As a young girl living in Taipei, Taiwan with my parents, it wasn't hard for me to tell that the world was divided between haves and have-nots. I felt guilty seeing people who didn't have the basic comforts I did - clothes, food, shelter, and a supportive family. Wanting to help, I tried to fix the situation by offering poor people nickels and dimes from my allowance.
As I grew up, my childish guilt and uneducated attempts to help developed into a mature compassion for people in pain and a passion to address their needs with effective, long-term solutions. This passion drove my studies, leading me to earn a Ph.D. in Psychology. I adopted the scientist-practitioner model of counseling psychology, in which researched methods are the basis for practice.
My academic knowledge was later sharpened by real world experience. In my early career I worked in administration in university settings and for non-profit organizations. This background gave me greater insight into the obstacles that organizations face in accomplishing their goals and hands-on practice in meeting those challenges.
In 2002, I founded Lu & Associates. This consulting practice has allowed me to address the needs of people in pain while drawing upon my education and experience in a unique and fulfilling way. I make use of the scientist-practitioner model that I learned as a psychologist as I guide our clients to apply research-driven methods to improve their agency so their causes, strategies, and impact can be easily articulated to major donors. My real life experiences of managing organizations - strategic planning, staff development, board and organizational development, program development, program evaluation, and grantwriting - shape and inform the advice I give to clients.
By approaching the complex problems of our society, my colleagues and I at Lu & Associates have been able to help people to an extent my younger self could never have imagined was possible. In guiding our clients through a similar journey we find successful, effective, long-term methods to create healthy, sustainable communities.
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Theresa Lu, Ph.D., CEO
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