Illinois Chapter- American Dance Therapy Association

Meet The Board, 26-28

Isa Martinez Mulcahy, LCPC, R-DMT

PRESIDENT

She/They

Isa is a bilingual, trauma-informed therapist and Registered Dance/Movement Therapist (R-DMT) who helps women, couples, and adults reconnect with their bodies, heal emotional wounds, and build healthier, more grounded relationships. Her approach blends somatic awareness, cultural humility, relational healing, and nervous-system regulation to support deeper transformation.

Isa's therapeutic work is strongly shaped by a multicultural upbringing across Colombian, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Mexican, Spanish, and Brazilian cultures. Born in Colombia and raised between Latin America and New York, Isa carries her lived experience across Colombia, Spain, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Brazil, as well as basic Portuguese from time spent immersed in Afro-Brazilian culture.

Growing up during Colombia’s civil conflict in the 70's & 80's, she learned early from Afro-Colombian and Indigenous caregivers about movement, nature, rhythm, and embodied healing traditions. In addition to Isa's multicultural background, she brings nine years of clinical experience working within the Veterans Health Administration (Chicago & Puerto Rico), which gave her a deep understanding of military culture, trauma informed program development and the importance of community reintegration and networking of professional holistic healers

Isa's clinical work is grounded in a deep love for movement, culture, and community healing. Much of her somatic approach comes from my ethnographic research, “Give Peace a Dance: An Ethnographic Research Project About a Dancing Community in Chicago and the Implications for Dance/Movement Therapy.” This study explores how dance and community connection support emotional regulation, belonging, and healing.

Katy O’Hanlon Bruns, LPC, R-DMT

Isa Martinez Mulcahy, LCPC, R-DMT

VICE PRESIDENT

She/Her/Hers

Katy is a Chicago-based dance/movement therapist currently providing outpatient support to clients navigating ADHD, autism, mood disorders, life transitions, and relationships. Her care approach invites collaboration, creativity, and empowerment to foster integration of mind, body, and spirit. Katy is working with Stephanie Kilper, Emma Mamis, and Cara Spilsbury to develop a Neuro-Affirming Dance/Movement Therapy (NA-DMT) treatment framework that provides accessible care to people of all neurotypes, with particular focus on ADHD and autism. Their work has been presented at local and national expressive arts therapy conferences (ADTA, ITA). She holds an M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling (Northeastern Illinois University), B.S. in Psychology (Baldwin-Wallace College), and is an AR-DMT alumni (Embodied Education Institute of Chicago, 92Y, Minnesota AR-DMT).

Outside of the therapy room, Katy currently dances with Modern Marvels Dance Company (Artistic Director) and Lucid Banter Project (Company Member). She enjoys adding stamps to her passport whenever possible, reading "garbage" romance novels, and dabbling in watercolor painting.

Eve Chalom, LPC, BC-DMT

Michael Rangel, LCSW, R-DMT

TREASURER

She/Her/Hers

Eve Chalom is in private practice, with previous experience working in non-profit and hospital settings with chronic mental illness and addiction. She also was certified in the past as a brain injury specialist and a yoga teacher. She is a master rated figure skating coach and was a competitive ice dancer, competing internationally in the 90's. She has served in several positions on the board, and was previously President and Vice President. She currently runs a practice group for transparent communication through the Pocket Project, https://pocketproject.org/pg/seen-heard/, and has a skating as therapy practice as well as on the ground dance movement therapy. For more information, see her website at www.healingthroughmovement.squarespace.com. She enjoys walking on trails, meditation, socializing, and spending time with her dog.

Michael Rangel, LCSW, R-DMT

MULTICULTURAL & DIVERSITY LIASION

He/Him/His

Michael is an artist first, who values the innate ability to express our vulnerabilities and needs through non-verbal, audible, kinesthetic and visual ways. He grew up dancing, singing, performing and creating in every form. He believes in the power that art possesses for those who do not have the language for it yet or have different communication needs, and through this process can begin their healing.

As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Registered Dance/Movement Therapist, Michael utilizes a psychodynamic and creative arts approach to support his clients and community. His training in clinical social work practice, dance/movement therapy, expressive therapies, and abolition and feminist perspectives allows him to incorporate each client's passions, joy and interest in the experience to reclaim, repair and reimagine their body and mind connection forward. Michael received his Masters of Social Work from Loyola University Chicago, Masters in Critical Ethnic Studies and Women and Gender Studies from DePaul University, and completed the alternate route in Dance/Movement Therapy from the Embodied Education Institute of Chicago. Michael works as an arts education consultant, psychotherapist, and program developer through his practice, Art of Abundance Counseling and Wellness PLLC and teaches in the LGBTQ+ Studies program at DePaul University.