This summer, there was a complete overhaul in the wellness positions on campus. The Administration made two new hires with Dr. Miriam Cohen as the new Health Center Director and Dr. Francisco Lopez as the new Director of Counseling. Another key change was the new position taken by Ms. Libby Peard, previous Director of Parent Relations; Ms. Peard will now serve as the Director of Health and Wellness Services. Dr. Lopez described the relation between the three new colleagues with a sports analogy. He said, “This is very similar to a triple threat position. Dr. Cohen covers the medical side, I cover the mental health side, and Ms. Peard helps with the overall planning and administration.”
The first point on the triple threat is Ms. Peard, who has been a member of the Choate community for the past 13 years, serving as the Director of Parent Relations and International Students. Now, Ms. Peard will continue her role as Director of International Students but will take on the additional role of Director of Health and Wellness Services. This new title and position results in part from an external assessment by a team of consultants. Ms. Peard stated, “Among a number of recommendations, the consultants encouraged a reconfigured organization that involves separating some of the administrative functions from the clinical responsibilities.”
The position is intended to ensure that the school is well-positioned administratively to provide the best possible health and wellness services while also freeing up the medical providers, namely the workers at the Health Center and Counseling Office, to focus on clinical care. Ms. Peard hopes that her past experience working as a consultant and her deep desire to promote student health and wellness will translate into a productive partnership with those already providing health services at Choate.
New Director of Counseling, Dr. Francisco Lopez spent his early years in Puerto Rico but the majority of his life living in New York City and New York State. Dr. Lopez entered his adolescence in Lower East Manhattan before a major change in scenery with his family moving to “a small town called Fredonia on the shores of Lake Erie,” for his teenage years. Dr. Lopez then worked in the Buffalo, New York for around 10 years. Dr. Francisco Lopez finally became a member of the Wallingford community seven years ago and has always looked to Choate as a potential future workplace. Even before joining officially as a member of the faculty this year, Dr. Lopez had a glimpse of the Choate community through developing friendships with some faculty members and by attending some performances put on at the PMAC. Dr. Lopez previously worked as a consultant with other academic institutions and a big part of what he was doing was forensic psychology, helping research the impact mental health has on the youth and adults that go to court in our country and if there is a better option than incarceration to help them.
A main principle that Dr. Lopez believes in for the future of Choate’s counseling office is adapting to the students of today. Dr. Lopez has two goals for the counseling office on campus. First, he wishes to make conversations about emotional and behavioral health normal, allowing anyone to feel comfortable talking about their mental health as a whole. Secondly, he wants the department to be a bit more encompassing, providing students help not only if they have a mental health concern, but a concern about growth, career development, or personal development.
Dr. Cohen, the new Health Center Director and Wallingford resident, is excited to be working in an academic environment again. After attending a municipal high school in her hometown of New Jersey, Dr. Cohen is already accustomed to working in diverse, academic environments. Dr. Cohen initially heard about Choate when she attended university in New York, and then really was exposed to Choate when she moved to Wallingford and opened her own pediatric firm. When it comes to her goals as Medical Director, she stated, “Obviously, our first priority is to provide the best healthcare possible to the students.” Dr. Cohen later added that she also wants to start to provide more directed wellness education to the community.
