OCD SoCal’s Board of Directors include a collaborative and experienced team of expert therapists, psychiatrists, researchers, individuals affected by OCD, and family advocates dedicated to promoting the mission of OCD SoCal and the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF).
Jennie Kuckertz, PhD (President)
Dr. Jennie Kuckertz is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and the Administrative Director of Research at the McLean Hospital OCD Institute. She is also a faculty member at San Diego State University and Harvard Medical School. She has been working with individuals with OCD for over 15 years, and is committed to improving access to OCD treatment through direct patient care, training of early career OCD professionals, research, and advocacy. Her private practice focuses largely on working with children, teens, and young adults with OCD and other anxiety disorders. Dr. Kuckertz’s program of research, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, focuses on how and why exposure therapies work best.
Chris Trondsen, LMFT, APCC (Vice President)
Chris Trondsen suffered with severe OCD and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) until receiving specialized treatment. No longer under the control of the disorders, Chris now works as a clinician in the mental health field, treating OCD, BDD, and related disorders at The Gateway Institute in Costa Mesa, California. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Psychology at California State University, Long Beach, and earned a Masters of Science in Counseling at California State University, Fullerton. Chris has shared his story of recovery on the Montel Williams Show, Dr. Drew, Fox 5 San Diego, Vox, Vice, Buzzfeed, NBC, and speaking at IOCDF annual conferences. He also on the Board of Directors of the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) and is one of the IOCDF’s lead advocates. He is also a member of their BDD, Trauma & Grief, Young Adult, and LGBTQ+ Special Interest Groups, and created the Young Adult Track at the annual IOCDF conference.
Melissa Mose, LMFT (Treasurer)
Melissa Mose is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who runs a private practice in Calabasas, CA. Melissa has advocated for those affected by OCD both as a clinician and as the parent of a child who experienced the debilitating symptoms of OCD as a result of a strep infection. Melissa specializes in working with anxiety disorders including OCD and OC spectrum disorders. Working with adolescents and their families has been Melissa’s primary focus since she began her work as an intern in 1992.
Adam Frank, MD, PhD (Secretary)
Dr. Adam C Frank is a psychiatrist, researcher, and Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences in the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. He attended UCLA for medical school and graduate school and holds a PhD in neuroscience. He completed adult psychiatry residency at UCSF where he participated in additional training and research in neuromodulation treatments—such as TMS and DBS—for psychiatric indications like depression and OCD. Dr. Frank currently divides his time between caring for individuals with OCD in an outpatient psychiatry clinic, supervising and teaching psychiatry residents at USC, and conducting research on the mechanisms of OCD and improving treatment outcomes through the use of neuroimaging, wearable biosensors, and neuromodulation.
Liz Trondsen (Director of Event Operations)
Liz Trondsen is the mother of a son with mental illness. When her son, Chris, was diagnosed at age twenty, she was able to locate a treatment center in Los Angeles where he received excellent cognitive behavioral therapy. From a young man consumed with obsessions and compulsions, Liz watched her son regain his life, graduate college, and now work to help others fight this disorder. Liz helps to facilitate a Family Support Group in Irvine that brings families and people with OCD together to provide support, suggestions and hope to one another.
Sue Chudy, LCSW (Director of Marketing & Community Outreach)
Susan (Sue) Chudy (she/her) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker specializing in the treatment of OCD and anxiety disorders. She currently owns her private practice that is located in San Diego, CA. Sue received her B.S. in Social Work from Illinois State University and her M.S in Social Work from the Jane Addams College of Social Work at University of Illinois at Chicago. Sue’s OCD training comes from her 10 years of work with one of the countries leading OCD and Anxiety PHP and IOP programs. During this time she opened her own outpatient therapy practice in Chicago, focusing on the treatment of OCD and Anxiety. In 2019, she moved to San Diego and continued her practice. Sue is incredibly passionate about spreading OCD awareness and creating supportive environments for people with OCD and clinicians who treat OCD. Sue facilitates OCD support groups, OCD Clinician consultation groups and self-compassion and OCD therapy groups. In addition to being licensed in California, Sue is also licensed as an LCSW in Illinois and Ohio.
Shannon Jakubowski (née Switzer), CMPSS (Director of Regional Councils)
Shannon Jakubowski discovered OCD was shrinking her life personally and professionally a few years after she had finished college. She pursued treatment which helped her tackle the ways OCD was hindering her, especially how OCD was keeping her from pursuing a career in the mental health field. Shannon began to work for NAMI San Diego & Imperial Counties as a Peer Support Specialist where she supported individuals with their mental health, physical health, and life goals. After working almost 3 years as a specialist, she now works for NAMI’s Education Department as Lead Trainer helping others become Peer and Family Support Specialists. She has volunteered with OCD Southern California since 2017 for numerous events and enjoys learning creative ways to support herself and others.
Sepehr “Sheperd” Aziz, DO (Director of Brand)
Dr. Sepehr “Sheperd” Aziz is a physician and currently Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine and Behavioral Sciences, where he works in an outpatient psychiatry clinic seeing university students on campus. He completed his general psychiatry residency training at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMass), and a subspecialty fellowship in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) where he worked in the OCD and Tic disorders specialty clinic. His research experience includes clinical trials of stimulant medications for ADHD and esketamine for refractory depression. In addition to English, he speaks fluent Persian. His approach to psychiatry is integrative, individualized, and culturally-informed.
Katherine Pica, LCSW (Director of Training)
Katherine Pica, LCSW, is the owner and clinical director of Resilience Counseling, a San Diego-based group practice specializing in the treatment of OCD, anxiety, and trauma. She and her team provide compassionate, evidence-based care for children, teens, adults, and families — meeting each client where they are with high-quality, developmentally informed treatment across the lifespan. Katherine is deeply committed to OCD work with evidence-based practices. She is equally committed to the clients she serves and the clinicians she trains, continuously working to ensure that those who are struggling do not have to suffer alone and can access evidence-based treatment to heal. Through community training and outreach, she is also working to raise awareness about OCD so it is recognized sooner and those affected are connected to evidence-based care faster.
Claire Buck (Director of Volunteers)
Claire Buck is a graduate student in Antioch University’s Masters of Clinical Psychology program and completed her Bachelor of Science in Biology at UCLA in 2025. Her connection to OCD is both personal and longstanding. Living with OCD herself, Claire spent years (since 2014) attending IOCDF conferences, OCD SoCal Walks, and Awareness Week events. Growing up in a therapy minded family and community gave Claire an early window into what dedicated, compassionate treatment can mean for people with OCD and their families. She has been involved with OCD SoCal for nearly a decade, moving from working registration tables and facilitating activities to her current role as Director of Volunteers, a role she approaches with particular excitement about helping young people find their footing in the community.
Barbara Van Noppen, PhD, LCSW (Emeritus Board Member)
Dr. Barbara Van Noppen has over 35 years of experience in the treatment and study of OCD and is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the International OCD Foundation. Dr. Van Noppen is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California where she teaches and supervises cognitive behavioral therapy. Dr. Van Noppen is internationally recognized for her work including family members in CBT for OCD.
