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Psychosocial Staff
Teri Simoneau, Ph.D., is the Director of Psychosocial Oncology at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center. She has worked in psychosocial oncology and stem cell transplant for over sixteen years. She began her career as a nurse, graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Early in her nursing career, she developed an interest in psychology. After obtaining a doctorate degree in clinical psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder, she brought her background in medicine together with her training in psychology doing a behavioral medicine internship at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center. She did a fellowship at the University of Colorado Denver in their stem cell transplant unit and found a true passion for working with patients with cancer. For the past 14 years she has worked at the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute (formerly known as the Rocky Mountain Blood and Marrow Transplant Program). Her clinical and research interests include quality of life issues, the impact of illness on caregivers and family relationships, cancer survivorship issues, and training issues for developing psychologists. She was a co-investigator on a recently completed NIH-funded grant with Dr. Jim Grigsby of the University of Colorado Denver assessing the cognitive effects of chemotherapy in older women with breast cancer. She is currently a co-investigator on an NIH-funded study with Dr. Mark Laudenslager at the University of Colorado Denver assessing caregiver stress and the impact of a stress management intervention with caregivers of allogeneic transplant patients.
Athena Y. Baca-Chieza, Psy.D. is a program psychologist for the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute (CBCI) at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center. She received a doctorate in Medical Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology in 2006 which culminated in a pre-doctoral residency in medical psychology at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX. At Brooke Army Medical she worked with active duty service men and women during Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2007, she completed her postdoctoral fellowship in psychosocial oncology at the Rocky Mountain Blood and Marrow Transplant Program (now known as CBCI) where she was fortunate enough to stay as a full-time staff member. Since 2007 she has been a part of the robust psychology training program at CBCI where she supervises pre-doctoral and postdoctoral psychology trainees on their way to licensure in psychology. Dr. Baca-Chieza is a member of the Patient Services Committee for The Leukemia & Lymphoma society, and is a member of the PSL Ethics and Human Values Committee. She is passionate about teaching patients, families, students, and other professionals about issues related to health psychology, cancer treatment and survivorship. She has been an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado Denver in the Masters in Counseling program since 2008. Her professional interests include the subjects of end-of-life care, hematology and oncology, working with patients who live with acute and chronic illness, and working with underserved disenfranchised populations. She is an active partner in the cancer community providing care to Spanish-speaking Latinos. She is a co-creator of the organization, COLORES de Cancer, a group whose goal is to provide education and cancer care to the Latino community. Her personal interests include cooking, learning about the cuisines of other cultures, spending time with friends and family, and taking long walks with her dog Moses.
Andrea Maikovich-Fong, Ph.D received her doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She then completed her clinical internship and a post-doctoral fellowship at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and is currently one of the post-doctoral fellows in the Psychosocial Oncology
Department at CBCI/PSLMC. She particularly enjoys working with the families and children of patients being treated at CBCI. Outside of work, Andrea enjoys hiking, snowshoeing, camping, and spending time with her pets.
Jennifer Caspari, PhD received her doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of Denver. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Salt Lake City VA hospital. She was originally from the East Coast, but her family now lives in Colorado. She was happy to return to Colorado following her internship in Salt Lake City to complete a 1-year psychology postdoctoral fellowship at the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute. When she is not working, some of her favorite activities are spending time with her family and friends, exercising, eating at good restaurants and watching movies. She is passionate about working in a medical setting as well as striking a balance between work and play. She looks forward to learning a lot throughout the year and getting to know and work with such a talented team of professionals!
Janet Spradley, LCSW received her master’s degree in Social Work in August of 2007 from Colorado State University and has been a member of the psychosocial team at CBCI (formerly known as the Rocky Mountain Blood and Marrow Transplant Program) since September 2009. In addition to her work as a social worker on the team, she is also the therapist for the CareWELL research study where she provides an eight-week stress management intervention to caregivers of patients going through an allogeneic transplant. She feels fortunate to have the opportunity to work with patients and their families.
Kylee Virdi, LCSW graduated from Colorado State University in 2002 with her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work. After working in various social work settings, she went on to get her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Denver in 2007 with a specialty in Trauma: Responses and Recovery. She became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in 2010. She has had over 5 years experience as a medical social worker. She has a passion for oncology and spent three years as a patient navigator with the American Cancer Society helping thousands of patients and families with their cancer journey. She is honored to now be a part of the blood and marrow transplant team at CBCI.
Rebekkah Erks, LSW - Rebekkah graduated from the University of Denver with her Master’s of Social Work Degree in 2009. Since graduating, she has specialized in adult transplant related services; she has worked with both solid organ and bone marrow transplant patients. From 2009-2011, she provided services in a solid organ transplant center working with patients who were in need of kidney, pancreas and/or liver transplants. She recently joined the Psychosocial Team at the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute in August of 2011 and continues to serve patients in need of Bone Marrow Transplants.
Valerie Cattany, LCSW received her Bachelor’s of Social Work Degree from Metropolitan State College of Denver and her Master’s Degree in Social Work with an emphasis in Clinical/Mental Health from the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work. Valerie has worked in a variety of social work settings including child welfare-foster care, school social work, and community mental health. She has experience in palliative care and hospice care working with chronic/terminally ill individuals and their families. Valerie has taken time off to do some volunteer work in Paraguay with the Peace Corps and then to raise a family. She is currently working part-time at the Colorado Blood Cancer Institute at Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center doing rewarding work as a medical social worker. She also works with students at the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW) serving as a liaison in the field office to aid students in their field work.