Chaminade University of Honolulu

Behavioral Sciences

Faculty Appointed to State Psychology Board

Sean Scanlan, Ph.D., Director and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, has been appointed to the Hawai‘i State Board of Psychology, joining fellow faculty member Jeffrey Stern, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, who also serves on the board.

The Hawai‘i State Board of Psychology operates under the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) within its Professional and Vocational Licensing (PVL) Division. The board is responsible for overseeing the licensure of psychology professionals across the state, helping ensure that practitioners meet standards established to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public.

At a time when the need for accessible, high-quality mental health care continues to grow in Hawai‘i and across the nation, the board plays a critical role in maintaining a strong, qualified workforce of licensed professionals.

In this role, Dr. Scanlan will contribute to the review of licensing applications, renewals, and compliance matters, while also engaging in discussions on legislation, policies, and regulatory issues impacting the profession. Dr. Stern continues to bring valuable expertise to the board through his ongoing service.

“Dr. Scanlan’s appointment, alongside Dr. Stern’s continued service, reflects the strength of our Clinical Psychology faculty and their commitment to advancing ethical, high-quality care,” said Chaminade University President Lynn Babington, Ph.D. “We are proud to see Chaminade faculty helping shape policies that strengthen professional standards and serve our broader community.”

Dr. Scanlan’s appointment underscores Chaminade’s ongoing dedication to academic excellence, community impact, and leadership in the behavioral health field.

Doctoral Students Gain Practicum, Serve Community Needs

With practicum, internship, and dissertation requirements, hands-on learning and intensive scholarly inquiry are critical parts of Chaminade’s Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology. 

And thanks to the University’s assessment center, graduate students can tackle some of that patient-focused work right on campus.

The Chaminade Assessment Center (CAC), launched in Fall 2023 gives PsyD students the chance to conduct psychological evaluations and fill a community need at the same time.

Dr. Sean Scanlan, director of the Clinical Psychology program at the University, said the CAC started off small but with a strong mission: To offer children and young adults psychological evaluations so they can get the right  treatment and educational accommodations.

“We had Chaminade PsyD students searching for practicum sites, and we saw community members needing these psychological assessments,” Scanlan said.

The center’s first clients were Chaminade students. From there, the clientele was expanded to include students referred from nearby private schools. Scanlan said the center was able to serve about 30 patients in their first year and almost 50 in their second.

Meanwhile, about three PsyD students at any one time work under a supervisor at the CAC. Scanlan said each client requires six to 15 hours of testing, which may include an interview and cognitive, personality, and learning assessments. From there, the psychologist and PsyD students synthesize the findings and issue a report with a diagnosis and recommendations.

“For our PsyD students, it’s a lot of work,” Scanlan said. “Because it’s not just the student preparing  to be with an actual client; they have to be prepared to sit and listen to real world problems, all the while trying to conceptualize a diagnosis.” 

But Scanlan said that this real-world, experiential learning experience is critical to their training, similar to that of trainees in the medical fields. He stressed, their clinical supervisor is always there to offer expertise and guidance. The supervisor also handles initial and critical client interactions so students can see practiced psychological evaluations and interactions at work.

Sammie Wilkinson, PsyD ’27 was one of Chaminade’s first PsyD students to serve at the center following its launch and has since put in additional time there as an administrative and assessment specialist. She summed up her practicum experience at the center in one word: “Rewarding.” 

“I learned about comprehensive psychological evaluations and assessment, which are major components of the role of a clinical psychologist and a focus of the PsyD program,” Wilkinson said.

“During my practicum, I was able to support both Chaminade students and clients in the community by conducting assessments, identifying and diagnosing various challenges that often impact academic performance and social functioning. Since completing my practicum, I have continued to support the CAC with scheduling and helping clients access services.”

Wilkinson explained that assessment and diagnosis help clients put a name to specific mental health challenges they’ve been experiencing and provide a starting point for healing and support. 

