- Dr. Virginia Rubaine, Psychologist
Dr. Virginia Rubaine is a social scientist and community activist who considers herself a perpetual student of the world and the people who give it life and diversity.
Virginia is the BVIHSA’s current Director of Mental Health Services where her primary responsibilities include designing and implementing policies, legislation, and programs that support the mental health of the Territory’s residents. Dr. Rubaine also maintains active clinical hours where there has been a marked uptick in engagement with the counselling and therapy services offered; a tremendous testament to the paradigm shift her unit has achieved by combatting traditional sociocultural taboos around mental health challenges and intervention.
Dr. Rubaine credits the caliber of her HBCU education for much of her career’s success. She is a proud alumnus of Morgan State University in Baltimore where she achieved a Bachelor of Science in Psychology before immediately pursuing her graduate studies at Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale. In 2003, she received her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and promptly returned to the Virgin Islands to serve as one of the Territory’s first local mental health practitioners trained at the doctorate level.
Having earned herself a reputation as a candid authority on the importance of a sound mind, Virginia capitalizes on her public engagements to promote the cultivation of a ‘tribe’ as a key social stabilizer, maintaining boundaries in the labyrinth of personal and professional relationships, and the establishment of a healthy balance of priorities.
In her free time, Virginia manages her own voracious appetite for reading, travelling to exotic locales, and horticulture. She is a proud mentor to several young people that she is confident will one day be true leaders in the Virgin Islands.
