Meet Our Team
Lauren C. Taveras, Psy.D.
Bilingual Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Owner & Founder
Dr. Taveras is a Dominican American, Bilingual Clinical Psychologist who is licensed in Arizona. Dr. Taveras is the owner and founder of Coral Valley Psychological Services, PLLC, a private practice dedicated to addressing the psychosocial concerns of individuals, couples, and families throughout the Valley, with a special emphasis upon the Latino/a/x immigrant community. Given her background and expertise, honoring the culturally diverse identities and experiences of all clients drives Coral Valley's clinical mission.
Prior to founding Coral Valley, Dr. Taveras held a staff psychologist position on the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Clinical Team (PCT) with the Phoenix VA Health Care System, where she also completed an APA-approved Clinical Internship with rotations in PTSD, General Mental Health, and Health Psychology. Before relocating to Phoenix, Dr. Taveras was an adjunct instructor at the undergraduate and graduate levels at Long Island University, where she taught psychology theory and assessment courses. Dr. Taveras graduated with a Doctorate of Psychology in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University Post, and has also received Master of Education (M.Ed.) and Master of Arts (M.A.) degrees from Teachers College of Columbia University in Counseling Psychology. Dr. Taveras previously worked as a bilingual (English and Spanish) educator in public and charter school settings in New York City before pursuing a career in mental health, having received a Master of Science degree in Teaching from Pace University in NYC.
Dr. Taveras has worked with survivors of trauma since 2006 in a variety of settings, and has trained community members and mental health professionals in a range of mental health matters, including burnout, compassion fatigue, and vicarious traumatization; mindfulness and meditation strategies for stress reduction; microaggressions in the therapeutic relationship; parenting skills; and conflict resolution in the workplace. She has also conducted diagnostic interviews, planned treatment, and provided psychotherapy for individuals across all ages with developmental disabilities and learning differences. Dr. Taveras provides mental health evaluations for various immigration-related matters, and also provides psychoeducational evaluations for the diagnosis of learning differences (giftedness and disabilities) for individuals from all ages in both English and Spanish.
Genaro R Huerta, Psy.D.
Bilingual Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Dr. Huerta is a Mexican-American, Bilingual Clinical Psychologist who is licensed in Arizona. Dr. Huerta was born in Mexico City, Mexico and immigrated to the U.S. at a young age. Dr. Huerta completed his doctorate from an APA accredited program at the Arizona School of Professional Psychology-Argosy in 2018. Dr. Huerta also holds master’s degrees in clinical psychology (M.A.), counseling psychology (M.S.), administration (M.H.A), and a bachelor’s degree in Biology (B.S.).
In addition to working for Coral Valley Psychological Services, Dr. Huerta currently holds a psychologist position at Arizona State University, providing counseling support to college students from undergraduate and graduate programs. Dr. Huerta has been practicing in the mental health field since 2011. Dr. Huerta has worked with a diverse population in a variety of settings including, community health, residential treatment centers, domestic violence shelter, assisted living facilities, counseling center, and multiple outpatient clinics. Dr. Huerta specializes in the adult population with an emphasis on Latino/a/x population, ethnic minorities, culturally diverse identities, and underserved populations. Dr. Huerta uses a strength-based and relational therapy approach that centers on building a strong therapeutic relationship with his clients.
Dr. Huerta’s expertise consists of issues related to domestic violence, mood disorders, relationship issues, self-esteem, spirituality, stress, life transitions, acculturation, grief, trauma, and others. In addition to psychotherapy, Dr. Huerta was an adjunct faculty for Grand Canyon University from 2018-2023. Dr. Huerta is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) and received certification for the College & University Suicide Prevention Specialist Certification by the American Association of Suicidology in 2022.
Amanda Acevedo, M.A., Ed.S.
Bilingual Doctoral Student Clinician
Amanda Acevedo, M.A., Ed.S., is a Psy.D. candidate (2025) in the Northern Arizona’s Clinical Psychology Psy.D program. Mrs. Acevedo was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of South Florida (1998) and her master’s and education specialist’s degree in Educational Psychology from Argosy University (2016, 2019).
At NAU, Mrs. Acevedo serves as the Outreach Coordinator (CPSB) and the student liaison between CPSB and the Neuro-Forensic Club. Mrs. Acevedo is an active member of different psychology organizations both at the state (AzPA, AASP) and national level (APA, NLPA). For the 2022 year, Mrs. Acevedo is the AzPA Graduate Student Representative, the APA Division 15 Graduate Student Ambassador, and one of the new board members of the Arizona Psychological Foundation (AFPF).
