Tristie L. Tappin

Tristie L. Tappin is a disabled veteran who proudly served in the United States Army Reserve and Maryland Army National Guard from 1994 to 2002. She served as both an Administrative Specialist and a Signal Support Systems Specialist.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Ms. Tappin is a first-generation Caribbean American of Jamaican and Guyanese descent. Enlisting in the Reserve during her senior year at Tilden High School, she moved to Maryland for her undergraduate education in Psychology at Maryland’s oldest Historically Black College and University, Bowie State University, where she graduated in 1999. She earned a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology from Argosy University in Arlington, Virginia in 2007.

Ms. Tappin began her career as a 911 Dispatcher with the Montgomery County Police Department in Maryland. In 2010, she began working with the Baltimore County Crisis Response, in conjunction with the Baltimore County Police as a Mobile Crisis Clinician. She has worked as a psychotherapist, clinical administrator, and psychiatric emergency crisis evaluator in hospital emergency rooms, as well as in Corrections. In 2011, Ms. Tappin made the decision to move back to New York to give back to the City that gave so much to her foundational years.

Most recently, Ms. Tappin served as a Clinical Instructor with a local non-profit agency in New York City. In this capacity, she trained the officers of the New York City Police Department in crisis  intervention and de-escalation techniques. Additionally, since 2017, Ms. Tappin has been a Military and Family Life Counselor. She uses her training as a Licensed Professional Counselor in New Jersey to assist service members who are either preparing for or returning from deployment.

With over 15 years of experience in the field of mental health, she currently is a Crisis Behavioral Health Clinician for Willow Health, a start-up virtual-care crisis clinic, and she is also in private practice as a psychotherapist. Having lived a life of service, Ms. Tappin continues to give back to the community through various civic organizations. She is a proud member of Eureka Grand Chapter, Prince Hall Order Eastern Star, Inc. State of New York (Emerald Chapter No. 81), The Imperial Court, and several others.