Desirée has a Master’s degree in Depth Psychology with a specialization in Community, Liberation, Indigenous, and Ecological Psychologies and is certified in Social, Economic, Environmental Design (SEED AP) and Trauma-Informed Design (TiD-B) as well as Ecological Landscape Design.

Her Master’s research focused on restorative justice and applying that to the built environment to create restorative environments and an applicable “restorative container” framework. As part of her research, she conducted a fieldwork study/praxis at a county jail where she worked with a group of justice-involved women to explore if it was possible to create a “restorative container” even in a place like jail using embodiment practices and arts-based methodologies while centering imagination and visioning, which can be found here: Taylor and Francis’ Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community, Positive Psychology special edition.

She is currently a design Fellow and the Project Manager leading Design Corps’ Indigenous Pubic Interest Design Institute working with Indigenous Architects, Designers, Planners & Engineers from around the world. The Institute was held on October 24, 2025 and will lead into monthly webinars throughout 2025 and 2026 as well as the in-person, international conference, Structures for Inclusion, at Portland State University – October 2026.

Furthermore, Desirée is a Consultant & Instructor for Hausense Design where she taught a Masterclass/Course on Restorative Design from a Social Equity & Systemic Trauma-Informed Lens, which can be found on the CCD “Resources” page. To learn more about her work, check out Episode 1 of Season 2 of Design Deep Dive with Dr. Za

Overall, her work lies at the intersections of Design, Psychology, and Social Justice (website coming soon – RestorativeDesign.net), and she welcomes collaborations, partnerships, & consulting opportunities!