Pat Sanger, A.P.R.N.,
Executive Director and Founder
Pat is the creator and founder of Arts-Kids. The inspiration for the program evolved from her work as a psychotherapist with children in the inner city of Norfolk, Virginia. Ms. Sanger is an Advanced Practice Psychiatric-Mental Health Registered Nurse, Child and Adolescent Specialist and has a long history of working with both community health and mental health agencies. Ms. Sanger has been in private practice for more than 20 years specializing in the treatment of children, adolescents, and families.
Through her work she noticed that children growing up in traumatic environments (home and/or community) began to become hardened and emotionally shut down by age 9 or 10. Parents were often too burned-out from the efforts to survive and provide for their family, leaving no energy to support their children on an emotional/spiritual level. From these experiences, the inspiration for the Arts-Kids program evolved. She currently serves as both Executive Director and Program Director for both the core program and the pilot project on the Ute Reservation. |
