Newsletter Spring 2015

Minds and Hearts
Spring 2015
Newsletter
Friends, Colleagues and Supporters Gather
to Celebrate Ann Martin Center
By David Theis, DMH, Executive Director
Our recent spring fundraising gala in April has become such a special
convening of friends, colleagues, and supporters, new and old. In a big
way, Ann Martin Center is part of the community fabric in the East Bay
with a broad and deep network of connections all focused on helping
strengthen children and families.
The Center is unduplicated
in Northern California,
with our dual emphasis on
psychotherapy and educational
support programs, as well as
teaching and training. We reach
over 1,300 families annually
while delivering more than
31,000 treatment hours at our
clinic, nine Oakland elementary
schools, and now also at
Oakland Housing Authority.
In additional to psychotherapy
and educational therapy, our
services include psychological
and educational testing, the
bereavement counseling project, the Cornerstone social skills group
for young children, parenting workshops, as well as our professional
development lectures for colleagues in the
community.
A Special Thanks
to Our Major
We’re growing and transforming as
Corporate Sponsors
an organization… and at our gala, it
was powerful to see the tremendous
enthusiasm and generosity of our guests
whose financial support will further our
momentum reaching vulnerable youth.
Executive Director, David Theis (center)
with his wife, Sarah Royce (right) and gala
testimonial speaker, Hanan Ibrahim (left).
Our gala was a grand celebration of the
ideals of Ann Martin Center. We are
incredibly fortunate to have the backing
and support of so many individuals,
businesses, and foundations.
We’re so grateful to our gala honorary
chair, Kathy Hull, the co-founder and
president of George Mark Children’s
House, a pediatric palliative care center
in Alameda County. Thanks also to
our gala co-chairs, Betty Simpson and
MaryAnn Pearson who guided us to such
a remarkably successful event. We also
thank Hanan Ibrahim for her poignant and
compelling speech about her personal
ANN MARTIN
ANN
MARTIN
ANN
MARTIN
CENTER
CENTER
CENTER
PSYCHOTHERAPY &
PSYCHOTHERAPY
&
EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT
PSYCHOTHERAPY
EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT &
EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT
1375 55th Street, Emeryville, CA 94608
1375
Street,• Emeryville,
CA 94608
(510) 55th
655-7880
www.annmartin.org
(510) 655-7880 • www.annmartin.org
PEP partners with
Oakland Housing
Authority
By Cristina Benki, PhD, PEP Coordinator
As summer inches closer and the
school year draws to a close, the Parent
Education Program is wrapping up its
winter/spring programs as well. During
these last several months, PEP was
fortunate to introduce several new topics
and speakers focused on exploring
diversity both in our children and in our
parenting. In particular, PEP was pleased
to host its very first Spanish-language
workshop in partnership with La Clínica,
presented by Moises Garcia-Lemus.
Beyond our center-based workshops,
we also launched a new partnership
with the Oakland Housing Authority
(OHA) that has allowed us to reach out
to parents in communities in West and
East Oakland. In March, we connected
OHA with a presentation from the
Disability Rights Education Defense
Fund (DREDF) on Understanding the
Special Education Process. In April we
introduced OHA to pediatric nurse
practitioner, Meg Zweiback, who
tailored her talk to provide practical
tools for positive discipline strategies
and promoting self-reliance in children.
Finally, with the support of OHA, we
initiated a parent support group led by
clinical psychologist, Dr. Frank Davis. The
group has met weekly throughout March
and April in west Oakland to provide
opportunities for parents to network,
build supportive relationships, and share
ideas. Through the OHA partnership,
PEP looks forward to connecting with
and serving more parents and families.
Stay tuned for further PEP developments
in Fall 2015.
continued on page 2
Ann Martin Center • 1375 55th Street, Emeryville, CA 94608 510.655.7880 • www.annmartin.org
1
Friends, Colleagues and Supporters
Gather to Celebrate Ann Martin Center
Continued from page 1
experience with
our clinic. Finally, a
huge shout out to
our Development
Director Lynn Peralta
and Development
Associate, Nu Nhi
Nguyen who oversaw
the endless details of
event planning over the
past year.
