Lauren Cleary is a nationally Board Certified and Registered Art Therapist (ATR-BC) through the Art Therapy Credentials Board, holds a Professional Teaching License for Visual Arts K-12 in Colorado and Virginia, and is a registered psychotherapist in Colorado. She received her Masters in Arts (MA) degree in Art Therapy from The George Washington University in Washington, DC and her Bachelors of Fine Art (BFA) in Studio Art, with a minor in Film & Digital Imaging from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Lauren has experience working with people of all ages in a range of settings that include pediatric hospice and palliative care; a private practice for families affected by autism; a pediatric hospital for children and adolescents with chronic, life-threatening illnesses; a therapeutic art classroom in a special education school for adolescents with psychological and behavioral disorders; an urban Expeditionary Learning Outward Bound middle and high school; creative art camps; and a camp for grieving children. She has guest lectured in graduate courses throughout the United States, Hong Kong, and New Zealand, and has presented at professional conferences in the United States and New Zealand. Lauren recently moved to beautiful Colorado after spending two years enjoying the culture, scenery, and people of New Zealand. She is passionate about hiking, organic gardening, reading, and laughing with friends and family. This is her third year as part of the Stargate community.