BOARD MEMBERS
Camille Chavez, LCSW RPT™
President
Camille Chavez is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Registered Play Therapist based in Roswell, New Mexico. She has worked as a special education social worker within her local school district for the past five years and also provides mental health services to women in recovery at a residential treatment program.
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Her approach is grounded in Person-Centered theory, emphasizing empathy, unconditional positive regard, and the healing power of authentic connection. She practices from a strengths-based lens, meeting clients where they are and honoring the resilience, abilities, and inner resources they already carry. Camille has received training in Child-Centered Play Therapy and Adlerian Play Therapy and integrates play therapy, sand tray therapy, and expressive interventions into her work with children and adults.
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She is committed to creating a safe, supportive, and nonjudgmental space where clients feel seen, heard, valued, and empowered. She feels privileged to walk alongside children, adults, and families as they grow, heal, and rediscover their strengths. Camille believes that play is a powerful language for healing and growth and play therapy has been profoundly meaningful in both her personal and professional life. She is deeply passionate about sharing the value of play therapy with her community and is proud to serve on the NMAPT board.
Risa Lehrer, LPCC, RPT-S™
Vice President
Risa Lehrer relocated to Taos in 1995 after serving as special education in the New York City public schools. For the past five years, she has served as a special education teacher and school counselor at Anansi Charter School. Along with running her own established private practice in Taos since 2008. In her private practice she has worked to support children and families using Play Therapy.
In 2010, she earned her Registered Play Therapist™ (RPT™) certification and then had achieved RPT-S™ (Supervisor) certification. Along with holding her level II Theraplay certification Risa has pursued further education in the areas of play therapy through the years. She has been an active leader in the New Mexico Play Therapy Association, serving as President, President-Elect, and Past President, during her two terms. During her tenure, she presented numerous training sessions across the state, including at the association’s annual conference.
A passionate advocate for mental health, Risa currently serves on the New Mexico Counseling Association's Legislative Committee, where she works to secure increased funding for mental health services in schools and for private practitioners. Her commitment to supporting families and advocating for systemic change in New Mexico has made her a powerful voice for the communities she serves.
As a dedicated member of the play therapy community, Risa is eager to expand awareness of the practice and educate the public about its profound benefits and effectiveness in helping children and families navigate life’s challenges. Risa looks forward to be able to serve as board member again.
Elva Burillo, LMSW
NMAPT Treasurer
Elva Burillo, LCSW, is the owner and therapist at Evora Therapy Services, where she provides trauma-informed mental health services to children, adolescents, and adults. Her passion for play therapy developed after witnessing how traditional talk therapy often failed to fully meet the needs of many clients, particularly children and those impacted by trauma.
Elva is a certified Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) therapist and has specialized training in Child-Centered Play Therapy, Sand Tray Therapy, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Multisystemic Therapy (MST), creative arts interventions, and sound healing. As she works toward her Registered Play Therapist (RPT) credential, she continues to integrate play-based principles across treatment modalities, tailoring treatment to each client's unique strengths, needs, and goals.
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Serving a rural and often underserved community, Elva is committed to creating a safe, supportive environment where clients can heal, grow, and thrive. Her favorite playroom tools include sand tray miniatures, sensory fidgets, and slime which provide opportunities for regulation, symbolic expression, creativity, and self-discovery. She is continually inspired by the transformative power of play and its ability to foster connection, healing, and lasting change.
Meredith Baca, LPCC RPT-S™
NMAPT Secretary
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​Meredith D. Baca has worked with children and adolescents since 2011. She was born in Santa Fe and raised in Northern New Mexico. It was during graduate school at St. Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, where she found her passion for Play Therapy. She is an Independently Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) and Registered Play Therapist (RPT). She has worked in inpatient, outpatient, residential treatment centers and in private practice throughout her career. She is passionate about Play Therapy and striving to provide a place of healing for all her clients.​
Katie Bassiri, LPCC RPT-S™
Member at Large
Katie Bassiri MA, LPCC RPT-S™ is a multiply neurdivergent business owner and mental health therapist in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her work is focused on helping humans live authentic and connected lives by sharing her expertise in play therapy, autism, and universal design considerations. She provides supervision and training around the US and in 2024 was recognized as an Outstanding Leader by the New Mexico Association of Play Therapy, a Diversity Champion in New Mexico, and a Woman of Influence in Albuquerque Business.
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Katie's passion for play therapy began as an undergraduate psychology student at Northern Arizona University. Having always been drawn to supporting children, she loved the idea of using the language of play to help kids as they navigate challenging events and heal from trauma. In her master's program she was lucky to internship at a site that provided both play therapy supervision and training that made obtaining her RPT-S™credential a seamless and accessible process. Her work on the board is her way to pay it forward, and she works to make training and supervision accessible to New Mexico and other underserved and rural communities.
Carol Brennan, LPCC RPT-S™
Member at Large
Carol has been a New Mexico LPCC and an RPT-S™ for more than 30 years and her
passion for play therapy is stronger than ever! Because she was unaware of anyone in
Albuquerque doing the kind of play therapy with children that she had learned and
practiced at the University of North Texas she opened a private practice specializing in
working with young children. A few years later she began training counselors and social
workers in play therapy, first in the Albuquerque and New Mexico and later in other
states and at regional and national conferences.
She is a founding board member of the New Mexico Association for Play Therapy
(NMAPT) which was established in 2000 and served twice as NMAPT President
between 2000 and 2015, leaving the board in 2015 to teach full time at the University of
the Southwest in Hobbs, NM. Prior to this she served as adjunct faculty at the
University of New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands University. Carol is now semi-retired and teaching as an adjunct in the online Masters in Counseling Program at Western New Mexico University.
Carol is delighted to be back on NMAPT’s Board and looks forward to working toward
increasing play therapy as the preferred way of working with children in New Mexico.
Her wish is that every child in need of mental health treatment in New Mexico should be
able to see a trained and qualified play therapist.
Waldo Winborn, LPCC RPT-S™
NMAPT Past President
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Waldo Winborn is a professional counselor at Winborn Wellness & Counseling and is independently licensed to practice in the state of New Mexico. He has decades worth of behavioral health experience and specializes in working with children and families who have suffered trauma. He is a Registered Play Therapist Supervisor™ and certified in EMDR. Waldo is a recognized supervisor by the New Mexico Counseling and Therapy Practice Board as well as the Board of Social Work Examiners. In 2009 Waldo and Renee Winborn, LCSW founded Winborn Wellness & Counseling, a group practice in Southern New Mexico. Together they built an agency that supports over 20 mental health clinicians and provides direct services in Grant, Hidalgo, Catron, and Luna counties. Today he continues as its clinical director and facilitates an environment of collaboration and support. For more information about Waldo or his work go to WinbornWC.com.