Sarah Godoy hired as Western's new Counseling Center director

Sislena Ledbetter, Western Washington University's executive director for Counseling, Health and Wellness, has announced the hiring of Sarah Godoy as Western’s new Counseling Center director.

Godoy is a clinical psychologist who earned her doctorate from American University and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan. She has relocated to Bellingham from Washington, D.C., where she was previously a staff psychologist and the director of Externship Training at the Catholic University of America Counseling Center.

The Counseling Center director will provide vision and leadership in establishing and monitoring the scope and direction of the Counseling Center, ensuring that its operation is consistent with national standards of practice. In addition, Godoy will oversee the fiscal management of the Counseling Center budget, support and mentor the center’s staff, and participate in the shared vision of Wellness at Western’s campus through collaboration with the Student Health Center and Prevention and Wellness Services, underneath the umbrella of Counseling, Health and Wellness Services. 

Professionally, Godoy has specialties working with LGBTQ+ students, as well as students who have experienced trauma. She is honored to have been a 2019 recipient of the Association of University and College Counseling Center Directors’ Harriet Copher Haynes Diversity Leadership Mentorship Award. Godoy is a member of the National Latinx Psychological Association, the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, and APA’s Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race.

Outside of work, Godoy loves trail running, rescuing stray animals, and exploring new restaurants. She is excited to be joining the team at Western!