About Us
FamilyPaths, Inc. (formerly Parental Stress Service) is a non-profit organization of mental health professionals and dedicated volunteers that provide a number of mental health, counseling and therapy services to low income, multi-stressed individuals and families.
We are a multicultural agency committed to serving families of Alameda County regardless of age, ethnicity/race, financial status, language, sexual orientation, immigration status, class, religion, gender, mental or physical ability.
We have served the mental health needs of Alameda's families since 1972 and today we offer services from offices in Oakland, Hayward and Fremont. These services include a 24-hour Family Support Resource Hotline, a 24-hour Foster Parent Advice Line, Emergency Respite Child Care, CalWORKS support counseling and Positive Parenting Classes. We also provide counseling for infants, children, adolescents adults and families
For more information about our organization, please choose an area to the left.
FamilyPaths Mission Statement
"FamilyPaths promotes the development of nurturing, responsible and resilient families within our diverse communities by providing comprehensive services that foster positive change, empowering parents and children."
Program Directors and Board of Directors
Executive Director
Marcella Reeves has worked in mental health and substance abuse treatment since 1983, as a researcher, a direct service provider, and an administrator. She facilitated drug/alcohol treatment groups from 1983 to 1990 at the University of Arizona, and worked as a clinical researcher at Stanford University from 1990 to 1992. After receiving her MS at California State University Hayward, she joined PSS in 1992 as a hotline supervisor. In 1996, she moved to Program Supervisor for FamilyPaths' Families In Transition Program, and became the program's Director in 1999. Ms. Reeves served as Associate Director from 2001 through 2006, when she became the Executive Director. |
Clinical Director
Barbra Silver has worked at FamilyPaths since 1998, starting as a clinician in the Families in Transition Program and becoming the program's Training Coordinator soon after. She served as the North County Program Manager for the FIT team from 2000-2006 and became Clinical Director the beginning of 2007. Prior to her experience at FamilyPaths, she worked as a clinician in elementary schools, a dual diagnosis adolescent residential facility and at various outpatient therapy clinics around the Bay Area. Ms. Silver received her MA in Psychology from New College of California in 1995 and has been a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist since 2000. |
Finance Director
Lyda Mata came to the United States from the Philippines in 1979 and has lived in the Bay Area ever since. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and is a Certified Public Accountant. She comes to us with a wealth of experience, having been an Accountant for another non-profit agency for 26 years. Before that, she was a Senior Auditor of an auditing firm in Oakland and a Bank Examiner with the Central Bank of the Philippines. Lyda joined Family Paths in May, 2006. |
Development Director
Tara Bartholomew joined our team in August 2007 and comes to us from Contra Costa County where she had many successes in fundraising. She began her career as a Program Director for youth and family social service programs and decided to make the transition into fundraising three years ago. Since then, she has built strong relationships with the County, private foundations, and individual donors. An undergraduate of St. Mary’s College with a Bachelor’s Degree in Government, Tara was born and raised in the Bay Area and has dedicated her time to helping children and families here. |
Director of Technology
Christopher Palmer has worked in technology services for more than 15 years. Formerly he was the director of technology for the Global Business Network, The Idea Factory, and the East Bay Conservation Corps. He is also a practicing artist and arts educator in the San Francisco bay area, runs a consultancy for tech arts, and is a member of the faculty at San Francisco Art Institute, and at The Crucible in Oakland, where he teaches technological arts. |
Board of Directors
Ted Frey, Board President, joined the Board of Directors at FamilyPaths in 2004. He brings to FamilyPaths a strong skill set in Business Development and Strategic Planning. His background includes 35 years in various corporate management positions plus over 15 years as an adjunct professor teaching Business Strategy at St. Mary's College. Ted recently acted as Board President for the International Diplomacy Council, and he currently serves Oakland as a member of the City's Business Advisory Council. |
