Sylvia R. Balderrama, Director
Sylvia R. Balderrama, EdD, a licensed psychologist, is the director of the Vassar College Counseling Service and Associate Dean of Students. She graduated from Harvard College with a degree in History, received a MEd in Psychological Education from Boston University, and a doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University. She was a Staff Psychologist at SUNY-Purchase prior to coming to Vassar in 1992. Dr. Balderrama also worked at the Queens College Counseling and Advisement Center, at the Yale College Undergraduate Admissions Office, as well as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychology and Education at Columbia University Teachers College and a Clinical Assistant Professor, Smith College School for Social Work. Dr. Balderrama serves as a consultant on diversity concerns, college counseling, and organizational issues.
Dr. Balderrama has specialized training in disordered eating, group process, multicultural competent counseling and diversity. Additionally, Dr. Balderrama has received training in organizational dynamics, including issues of authority, diversity, and power. She is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Division for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues (Division 45), the Society of Counseling Psychology (Division 17), the National Latina/o Psychological Association, the New York State Psychological Association, the Hudson Valley Psychological Association, the Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors, the American Counseling Association, and the American College Health Association. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Mental Health Association of Dutchess County and maintains a private consultation practice.