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, Music Therapist – Board Certified, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit – Music Therapist, and Hospice/Palliative Care – Music Therapist (HPMT), is an accomplished music therapy clinician, educator and researcher. She received her bachelor’s degree in music education from West Virginia University and her master’s in music therapy from Loyola University New Orleans. She completed her PhD in music therapy from Temple University under the mentorship of Dr. Kenneth Bruscia. At Loyola University since 2000, she has served as the; Coordinator of the Music Therapy, Division Coordinator of Music Therapy and Music Education, Director of the School of Music and Associate Dean of the College of Music and Media. 

Currently, Dr. Vega is the Charles E. Braswell Distinguished Endowed Professor in Music Therapy. She feels that education and clinical training are the backbone of the music therapy profession. Dr. Vega has spent her music therapy career dedicating herself to supporting developing music therapists in the clinic arena. Dr. Vega’s research interests include music therapy with neurological disorders, professional burnout and personality, and trauma informed care. She has published research in the peer-reviewed journals of; Journal of Music Therapy, Music Therapy Perspectives, Music and Medicine, International Society for Music Education and the Arts in Psychotherapy. Dr. Vega has also served the Arts in Music Psychotherapy, Psychology of Music and Voices: A World Forum for Music therapy as a manuscript reviewer. Book chapters include; Prominent Music Therapists: Vega Biography and Traumatic Brain Injury in Adults in; Guidelines for Music Therapy Practice in Adult Medical Care. Dr. Vega’s dissertation entitled, Personality, Burnout, and Longevity Among Professional Music Therapists in published in Dissertation Abstracts. 

Dr. Vega has held numerous College and University leadership positions during her 44 years tenure as a music therapist. On the University level, she has chaired both the Associate Dean’s Council that has the main purpose of curriculum enforcement and the Conciliation Committee who has the purpose of remediating issues between faculty and students. She was an active participant on the Academic Affairs, Quality Enhancement Planning, Service Learning, Honors Advisory Board, Graduate Council Committees and the Standing Council for Academic Programs that all have curriculum responsibilities. In these capacities, she supported new courses and degree program proposals, ensuring that these proposals met all accreditation and certification standards. In addition, she has advocated for resources to support new degree programs. She served on the Faculty Advisory Council and on the Online Education Task Force. Currently, she serves as the Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate and the College of Music and Media Rank & Tenure, Curriculum and Women’s Resource Committees. Dr. Vega’s leadership positions do not stop with her activities at Loyola University New Orleans. She has been extremely active in the American Music Therapy Association (AMTA). She has served on the AMTA Association’s Assembly of Delegates for three decades. Dr. Vega participated on the AMTA Executive Board both as an Assembly Delegate Representative and also as a Council Coordinator of Professional Practices. She has also served as Chair of the Judicial Review Board and as Co-chair of the Continuing Education Committee. In addition, she has served for over a decade on both the Education and Internship Committees and was a Presidential appointee to the nine-member Education and Training Advisory Board. Finally, Dr. Vega served as a Presidential appointee to the Certification Review Task Force who made suggestions for changes to the AMTA Professional and Advanced Professional Competencies which will impact the next generation of music therapists. On the regional level she has served as Vice President and President positions for two terms each. Finally, Dr. Vega is the current AMTA Education Consultant. In this role she communicates with the music therapy educators across the nation about curriculum Standards and approval processes.

Rhé H. Washington, MMT, MT-BC, NMT, 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. He became a board-certified music therapist in June of 2018 and continues to practice.

To date, Rhé is a professor of music therapy at Loyola University of New Orleans. He is also internationally 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.