SASO

SASO Staff

Maura Doherty Demko-Executive Director

Maura Doherty Demko began with SASO in August 2012.  Maura comes to SASO with 14 years of experience in the human service field that includes working as an Emergency Services Therapist and Team Lead for Axis Health Systems, Adjunct faculty for New Mexico Highlands University in Farmington, Volunteer Facilitator for CIT, Caseworker for Arapahoe County DHS, and Program Supervisor for Shiloh Homes, Inc.  She graduated from the University of Santa Monica in 2004 with a Masters in Psychology and is currently enrolled in the dual Masters of Social Work/Masters in Business Administration from New Mexico Highlands University, in Farmington.  When Maura is away from SASO you can find her spending time with her awesome children, creating art, studying, snowboarding or playing in the great mountains that brought her to Colorado.

Rhonda Ferguson- Community Education Coordinator

While new to this position, Rhonda has been a volunteer with the SASO family since 2011.  After graduating from Fort Lewis College with a Bachelors degree in Psychology, she moved to California to continue her education.  She holds a masters degree from the University of San Francisco in Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Child Development.  She received certification training specific to Art Therapy for Children and is licensed as a National Board Certified Counselor.  When not at SASO, Rhonda enjoys running, hiking and spending time with her two amazing teenagers who make sure life is never boring and always filled with laughter.

Wendolyne Warner- Community Outreach Coordinator

My name is Wendolyne and I am from Mexico. I moved to Durango three years ago after I married Drew Warner in Toluca, MX. I love arts and being creative. I like to write and to take pictures. Since I am a very empathetic person I like to be around people who have respect for others’ points of view and who also believe in love and in compassion for others. I have three dogs even though it wasn’t planned J I think that all of them with their beautiful and majestic personalities complement my life. I have a big passion for knowledge so I like to look up information all the time. My favorite thing to do when I have free time is to listen to rock in Spanish like Joaquin Sabina, Bunbury or Café Tacuba.  

 Ruby Jo Walker LCSW, CHT, SEP -Support Group Therapist

Ruby Jo Walker LCSW, CHT, SEP, has been a social worker for over 30 years and has been working in the field of trauma for over 20 years.  She is certified in EMDR, Hakomi and Somatic Experiencing, an advanced trauma technique developed by Perter Levine, both mindfulness-based, body-centered methods of therapy, and has advanced training in MatrixWorks, using a group as a living systems model.  Ruby Jo is in private practice specializing in trauma, growth work, and supervising psychotherapists.  She has passion and excitement about therapy—working with both clients and helping therapists to further develop their skills.  Ruby Jo was in the first CAPP training in Durango and is a past Board member of SASO.  She has one daughter who always keeps her on her toes.  She loves being a parent, and loves outdoor activities including hiking, snowshoeing, x-country skiing, and biking.  Ruby Jo is passionate about personal growth and professional development—and brings this love to all of her work and her life.

Emily Newcomer MEd, LPC -Support Group Therapist

Emily Newcomer, MEd, LPC has called Durango home for over five years being brought here by the opportunity for outdoor adventure and to fulfill her desire to work towards social justice and the prevention of sexual violence in our world.  From 2005 until 2009 she was the Community Education Coordinator for SASO providing prevention education for students of all ages only leaving SASO to continue to grow her private psychotherapy practice.  With a leaning towards mindfulness and body-centered psychotherapy, Emily specializes in trauma and disordered eating as well as grief and loss and life transitions and growth.  She is trained in EMDR and is a student in the Hakomi Comprehensive 2-year Training taking place in Durango.  Emily has worked with numerous groups in various settings including as an instructor for Outward Bound on the desert rivers in Utah with students aged 14-80. In addition to facilitating SASO's Support Group for female survivors of teen and adult sexual assault, she facilitates a Disordered Eating Support Group for the community.Residing in the woods around Durango she is supported by her family to make her dream of being a psychotherapist come true while having as many outdoor adventures as possible.

Cynthia Aspen - Executive and Program Associate

Cynthia has been a feminist activist ever since marching for the Equal Rights Amendment at the tender and formative age of two. She began her work in victim advocacy and assault prevention at her alma mater, the University of Illinois, and has continued in Alaska, Hawaii, Montana and Colorado. In her twelve years in Durango, Cynthia has served as the accountant for several nonprofit organizations, in addition to volunteering her time as the local coordinator for the National Organization for Women, the Family Center of Durango, and SASO. She is passionate about budgets, numbers, and pie charts, and her favorite moments are spent raising a safe, strong and free four-year-old daughter with her husband, Robert.