Music Therapy Faculty

Sami is a freelance event producer, production manager, stage manager, and tour manager living in New Orleans, Louisiana. She moved to New Orleans from Chicago to attend Tulane University and got an internship with French Quarter Festival as a senior in college. The internship captivated her and fostered a love of festivals and live event production. 

From there, she went to work with a local production company in New Orleans, fostering relationships with local, regional and national artists, agents, managers, and vendors. After 3-years of full time, she took a leap of faith into the world of being an independent contractor, growing an ever-increasing skill set and clientele base. 

She has toured with several artists including as Kendrick Lamar, Dispatch, Trombone Shorty, Haim, Neko Case, Beach House, Jon Batiste & Stay Human, and Passion Pit. She has stage managed and worked on the production teams at several national festivals including Buku Music & Art Project, Bonnaroo, Essence Festival and Electric Forest Festival. Current projects include producing large scale events in New Orleans and beyond.

Dr. Victoria Policastro Vega is an accomplished music therapy clinician, educator, and lecturer.  She received her bachelor’s degree in music education from West Virginia University.  Dr. Vega received her master’s in music therapy from Loyola University New Orleans.  Dr. Vega completed her doctorate at Temple University where she studied under Dr. Kenneth Bruscia.  She is the third person to receive her Ph.D. in music therapy in the nation.  She has worked at several hospitals and rehabilitation centers in the New Orleans area, working primarily in neurology.  Dr. Vega has delivered several sessions and workshops at music therapy and psychiatric regional and national conferences, as well as at several regional universities.

She is very active in the American Music Therapy Association.  On the regional level, Dr. Vega has been vice-president and president of the South-Central Region for two terms.  On the national level she has served on the American Music Therapy National Executive Committee as council coordinator of professional practices, clinical training and education committees, Education and Training Advisory Board and the Judicial Review Board and has represented her region on the Assembly of Delegates.  Dr. Vega’s research interests are music therapy with neurologic disorders, professional burnout and personality.  Dr. Vega is the recipient of the AMTA regional "Excellence in Music Therapy" award in 1998 and the "National Presidential Award" in 2006. She was coordinator of the Music Therapy Program at Loyola from 2000-2013 and served as the Associate Dean of the College of Music and Fine Arts from 2013-2017.

Rhé H. Washington, MMT, NMT, MT-BC is a native of Chicago, IL.  A lifelong musician began playing the piano at 4 years old – he is an accomplished pianist, vocalist, composer, arranger, and mallet percussionist. Rhé studied music through his formative years and studied at multiple schools including NYU and Berklee School of Music. Through the years he has worked on many projects including stage, session work, commercials, corporate and private engagements. Has 2 solo albums to his credit and has hopes to complete a third. He has performed in orchestras, symphonic bands, jazz bands, night clubs and churches across many genres - throughout the United States and abroad. In 2015 he pursued a career in music therapy and received a master’s degree in Music Therapy from the Loyola University of New Orleans in 2018. To date, Rhé is a music therapy educator and a published Community Music Therapy researcher – see Voices:  A World Forum of Music Therapy March 2023 – Vol. 1.  Finally, he works as a music therapist in private practice in the New Orleans/Baton Rouge area bringing music to heal others – Purple Note Music Therapy, LLC.

Alon Yizhak is a Board Certified Music Therapist MT-BC grounded in mindfulness based, strength-based philosophy. 

He holds a bachelor degree in Psychology from the Open University in Tel-Aviv (2008) and a post bachelor degree in Music and Movement Therapy from Levinsky College of Music & Education (2012). 

Alon is currently an adjunct professor teaching at the music therapy program in Loyola university in New Orleans.

Alon is currently pursuing a MA in mindfulness transpersonal based clinical counseling at Naropa university in Boulder, CO.

Over the years Alon gained vast experience working with children, adolescents, adults developmentally disabled, autistic spectrum clients, as well as mental health\substance abuse populations. 

Alon has worked in many various settings including: schools, group homes, correctional Facilities, inpatient psych and private practice.

Alon's professional and personal focus is using music to enable space for change and growth through mindfulness, creativity and self expression.