Her major interest includes promoting mental health awareness in children and adolescents who live in rural communities and belong to underserved populations. As a bilingual (Spanish/English) and bicultural Hispanic woman, Ms. Acevedo’s research interest focuses on addressing and curtailing substance use among minority populations, diversity and inclusion, generational trauma, and psychopharmacology. Upon graduation, Ms. Acevedo would like to work within community-based programs with culturally and linguistically diverse populations.
Lydia Tesfay, M.S.
Doctoral Student Clinician
Lydia Tesfay is a Doctoral Student at Northern Arizona University pursuing her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.). She previously earned a Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Psychology from Grand Canyon University in 2018 and a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in Psychology from Northern Arizona University in 2012.
Lydia has worked in the mental health sector for over ten years serving children, adolescents, and adults. Prior to enrolling in NAU's Psy.D. program, she was an inpatient therapist assisting adolescents and adults in psychiatric units suffering from mental illnesses and substance abuse. She has prior experience assisting children and adolescents who display severe behavioral issues at home and school. Currently, she is involved in nonprofit work providing mental health awareness for immigrant families in the Valley.
Lydia is Eritrean American. She is from a family of refugees who were relocated to Arizona through refugee placement services. Her passion is to provide psychological services to the immigrant and refugee population.
Lydia is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), Arizona Psychological Association (AzPA), & Black Doctoral Network (BDN).
Mónica Iwabuchi, M.A.
Bilingual Doctoral Student Clinician
Monica Iwabuchi is a bilingual Doctoral Candidate Clinician at Coral Valley who is pursuing her graduate degree from Northern Arizona University. She previously earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Clinical Psychology at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi (TAMUCC) in 2016.
Prior to joining Coral Valley's team, Monica's experience included conducting neuropsychological assessments in English and Spanish and co-leading therapy sessions for children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral issues. Monica has also provided mentorship to doctoral students at the Arizona School of Professional Psychology. In addition, Monica taught various psychology classes including General Psychology as adjunct faculty, Experimental Psychology as a laboratory instructor, and Cognitive Psychology and Learning and Memory as a supplemental instructor at TAMUCC.
Monica is a native Spanish speaker having been raised in Mexico. As an adolescent she moved to the United States, living in Texas for 18 years. She moved to Phoenix, Arizona to advance her psychology career in a PsyD program. Her dream and passion is to provide psychological services to the Latinx population.
Monica is a member of the Arizona Psychological Association and the National Latinx Psychological Association.
Jasmine Vargas
Administrative Assistant
Jasmine Vargas graduated from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in Psychological Science and Criminology, Law and Society in 2022. Her goal is to pursue graduate school and pave the way towards a career in Forensic Psychology.
During her time at UCI Jasmine involved herself in various campus organizations to inform and involve herself further in the field of Psychology. A campus organization she joined was the Latinx Student Psychological Association which allowed her to immerse herself in the Latinx experience of higher education and mental health. She was also a part of the Peer Educator Program of the Counseling Center which allowed her to not only inform herself on various mental health topics pertaining to students, but also the opportunity to inform the rest of her peers on those topics by curating and presenting psychoeducational workshops. Lastly, Jasmine contributed to the Confía en mi, confío en ti study within The Health, Relationships, and Intervention Lab which studied the efficacy of a strengths-based relationship program for low-income Latinx parents and youth.
Jasmine's interest in Forensic Psychology first began when she took a Juvenile Delinquency course where she noticed that the perspective of the juvenile delinquents was seriously lacking. Once noticing this, she began to take various courses on topics involving the intersection of Psychology and the Law and continued to notice this lack of perspective of people with criminal backgrounds or people who were in prison. Her interest in Forensic Psychology was cemented when she involved herself in the Prison Letter research lab where she was able to read letters written by men in prison that were sent to an Islamic organization that seeked to provide them with religious resources and support while in prison. This research lab exposed the various forms of trauma and psychological struggles men and women with criminal backgrounds experience in and outside of prison. Due to this exposure, Jasmine hopes to become a Forensic Psychologist to help offer individuals with criminal backgrounds the voice they are so often stripped of.
.png)