Dr. Randy Bergen, Board Treasurer, is a pediatrician and pediatric infectious disease specialist who is chief of the pediatric department for Kaiser- Permanente in Walnut Creek. His duties at Kaiser-Permanente include vaccine research, oversight of the influenza vaccination program, and taking care of the children in his practice. He has also worked on several occasions in Africa and Asia, most recently in February-March of 2005 where he was part a team of Kaiser-Permanente doctors involved in tsunami relief in Indonesia. Dr. Bergen lives in Berkeley with his wife and 2 daughters. |
Norman Brooks, Jr. is a retired Case Manager on the Pupil Disciplinary Hearing Panel of Oakland Unified School District. He is a member of the Adjuct Faculty at San Francisco State University and at Holy Names College. |
Maxine Reynolds is a Business Relationship Manager with Wells Fargo Bank, and a founding member of Urban Bankers. She is a member of the Oakland/Bay Area Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, a member of the Oakland Think Tank, and volunteers her time with the Junior League. |
Dr. Iris Winogrond holds a PhD. in developmental Psychology, and pursued an academic career at the Medical College of Wisconsin before moving on to work in Clinical and Consultative Psychology. She came to the Oakland area in 1999, and looked for a volunteer job where she could use her skills to help the community. A PSS notice for hotline counselors spoke to her so she joined up and worked on the hotline for 2 years before accepting a PSS board position. Her commitment to healthy community and family life also carries over into her volunteer work with the League of Women Voters. |
Eliza Khuner has been volunteering with Family Paths since 2003 as a counselor on the family support and resource hotline. She has a background in mathematics and currently works as an analytic consultant with Fair Isaac, developing statistical models for decision-making. |
Locations & Contact Information
Oakland Office |
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Hayward Office |
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Fremont Office |
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News & Announcements
| Agency Newsletters | Annual Reports | eNewsletters |
| 2008 Spring eNewsletter | ||
| 2008 August eNewsletter | ||
Request Brochures
If you would like to receive FamilyPaths brochures by mail, please email us with your name, company name, mailing address and the number of brochures that you would like to receive.
Click Here To View Our Agency Brochure
Sign up for our Monthly Newsletter
Our monthly e-newsletter will be a source of information about FamilyPaths.Opportunities for Employment
Parenting Support Line Counselor 4 Hrs/weekVolunteer phone counselors serve a minimum of 4 hours per week on our Family Support and Resource hotline. This important community resource provides support for parents who are feeling stressed, isolated, overwhelmed, or at risk of neglecting or harming their children. Callers to our hotline often have no one else to turn to when they are facing the challenges of raising children, and we work to ensure that there is always someone available to listen when a parent or caregiver reaches out for help.
Click Here To View Full Job Posting
Hotline Counselor and Case Manager/Bilingual (Spanish/English)
Join our Family Support Program team in this rewarding part-time position for an experienced mental health clinician. The Hotline Case Management Specialist (“CMS”) provides telephone counseling, and supervises hotline counselor volunteers and interns. Additionally, the CMS participates in team coordination of all Family Support Program services, and in training of hotline staff (on-the-job and workshops). Regular CMS work schedules are arranged within specified hotline shifts occurring between 9:00am–9:00pm Monday through Thursday and 9:00am-5:00pm on Friday. Periodic weekend activities may also be scheduled. The regular weekly schedule will include three scheduled hotline shifts (4 hours each, with one evening shift), staff training and meetings (Tuesday mornings), with additional project and clinical time to be arranged.
Click Here To View Full Job Posting
Parent Education Instructor/Bilingual (Spanish/English)
The Parent Education Coach / Instructor is a Three Quarter Time position that provides coaching for parents in Alameda County on a one-to-one basis regarding respectful child rearing practices; helps parents apply these parenting strategies to reduce their child’s mental health symptoms; teaches a Spanish-speaking class series or workshops per program need; and substitutes in a regular parent education class as needed (in English and/or Spanish). The position is based out of our Hayward office, and will include travel to Oakland.
