Liza is the Director of Marriage and Family Therapy Services in Hickory, NC and a Clinical Fellow of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). She received her Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from Appalachian State University in 1999 and began her private practice at that time. Liza's expertise is in couples therapy, specifically, assisting couples to move beyond the barriers of their past and create futures together that may never before have seemed possible. "I consider it my personal mission to reduce the divorce rate in the United States... one couple at a time. But preventing divorce will only be successful if in place of unfulfilling or chronically dysfunctional marriages, couples develop truly thriving marriages and deeply fulfilling relationships." In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)