By Shawn Usha, MA, Educational Testing Coordinator
“Thank you for those who
support Ann Martin so that a
single mother like me can save
her boys from violence and
drugs. Thank you for changing
two boys’ lives – change is one
life at time.
I am a firm believer that the
work of Ann Martin changes
lives, I tried it first-hand.”
At the event, I quoted
– Hanan Ibrahim,
the poet William Yeats
Testimonial Speaker
who wrote: “The world
is full of magic things,
patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
Indeed, when we listen closely and patiently to children,
there is a kind of transformative magic getting into their
world, understanding their struggles, helping them
develop persistence, and together discovering a path to
real confidence and capabilities.
Visit flickr.com/annmartincenter
for more photos from the gala!
Clients Served at Ann Martin Center
in the Past 3 Years
Number of Clients Served
1600
1,361
1400
1200
1,207
1,004
1000
800
600
400
200
0
2011-2012
2012-2013
2013-2014
Fiscal Year
The total number of clients served include students in the First 5 Project (K-3).
2
Educational testing
evaluates student learning
Ann Martin Center’s Educational Testing Program
provides an in-depth understanding of a client’s
educational strengths and
weaknesses. The process
determines the presence of a
learning disability, helps with
making recommendations for
services and remedial activities,
and provides learning strategies
tailored to the specific
individual.
Our program staff
“In fourth grade, Betsy was
members, Andrea
tested to identify her learning
Miller, PhD, and
style and help maximize her
Shawn Usha, MA,
abilities. Four years later, she
Educational Therapist is now thriving. I am pleased
have over twenty
with and thankful for the
years experience
services provided by Ann
completing
Martin Center.”
assessments.
– Parent, Educational
Dr. Miller is a clinical
Testing Program
psychologist and
Names have been changed to protect
is experienced
confidentiality.
in differentiating
learning and
behavioral concerns. Shawn Usha is experienced in
working with basic academic skill development.
When a child enters our testing program, an
educational therapist gathers information from family
members and instructional staff on the developmental
and educational history of the child. The therapist then
administers standardized tests for cognitive processing
(visual-auditory processing, memory, fluency, verbal and
nonverbal reasoning) and for academic achievement
including basic skills, fluency and applications.
Afterwards, the therapist addresses emotional and
behavioral questions (typically ADHD) through a
screening process with recommendations for further
assessment. A report from the assessment details the
findings and ends with a summary, list of strengths
and weaknesses, and recommendations. Lastly, the
therapist meets with the family to discuss the results,
and plan the next steps.
Educational assessments are designed to find the
barriers to academic progress and then set the path
leading to success. The program provides services for
all age ranges and academic needs from kindergarten
through graduate programs.
Ann Martin Center • 1375 55th Street, Emeryville, CA 94608 • 510.655.7880 • www.annmartin.org
New Group Therapy for School-Aged Children in Our Outpatient Clinic
Since earlier this Fall, Liz
Beers, MA and Adam
Moss, MA (both fourth
year psychology graduate
student trainees), have
gathered together a
handful of energetic and
enthusiastic children.
Each week, they co-lead
a therapy group that is
based on developing
relationships though the
emergence of dynamic
and creative play.
A Recap from
Adam Moss:
The children in our group
therapy sessions range in
age from 7-10 years old.
They come to Ann Martin
Center with a variety of
different life stories and
from diverse backgrounds,
but share in common past
and current struggles, along with a yearning to connect with their peers and feel good about themselves. Each child brings
a unique set of strengths, challenges, feelings and ideas to the group. Together we create a safe space, through playing and
talking, for interpersonal exploration and growth.
Group therapy is a great modality for learning about ourselves in the context of relating to and learning about others. Each
week our group comes together and navigates the complexity and nuances that relationships require. The children are
working together to learn how to compromise, how to share thoughts and ideas, how to communicate their feelings, and
how to repair relationships when feelings have been hurt. They come together to learn that relationships can and do endure
conflicts, and that conflicts are in fact an important part of learning who we are and how we make meaningful connections
with others.
Just this last week our group hosted a
“talent show” where each member had the
opportunity to showcase a talent. Liz and I
thought that after this time together we had
a pretty firm grasp on the children we work
and play with each week. Little did we know
that in fact we are working with a group of
talented singers, poets, dancers, jugglers and
comedians. Whether one prefers to perform
standing on a table, all eyes glued to their
mastery, or whether that performance comes
from a hidden corner, barely visible but still
audible, there is an important place for each child in our group: a place to be
seen, known and belong.
