Meet Our Staff
Katie Polsky, Ph.D - Clinical Director
Dr. Polsky is our Clinical Director and has been involved in the research, outreach, and the treatment of eating disorders for over a decade. She has extensive experience working with men, women, adolescents, and children with Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating Disorder. Dr. Polsky has worked in all levels of eating disorder care including: residential (Oceanaire Residential Treatment Program and Center for Discovery and Adolescent Change), partial hospitalization, and intensive outpatient programs (Summit Eating Disorders) as well as on college campuses across California (Caltech and Humboldt State University). Dr. Polsky uses a non-diet approach (intuitive eating) and has worked with individuals with binge eating disorder in the pre and post bariatric surgery population. She also has specialized training in working with the LGBTQ community, women’s issues, and with survivors of trauma. Her research interests include treating eating disorders in minority populations particularly with gay men and lesbian women. Clinically, As a recovered individual herself, Dr. Polsky feels that it is very important to individually tailor each client’s treatment plan to his or her own individual needs. She utilizes relational and psychodynamic theories while integrating cognitive behavioral, systems, and experiential therapies in her practice. Dr. Polsky has specialized training and experience using the Maudsley Method for adolescents and their families.
Avril Swan, MD - Consulting Physician
Dr. Swan is a Board Certified Family Physician. She has been practicing medicine in San Francisco since 2000. She attended medical school at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and completed her residency at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Swan has a special interest in eating disorders and nutrition and has been seeing patients with eating disorders in her private practice since 2003.
Kelly Girard, RN, CMT - Staff Nurse
Kelly is a Registered Nurse and a Certified Massage Therapist who began working with eating disordered patients in 2005, at Summit Eating Disorders and Outreach Program. Kelly is diligent in assessing and communicating concerns with primary care physicians to help ensure medical stability of patients. She has a compassionate approach to patient care and believes in providing an educational component for clients to better understand and care for their bodies. She incorporates massage in her practice to help individuals feel connected and more in tune with their bodies. Drawn to the ideals of individualized, balanced, and preventative medicine, Kelly is beginning a master’s program in Ayurvedic Medicine. When Kelly is away from New Dawn she enjoys the outdoors, traveling and spending time with her family.
Shelly Starrett, MS, RD - Dietitian
Shelly Starrett is a Registered Dietitian specializing in eating disorders. She earned her Bachelors Degree in Dietetics and a Masters Degree in Human Nutrition. She began her work in the field of eating disorders in 2005, treating adolescents and adults at Summit Eating Disorders and Outreach Program. She has also treated those suffering from anorexia and bulimia while working at Kaiser Hospital since 2002. Having extensive experience in this field, she began a Private Practice with the focus of eating disorders in early 2009. Her goal is to help clients restore and maintain healthy relationships with food while simultaneously appreciating and feeding their bodies. Shelly is a member of the American Dietetic Association and is currently studying for a second Masters Degree in Holistic Nutrition to expand her breadth of expertise even further.
Laura Scherling, R.D. - Clinical Dietitian
Laura Scherling earned her B.S. in Nutritional Science, with an emphasis in dietetics, at the University of California, Berkeley. After earning her degree, Laura went on to complete training at Napa State Hospital, where she conducted nutritional assessment as well as individual counseling for patients suffering from a range of psychiatric disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and other mental health issues. During her time at Napa State Hospital, Laura also gained extensive experience in treating acute and long-term medical conditions. After becoming a Registered Dietitian, Laura brought her background and training to New Dawn, where she completed an eight month internship in which she gained invaluable experience counseling patients suffering from anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder, in both individual and group settings. Laura is a member of the American Dietetics Association.