“It has been a privilege to work with clients from diverse backgrounds, which has deepened my appreciation for taking a comprehensive and thoughtful approach to assessment,” she said. “One of the biggest challenges is determining an accurate diagnosis, as many conditions can resemble one another. For example, trauma may present similarly to ADHD. Therefore, it is so important that we are thorough, take our time to rule out diagnoses and consider each client holistically.”  

She added that helping to broaden access to community-based services has been especially meaningful—and she’s excited about the center’s continued growth. “Psychological assessments are in high demand but often come with long waiting lists or high costs so it has been wonderful to be part of a center that provides these services in a timely and affordable way,” she said.

Scanlan noted that the center started to accept insurance in 2025.  In the program’s first two years, services were free and mostly referral-based. “I think we have the foundation now where we can begin to increase the number of PsyD students we can take and, as a result, the number of clients we can see,” Scanlan said. “We’re happy to be providing this service to the community.”

The center’s growth comes as Chaminade’s School of Education and Behavioral Sciences also launches another win-win program for aspiring mental health professionals and clients in need of services. In spring 2026, the University’s Marriage and Family Therapy program launched its new MFT Training Clinic, where graduate-level MFT therapists in training provide care under the supervision of licensed clinicians. Services are affordable and open to anyone on Oahu. 

“This clinic is a training ground for future marriage and family therapists,” said Blendine Hawkins, Ph.D., LMFT, director of the Doctor of Marriage and Family Therapy program at Chaminade. “By focusing on couples and families and embracing culturally humble, evidence-based approaches, the clinic is a meaningful new resource for our local community. We’re excited to share this development with those who value strengthening relationships and supporting families.”

Finding Balance: A Future Psychologist’s Journey

Ryan Panzarella, PsyD ’26 credits his formative years for giving him an empathetic ear.

He grew up abroad, attending American schools in Europe and the United Arab Emirates, and believes his global experience and perspective have served him well as he prepares for a future in psychology. “I have always believed that our differences are our strengths,” he says.

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Panzarella is pursuing a Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology at Chaminade. The APA-accredited program is designed to prepare students for psychology practice, and stresses immersive learning and clinical experience. Panzarella has thrived under that model, tackling a number of hands-on internships at facilities in Hawaiʻi and Colorado.

Panzarella’s academic journey has been a circuitous one.

It started when he entered boot camp at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.

After two years, Panzarella realized military life wasn’t his life’s path. So after a gap year, he enrolled at Berklee College in Boston, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in music therapy and started pursuing a future in counseling and psychology. “The environment at Berklee better suited me since I was surrounded by students from different cultures,” Panzarella said.

As a music therapy major, Panzarella learned to connect, inspire and heal others through music.

Ryan Panzarella believes in open spaces to allow for dialogue.
Ryan Panzarella, PsyD ’26 says he found his passion in counseling psychology.

“Music strikes an emotional chord among people,” Panzarella said.

Panzarella’s first job after graduation wasn’t in music therapy, however. Instead, he moved back to the UAE, where he took a position as a project and general manager. He then returned to Seattle to land for a job with Comcast Business. He thought he was ready to settle down. He wasn’t.

Feeling unfulfilled, he quit his well-paying job, and decided to become a professional caretaker at an adult foster care home.

“I found the work rewarding.”

With the support of his parents, Roy and Jody Panzarella, he was able to enroll in the Clinical Psychology doctoral degree program at Chaminade. The PsyD program aims to educate and train students, employing a practitioner-scholar model so graduates succeed in the profession.

Panzarella’s dissertation is titled, “Narratives of Solitude and Belonging in the Age of Information,” and explores how the more connected we are online, the more isolated we become. “It’s a paradox,” he explained. “How do we as psychologists address that gap?”

Panzarella said Associate Professor Joy Tanji, Ph.D. has been a key mentor for his dissertation research. Tanji, meanwhile, praised Panzarella for making key connections through his research.

As he continues work on his degree, Panzarella has made what he hopes is a temporary move to Denver for a one-year internship at the Colorado Mental Health Institute. His goal is to return to the islands and open his own practice.

“I want to give back to the community, which has been instilled in me since I was young, even more so now that I have been at Chaminade,” he said.

