Alumni

Moderated by Matt Bogyo ‘93, P’27

We are honored to welcome back three accomplished Bates graduates:

Amanda Nickerson, PhD ’94
Amanda Nickerson is a SUNY Distinguished Professor of school psychology and Director of the Alberti Center for Bullying Abuse Prevention at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York. She is a licensed psychologist, a nationally certified school psychologist, and a fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Educational Research Association. Her work focuses on understanding, preventing, and intervening with school crises, violence, bullying, and abuse, as well as building social-emotional strengths and supports for youth. 

Chris Howells, Psy.D. ’03
Dr. Howells graduated from Bates College in 2003 with a Bachelor’s degree (B.A.) in Psychology. After graduation, Dr. Howells worked for several years as a Case Manager at the Alcott Center for Mental Health Service, a Los Angeles non-profit that provides arange of services to individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. He earned an M.A. in Psychology (2008) and a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology (2012) from Pepperdine University, commissioning into active duty in the United States Air Force while still in graduate school. He completed an APA-accredited Clinical Residency at the Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center (San Antonio, Texas) with a follow-on assignment to Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. While on active duty, Dr. Howells provided psychotherapy and a range of psychological evaluation services to military members and their spouses. He also served in several leadership roles, including Director of Psychological Health, Disaster Mental Health Team Chief, and Suicide Prevention Manager. He left active duty and returned to San Antonio to work as a civilian psychologist with the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston, providing direct patient care in their Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) and Outpatient Behavioral Health program. In 2021, he launched a group private practice, No Limits Psychological Services, PLLC.

In addition to serving as the Owner/CEO and running the practice, Dr. Howells conducts disability evaluations for the Department of Veterans Affairs and provides individual psychotherapy to active-duty members, Veterans, and adults in San Antonio and across the United States. He has trained in a variety of treatment modalities, and he specializes in providing care to those who have experienced trauma, as well as those who have failed to benefit from previous therapy.

Irene Mapfunde, MSW, LICSW ’19
Irene is a Clinical Social Worker at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She has experience with mental health practice and expertise in serious illness, end-of-life care decision making, and supporting cancer patients and their families. She received a BA in Psychology from Bates College and a Master’s degree in Global Social Work from Boston College School of Social Work. Before pursuing a career in social work, she worked as a research coordinator in developmental psychology research assessing the mechanisms linking stressful life events in childhood to the onset of youth psychopathology. In addition to her clinical work, she is passionate about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the medical profession.

In her free time, you can find Irene trying out a new restaurant, reading in the park/library/café, and catching live music anywhere she can find it.