PSI AZ - Board Members, Application Window Closed

Melinda Leon is the owner and founder of The Nurtured Mama in Scottsdale. Since 2012, her business has exclusively worked with women by providing prenatal and postpartum massage therapy as well as The Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy®.  Melinda graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in PA in 1995 and has an MBA from Binghamton University in New York. She has ten years of experience in corporate finance and worked as an Organization Development Consultant with Habitat for Humanity International post Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.  She also spent five years with Habitat para la Humanidad Costa Rica.  She has been a board member with PSI-Arizona since 2019 and is passionate about helping postpartum moms who need it.  

Leigh Lewis (she/her) worked for several years in the field of community mental health in AZ before relocating to the Pacific NW for medical school ultimately graduating from Bastyr University and going on to complete a 2-year post-graduate training program in integrative women’s health. Leigh has been in private practice as a naturopathic physician and acupuncturist since 2003 and is credentialed by NAMS as a certified menopause practitioner, ABORM as a fellow of oriental reproductive medicine, PSI in perinatal mood & anxiety disorders as a prescriber, and by the state of AZ as a women’s health specialist.  She has been a board member with PSI-Arizona since 2019 and is excited to help people suffering from perinatal mood and anxiety disorders get the help they need. 

DeAnn Davies is the director of Summit Healthcare’s early childhood outreach programs and pediatric psychology, in Show Low, Arizona.  She just celebrated her tenth year of employment with Summit Healthcare.  She directs HealthySteps, Parenting Counts, Theraplay, Neuropsychology, and training programs including Program for Infant-Toddler Care (PITC), and Trauma Training for Early Childhood Professionals.  In addition, she provides consultations to families whose physicians are unsure of where to send children for further evaluations and services.

Prior to moving to the White Mountains, DeAnn dedicated nearly a decade of her work life to serving as Arizona’s first HealthySteps Specialist at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, where she served families and taught pediatric residents about brain development and its relationship to infant and young child behaviors. 

Leading up to her current board role, DeAnn served on the Arizona Interagency Coordinating Council for Infants and Toddlers. She was appointed to this board by four consecutive Arizona Governors, and was the chair-elect.  She has been a member of a number of other boards, task forces, and workgroups working to improve maternal and child health outcomes.  DeAnn also serves as a consultant for nationally recognized early childhood organizations.

DeAnn holds a Master of Psychology with specialization in Child and Adolescent Development.  She earned a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in child psychology from Arizona State University.  She continued academic studies by applying to the prestigious UMASS Boston’s Certification in Infant-Parent and Young Child Mental Health.  She is a graduate of that program.  DeAnn recently completed a certification granted by Dr. Bruce Perry to become one of the first in a cohort of Arizonans to serve as a Certified Master Trainer of the Neurosequential Model for Caregivers. In addition, DeAnn is a Certified Lactation Counselor and piloted training HealthySteps Specialists to embed lactation consultation services into pediatric care.  DeAnn is a master trainer for many early childhood development tools and systems.

DeAnn is a founding member of the Postpartum Support International Arizona Chapter.  She serves as a PSI AZ Coordinator, and serves as an invited member of the national PSI Board Volunteer Committee.

DeAnn is a wife of 26 years to her husband and the mother to two adult children, five grandchildren, and will soon be the great grandmother to a baby girl we welcome in June.  

Elizabeth Wood has a B.S. of Physics from the United States Naval Academy and a Masters in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University. While this education did prepare her for a 15-year long career in the nuclear energy industry, none of it prepared her for the radical transition into motherhood. Driven by her own motherhood challenges, she founded Matrescence: 4th Trimester Planning & Support, a unique preventative approach to help expect parents become more informed, prepared and supported in their 4th Trimester transition. She is also a certified Maternal Mental Health Peer Support Specialist, and serves on the Arizona Maternal Mortality Review Committee as well as Arizona's Maternal Mental Health Task Force.