Associate Chair, Department of Counseling and Family Sciences
Assistant Professor, Counseling and Family Sciences
Director, Child Life Specialist MS Program
Contact Information
Email maminyard@llu.edu
Phone 909-558-4547, ext. 47072
Fax 909-558-0417
Department of Counseling and Family Sciences
Loma Linda University, Griggs Hall, Office 115
11065 Campus St., Loma Linda, CA 92350
Degrees and Certifications
- MS, Child Development/Child Life - University of La Verne, 1995
- Certificate, National Bereavement Facilitator II - American Academy of Bereavement, 2000
- Certificate, Child Life Specialist - Association of Child Life Professionals, 1999
Areas of Specialization
- Child development
- Stress and coping in the hospital environment
- Grief and loss
Professional Memberships and Licenses
- Association of Child Life Professionals
- Child Life Certifying Committee - Ethics Committee
- Coleader of Graduate Accreditation Task Force
- Association for Play Therapy
Recent Presentations
- November 2017. Child Life: Profession and History. Presentation made to a child development course. Cal Baptist University, Riverside, CA.
- May 2017. Supervision Tool for the Child Life Specialist. Co-presenter with Alisha Saavedra and Bryan Cafferky. Association of Child Life Professionals 35th Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV.
- November 2016. Child Life in China: A Partnership with The Children’s Hospital at Zhejiang University. Loma Linda University Health, Oak Glen Fellowship.
- September 2016. The Children’s Hospital, Zhejiang University Medical School.
- Navigating the Child Life Council Certification.
- Growth and Development of the Hospitalized Child.
- August 2016. Navigating the Child Life Council Certification. UCI Medical Center: Intern Symposium.
- April 2016. Child Life in China: A Partnership with The Children’s Hospital at Zhejiang University. Loma Linda University, Department of Psychiatry. Grand Rounds Presentation with BHi Shares.
- 2015. The Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University Medical School, China. Minyard-Widmann, M., Brain, A., Kinsinger, R., Poidmore, T. "Working with Families Experiencing Grief."
- 2014. The Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University Medical School, China.
- November 2014. Minyard-Widmann, M., Camp, C., Garcia, A, Kim-Arredondo, A., Macaluso, A. Therapeutic Play and Literature Review.
- March 2014. Minyard-Widmann, M., Saavedra, A. Pediatric Pain and Psychosocial Interventions.
- March 2014. Minyard-Widmann, M., Saavedra, A. Medical Play in the Hospital Environment.
- March 2014. Minyard-Widmann, M., Saavedra, A. What is Child Life: Brief Overview of the Field.
Community Engagement
- The SURF (The Sustainable University of Redlands Farm) (2015-present)
- Coleader for Girl Scout Troop #2118 (2014-present)
- Volunteer PTA member at Kimberly Elementary (2013-present)