-informed, culturally responsive mental health care across clinical, educational, and organizational settings. She is both a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, with a strong background supporting adults experiencing workplace stress, anxiety, trauma, neurodivergence, grief, and major life transitions.
Her professional experience includes work within educational and public-sector systems, including counseling roles with the Sonoma County Office of Education, Petaluma Learning & Guidance Center, and Social Advocates for Youth. In these positions, Kennedy collaborated with administrators, educators, and community partners to address both individual and organizational stressors. Her work during periods of collective crisis—such as wildfire recovery efforts and pandemic-related disruptions—has further strengthened her expertise in consultation, prevention, and resilience-building at both individual and systems levels.
Kennedy holds a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco, a Master of Arts in Education with a focus on School Counseling from Alliant International University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Language Studies with a Spanish emphasis from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is trained in a variety of therapeutic modalities and is deeply committed to ethical, inclusive, and strengths-based care.
Kennedy will be part of the campus Academic and Staff Assistance Program (ASAP) team and will be located on the Veterinary Medical campus in the Carlson Health Sciences Library, Room 121. Beginning next week, her schedule will include appointments via Zoom or phone on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., as well as in-person appointments on Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Faculty and staff may schedule an appointment by calling ASAP at (530) 752-2727 and requesting an appointment with Hilary Kennedy. Her direct contact information will be posted on the School’s counseling webpage upon her arrival next week.