Many thanks to Mahima Muralidharan, PsyD, Practicum Program Coordinator
and to group co-leaders, Adam Moss, MA and Liz Beers, MA, both of whom
are Advanced Level 4 Practicum Trainees.
Ann Martin Center • 1375 55th Street, Emeryville, CA 94608 • 510.655.7880 • www.annmartin.org
“Our son has gained social skills
experience with the support of the AMC
clinical staff. He has learned to view
the therapists as his support and is able
to express feelings and ideas through
play. We as parents, are learning how
to support him and what to expect as
we employ methods learned through
observation and through discussion. Our
goal is to create a space where our child
feels safe and supported as he learns
how to operate in the world, and we see
him gaining that at AMC.”
– Parent, Psychotherapy Program
3
New address:
Non Profit Org
US Postage
PAID
Oakland, CA
Permit No. 2508
ANN MARTIN
CENTER
PSYCHOTHERAPY &
EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT
1375 55th Street, Emeryville, CA 94608
(510) 655-7880 • www.annmartin.org
A Very Special Thanks
We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of our Ann Martin Leadership Circle donors who have contributed gifts
of $1,000 or more from July 1, 2014 to May 15, 2015. Your valued loyalty and support of our programs help children in
need across the Greater East Bay. Thank you!
Inspirational Level - $15,000 and above
Louise and Arthur Patterson
Heart of Gold - $5,000 and above
Linda and Mike Baker
Hill Blackett, III and Elaine Bayus
David and Vicki Demeter
Ann and Jon Reynolds
Betty and Mark Simpson
Joan Waranoff
Katherine Welch
Advocate Level - $2,500 and above
Maria Antoniadis and Erik Whitehorn
Gabe Block
Jessica Broitman and Gibor Basri
Eric Havian and Jean Jarvis
Kathy Hull and Bill Gisvold
Hamid Hussain
Deborah Kaminski
Laurie Lober and Bryan Tracy
Elliot and Therese Peters
Jeff Poole
Kenneth and Frances Reid
Geoff and Alison Rusack
David S. Theis
Jacquette S. Theis
John White and Marcia Black
Board of Directors
Linda Saag Baker, Board President
John White, Vice President
Peter Laufenberg, Treasurer
Joan Waranoff, Secretary
Hill Blackett, III
Deborah Kaminski
MaryAnn Pearson
4
Ambassador Level - $1,500 and above
Gay Auerbach
Candis Cousins and Bruce Kerns
Marion Elmenhorst
David La Piana and Mary McFarland
Peter and Becca Laufenberg
Marian and Tim Nelson
MaryAnn and Eric Pearson
Benefactor Level - $1,000 and above
Evelyn and Robert Apte
Greg and Catherine Babor
Anne Bakar
Brad and Shiva Berman
Robin and Edward Blum
Janelle Boltz
Donald Brody and Toby Mickelson
Adam and Carrie Dove
Sue and Jay Dunton
Hydeh Ghaffari and Rick McCracken
David G. Gleason and Sandra Backovich
Craig and Carol Lundin
Brian and Peggy Mulligan
Mike and Ann Parker
Francine and Ethan Royce
Rebecca Schnier
Alison Seevak
Sue and Tom Smegal
Amy and Kirby Wilcox
Fritz and Mary Wooster
The full listing of Foundation, Corporate and Individual Donors will be available for viewing in
July on our website at www.annmartin.org.
Mission Statement Ann Martin Center is dedicated
to improving the lives of at-risk children, youth, and their
families in Alameda County by providing psychotherapy,
educational therapy, diagnostic assessment, and
training. We promote healthy emotional development
and effective learning skills. We nurture confidence,
resilience, and the ability to make positive choices that
strengthen caring relationships, independence, and
productivity. The Center is distinguished by its emphasis
on both emotional and educational support.
Like us on facebook!
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Save the date!
Donor Appreciation
Breakfast
September 2015
Ann Martin Center • 1375 55th Street, Emeryville, CA 94608 • 510.655.7880 • www.annmartin.org