A Life of Public Service

As adjutant general of the Hawai‘i Department of Defense, Maj. Gen. Stephen Logan ’89 acknowledges a life of public service isn’t easy—or especially lucrative. But giving back to the community and looking for ways to make things better, he says, really is its own reward.

“My message to students is: Stick with it. You just don’t know where it’s going to take you,” he said.

Logan’s career certainly has been full of twists and turns.

He was a Honolulu Police Department (HPD) helicopter pilot and military aviator. He deployed as a deputy commander to Afghanistan. During the pandemic, he lived for months in the Hawai‘i National Guard’s headquarters in Diamond Head. And when flames tore through Lahaina, he led a joint task force to aid in the response efforts.

All that happened before Logan took on one of the toughest jobs in Hawai‘i state government—overseeing the training and readiness of the Hawai‘i Army and Air National Guards as state adjutant general, a role he assumed in October 2024. At a moment’s notice, the Guard must be ready to assist with everything from natural disasters at home to conflicts abroad.

Logan, 61, said his journey to being named state adjutant general was a circuitous one.

This story appeared in the Spring 2025 issue of Chaminade Magazine. To read more, click here.

It began right after he graduated from high school on O‘ahu and joined the military. When he returned, he enrolled in the police cadet program and started what would become a long career with HPD. About the same time, he applied to Chaminade University and started taking night courses as he was working during the day. Logan says he was grateful for the flexibility.

He studied Criminal Justice and says one of the things he enjoyed most about Chaminade was learning from experienced leaders in their fields and being encouraged to apply his skills in real-world situations. “It gives you the theory and then the practice,” Logan said.

For example, Logan added, his professors included a retired Circuit Court judge, high-ranking police officers and a civil litigation attorney. Those experts gave him a fuller picture of the criminal justice system that would help him as a police officer and military leader.

Logan comes from a family of public servants. His grandfather served as a police officer in New York City. His father was in the Navy and the Army. And his two brothers are also veterans. In fact, brother Arthur Logan was previously the state adjutant general and is now Honolulu’s police chief.

Maj. Gen. Stephen Logan ’89 recites the Oath of Office to Hawai’i Gov. Josh Green. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Mysti Bicoy)

“My parents were steeped in public service and giving back,” Stephen Logan said, adding he chose military service and law enforcement because he wanted the chance to help others. “There are certain things on a regular workday where you can really help someone out,” he said.

“I used to tell my subordinates: When you take off your uniform, you can think that ‘I served a greater good.’ There’s simply no monetary value you can put on that. You can be proud of yourself.”

In the National Guard, Logan trained as a helicopter pilot and later became a test pilot. Later, at the Honolulu Police Department, he would fly HPD’s helicopter to maintain his flight certifications.

Over his years at the agency, Logan also climbed the ranks—and thought he would retire there.

But then a “dream job” opened up at the Hawai‘i National Guard—as state Army aviation officer—and Logan jumped at the opportunity. He held the position for more than a decade, overseeing a massive aviation program amid a “revolving door” of Middle East deployments.

At the Hawai‘i Army National Guard, and later, at the State Department of Defense, Logan continued to embrace new challenges. In 2019, he was named deputy adjutant general, a role in which he helped the state respond to some of the biggest crises Hawai‘i has ever seen, from the COVID pandemic to the deadly wildfires that tore through historic Lahaina town.

After the fire, Logan traveled to Maui to help oversee the National Guard’s response. Guard members augmented FEMA recovery teams, assisted with relief efforts, and established a security zone. Logan said many of those who responded had just wrapped up an exhaustive training exercise. When he went to visit them, they’d say, “There’s no way I could stay home.”

“That’s what really swells my heart,” he said.

As state adjutant general, Logan also serves as director of the Hawai‘i Emergency Management Agency. He said while the Lahaina disaster was a tragic wake-up call about the growing dangers of wildfires in a warming world, the state is more prepared now to respond to fast-moving blazes.

