By President Emerita Judie Wexler December 5, 2016
Dear CIIS Community,
Our hearts and prayers go out to the families and friends who lost loved ones in the Oakland fire and those who await news of missing loved ones.
It is with deep sorrow that I am writing to let you know that one of our CIIS alumni, Travis Hough, was among the people who lost their lives in the horrific fire on Friday night.
Travis graduated from CIIS in August 2015 with a Master's degree in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Expressive Arts Therapy. He has been described as a tender hearted, talented, and creative man-a future leader in Expressive Arts who served the children of the East Bay community. And was an ally to all marginalized communities. His friends and colleagues are reeling from the loss. Travis' partner, Louisa LeMauviel, is also an Expressive Arts graduate.
If you wish to send cards or letters to Louisa, please drop them by the Expressive Arts office on the sixth floor.
EXA alums are working with Shoshana Simons and the CIIS Alumni office on a memorial service for Travis. Alum Emilio Juri-Martinez is assisting Richard with a commemoration for Travis at CIIS. Please contact Emilio at Ejuri10@gmail.com if you wish to participate.
Our CIIS Counseling Centers are organizing to help our community and members of the public who have been affected by this tragedy. All CIIS clinics are able to offer some counseling services at no charge, based on space available, some of them are offering up to three free counseling sessions for grief and loss support to those calling and identifying this need. A future update will include more information.
At the CIIS Wellness Center, Counseling Services staff and Student Affairs staff are available to support students affected by this tragedy. Counseling Services will hold drop-in hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 11:30am to 12:30pm in room 305. In addition, students are encouraged to contact our counselors for individual sessions, which includes availability for this week. To contact Counseling Services for general information or scheduling an individual session, please email counseling@ciis.edu.
This is a very sad moment for our CIIS community, the community of artists and musicians, and the wider Bay Area. I am confident that we will all come together to support all who are mourning.
I and others will write soon with more updates.
Warmly,
Judie Wexler
President Emerita