Residential Staff
Linda Shanti McCabe, Psy.D - Residential Program Coordinator
In 1999, Dr. McCabe completed her Master's degree from in Counseling Psychology from New College and then went on to obtain her doctorate at Meridian University in Clinical Psychology. She also completed training with an Expressive Arts practitioner in Anna and Daria Halprin's Body Portrait process using art-making, movement, and writing to re-image the body. She has experience in working in residential facilities (Baker Places, Bayside Marin) as well as an Intensive Outpatient Eating Disorder facility (Ohlhoff) working with clients recovering from anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive/binge eating. Dr. McCabe has presented her doctoral work at conferences including Summit Eating Disorders conferences, the National Expressive Arts Therapy conference, and Eating Disorder Recovery Services. Since 2006, she has worked in hospitals such as Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute facilitating skills-based DBT and Expressive arts groups for clients recovering from eating disorders and comorbid diagnosis. Dr. McCabe opened a private practice specializing in eating disorders in 2007, and is excited to be joining New Dawn's Clinical team. She finds eating disorder recovery work to be a labor of love, of which she feels honored to be a part.
Lauren Rogers, RN - Staff Nurse
Lauren is a Registered Nurse with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts and Communication. After studying Art History and receiving her BA in 2003, Lauren realized she wanted to combine her love for the liberal arts with the art of psychology and helping others. Lauren received her BS in 2008 from Mount Saint Mary’s College in Los Angeles. After doing extensive rotations on UCLA’s eating disorder unit, Lauren realized she wanted to begin her career as a psych nurse particularly in the field of eating disorders. Lauren understands the complex disorder and enjoys being part of a team that promotes compassionate healing and therapeutic persistence. The last couple years, Lauren’s worked as a counselor and Registered Nurse at The Center for Discovery. Here Lauren ran multiple groups, such as Relaxation, Self-Esteem, and Psychological Education as well as providing incessant nursing care. When Lauren is away from New Dawn, she enjoys walks in the city, reading, going to movies, and spending time with family and friends.
Lisa Booth, RD – Dietitian
Lisa Booth is a Registered Dietitian, as recognized by the Commission on Dietetic Registration. She received her Bachelors Degree in Foods and Nutrition at San Diego State University then went on to complete her accredited dietetic internship program at Patton State Hospital, a major forensic mental health hospital in Southern California. Lisa has residential experience through interning at the Montecantini Eating Disorder Center in Carlsbad, California. She has focused her education and experiences on eating disorders by completing her major case study on an eating disorder patient, attending various related lectures provided by the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals, and self study on the subject. Lisa has been providing one-on-one nutrition counseling and nutrition education since 2005. She truly has a passion for treating individuals with eating disorders in order to help them learn to build a healthy relationship with food and live a better quality of life. Lisa has been a member of the California Dietetic Association and the American Dietetic Association since 2005, and the Bay Area Dietetic Association since 2009.
Alecia Singer, LMFT, RYT - Staff Therapist
Alecia Singer is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a Masters Degree in Counseling Psychology, specializing in expressive arts therapy. She is also a Registered Yoga Teacher. For the last ten years, she has been working in a variety of clinical settings with adults, children, families and groups addressing issues of trauma, addiction, eating disorders and body image. Most recently, she was in practice at the APTED (Association of Professionals Treating Eating Disorders) clinic in San Francisco from 2007-2009. Alecia believes that optimal health comes from integrating body, mind and spirit and incorporates expressive arts therapy, movement, guided imagery and mindfulness into her therapy practice.
Intensive Outpatient & PHP Staff
Jamie Lopez , Ph.D - Staff Psychologist
Dr. Lopez received her PhD from the University of North Texas. She did a one year internship at Texas A&M University Counseling Center specializing in eating disorders and leading body image groups. She also completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of San Francisco Counseling Center with an eating disorder treatment focus. Most recently, Dr. Lopez worked at the Charis Center, an eating disorder treatment facility in Indianapolis, where she was involved in a partial hospitalization program leading several treatment groups as well as providing individual and family therapy. After moving to the Bay Area she continues to focus on eating disorder treatment using an integrative approach with cognitive behavioral strategies. She is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Santa Clara County Psychological Association.
For available positions within New Dawn Eating Disorders Recovery Center, please visit our Available Positions page.