“The more we do now, the more responsive and effective we’re going to be later on,” Logan said, adding that one of the best resources in the preparedness fight is human capital—a conscientious and talented workforce of people committed to serve. His advice to young people considering their future careers: “A life of public service is rewarding. You can give back—and that’s something.”

Students Inducted Into Psychology Honor Society

Sixty-five Chaminade Psychology students were recognized for their academic excellence and commitment to the field with induction into Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, during a Spring term ceremony.

Membership in the prestigious society is for life.

Abby Halston, Ed.D, associate professor of psychology at Chaminade, said students inducted into the society “have worked tirelessly to earn this lifelong honor.” She added, “Watching them be recognized for their dedication, resilience, and academic excellence is incredibly rewarding.

She noted that Chaminade has had a Psi Chi chapter for 26 years. Participants benefit from the prestigious recognition along with access to scholarships, research grants and networking events.

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Annie Kramer ’25 served as the president of the Psi Chi chapter at Chaminade over the past academic year. The Psychology major, who also minored in Education, said the group offers an important gathering space for students with a passion for their education and psychology.

“Like minded students are able to connect and build community together,” she said, adding participating in Psi Chi afforded her the opportunity to “deeply connect with peers and faculty members in a new light” and build her leadership skills as she pursued her studies.


“We want new Psi Chi members to feel proud of their hard work and dedication to the field,” Kramer said. “In our ceremony, we aimed to express that being inducted into Psi Chi is a great honor and that each member and their guests can celebrate their devotion for psychology.”

In addition to regular networking events over the last academic year, the Psi Chi chapter partnered with the Chaminade Counseling Center to organize and promote wellness events. Those ranged from a psychology-themed scavenger hunt to a Valentine’s Day gathering.

Silverswords Study Criminal Justice Abroad

A group of Chaminade Criminology and Criminal Justice students spent a whirlwind spring break in Mexico, Belize and Honduras. But they weren’t soaking in rays at the beach—at least not most of the time. Instead, they were studying international criminal justice systems.

The 13 student participants traveled with Kelly Treece, Ph.D., director of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Program at Chaminade. This was the third study trip Treece has led to international locales, and she said each one is eye-opening for students.

“These opportunities provide students with a global view of criminal justice,” Treece said.

“They are able to identify both the strengths and the weaknesses of the U.S. criminal justice system and the strengths and weaknesses of other criminal justice systems. Ultimately, this type of global travel provides them with a foundation for potential reform proposals.”

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Owen Caba ’26 couldn’t agree more.

He’s double majoring in Criminology and Criminal Justice and said the study trip was nothing less than “life-changing.” Two highlights for him: Traveling to Placencia, Belize, a small beach town where everyone was welcoming, and shuttling their way to Roatan, a city in Honduras.

“Belize is the country I plan to go back to and want to learn more about,” said Caba, who also traveled with Treece to Australia and New Zealand on previous trips. “Studying abroad broadened my perspective by unlocking new cultures and showing me the daily lives of different people.”

Chaminade Criminology and Criminal Justice students pose for photos during their spring break trip to Central and South America.

Hannah Grace Dyer ’25, a Criminology and Criminal Justice major, said she felt privileged to explore different countries and their criminal justice systems. In Roatan, Honduras, students enjoyed the idyllic scenery while also taking note of indicators of higher crime and poverty.

“I would be interested to learn more about the notoriously corrupt government in Honduras and how that affects the criminal justice system along with why there is less crime in Roatan than Honduras mainland.,” she said, adding that hearing first-hand accounts was instructive.

“In America, almost every place you go you will experience the melting pot of cultures, people, and personalities that our country hosts. However, if you go to another country like Honduras or Mexico, you will see one culture and mainly one group of people. To me, this is always so fascinating because it gives me insight into different ways of understanding others.”

For Dyer, the trips also turned out to be a bonding experience with her fellow classmates.

“After both of these trips, I immediately felt closer to my classmates and the ’ohana at Chaminade,” she said. “One of my favorite parts of the trip was in Belize, spontaneously exploring the town of Placencia, trying local cuisine, learning about the local police department, and relaxing at the beach. This was a more ‘low-key’ day and a great break from my everyday schedule.”