Quarterly Insights
As the year continues to unfold, I find myself feeling both energized and gracious—for the people, the conversations, and the steady momentum building across the Institute. This past quarter has been a powerful reminder of what makes Ackerman special: thoughtful engagement, commitment to training the next generation, and shared devotion to families and relationships.
One highlight of the quarter was hosting two well-attended and stimulating conversations about artificial intelligence at Ackerman. It was wonderful to see a mix of familiar faces and new colleagues come together—faculty, alumni, clinicians, and friends of the Institute—to think collaboratively about where Ackerman’s voice and values belong in the evolving world of AI. These conversations were curious, grounded, and relational–they affirmed for me that Ackerman can be both reflective and forward-looking as this landscape continues to develop.
In the Clinic, we’re excited about meaningful growth and structural strengthening. Our practicum program with marriage and family therapy graduate schools has been a real success, and we’re thrilled to be significantly expanding it next year. This expansion allows us to serve many more families while continuing to support a strong pipeline of talented therapists bringing family therapy back into their communities. This work sits right at the heart of Ackerman’s mission—clinical care and training deeply intertwined.
I’m also delighted to share that our new Clinical Director, Estefania Riofrio, is off to a terrific start. Alongside her, our Intake Coordinator, Jahziel Castaneda, and several other structural changes underway in the clinic are already helping us increase our capacity to see families more efficiently and effectively.
I also want to acknowledge the operational leadership supporting this growth. Our Director of Clinic Operations, Kenya Aska, continues to play an important role in supporting onboarding, sharing institutional knowledge, and helping the clinic adapt thoughtfully to ongoing changes. In addition, Tracy Hockenberry, in an expanded consulting role, and Jennifer Able are leading refinements in workflow and structure as we continue to increase volume and serve more families.
In training, under Dr. Kiran Arora’s leadership we’ve rolled out a new structural framework that aims to do two things at once: keep the heart of Ackerman firmly intact while expanding access. Our goal is to ensure that therapists at different levels of training, experience, and interest can find meaningful entry points into Ackerman’s programming without losing the depth and rigor we’re known for.
This past quarter, we welcomed Dr. Aigner Holmes as our new Dean of Admissions and Student Life. She has joined Dr. Kiran Arora and Ciara Louis in strengthening and enriching the training experience, from admissions through student support and community building.
As always, none of this work would be possible without our extraordinary faculty, whose dedication and care continue to make Ackerman’s training programs as strong and thoughtful as they are.
It’s a moment of steady building—layer by layer, relationship by relationship. Thank you to everyone who is part of this community and who continues to show up with curiosity, generosity, and commitment. I’m grateful to be doing this work alongside you.
With appreciation,
Adi Loebl, MD
CEO and President
Get Updates from Ackerman with news and training information: Sign up Now
Listen to the Ackerman in Action podcast: