Kate Threlfall, Ph.D. - President - Kate Threlfall PhD is dedicated to family therapy, lecturing for both family systems and clinical classes as an adjunct professor in Hong Kong and the SF Bay Area. Her experience includes clinical work within a multi-disciplinary medical group, home-based, community, and school-based settings. Kate mentors doctoral students, sits on dissertation committees, and cares deeply about educating a new generation of graduate students about the power of systemic work. An active board member of Russian Hill School, Kate supports social-emotional learning and operations for the arts-integrated early childhood education program. A graduate of UC Berkeley and CSPP Kate is an active member of both AFTNC and American Family Therapy Academy (AFTA).

president@aftnc.com

Debra Milinsky, LCSW - Past President - Debra Milinsky, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker who worked at Kaiser Permanente for many years and is now working with families and couples in private practice in the Berkeley and Vallejo.  Debra specializes in working with trauma, and her approach is informed by the ACES study.  She previously worked for Child Protective Services before her position at Kaiser Permanente.

pastpresident@aftnc.com

W. Keith Sutton, Psy.D. - President Elect - W. Keith Sutton, Psy.D. is a psychologist practicing in San Francisco and Corte Madera, working with children, adolescents, couples, and individual adults. He has been involved with the AFTNC since graduate school, starting as a student representative, and later being elected as President in 2009.  Keith teaches family and couples therapy through his Institute, the Institute for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (www.sfiap.com), and trains associates and post-docs through his non-profit, Bay Area Community Counseling (www.sf-bacc.org) using his Evolving Structural-Strategic Family Therapy model developed with James Keim, LCSW, which is part of Attachment Based - Cognitive Behavioral Systemic Therapy.  Additionally, he hosts a podcast, Therapy On the Cutting Edge (www.TherapyOnTheCuttingEdge.com), where he interviews clinicians that are creating, innovating, researching, developing, and perfecting treatments for clients.

presidentelect@aftnc.com

Shawn V. Giammattei, PhD - Treasurer - Shawn V. Giammattei, PhD is a clinical psychologist specializing in couple and family therapy with a particular focus on trans youth and their families, as well as relational therapy where one or more partners are queer or gender diverse. He is a researcher, educator, professor, a WPATH GEI SOC7 Faculty member and Certified Mentor, teaching graduate and post-graduate courses in LGBTQ psychology, family systems, and gender affirming care. He is the founder/CEO of the Gender Health Training Institute and the TransFamily Alliance, and an active member local and national family therapy organizations. He is also and the author of several articles and book chapters on gender, sexuality and family work and has been honored to hold many different council positions with AFTNC over the years.

treasurer@aftnc.com

Jay Smith, LCSW - Membership Chair - Jay grew up in Berkeley, and matriculated from UC Davis and then in 1988 from Smith College with an MSW. At The Menninger Clinic, in Topeka Kansas he completed two Post-Masters Clinical Trainings, one in Group Therapy and one in Family Therapy. In total, he spent nine years in Kansas working in a variety of in-patient and out-patient settings. His teaching experience includes four graduate classes in Clinical Social Work at the University of Kansas. After returning to the Bay Area in 1997, Jay joined AFTNC because of his passion for family therapy, and a desire to keep learning. He has gravitated towards Narrative Therapy, EMDR and IFS and focuses on a range of problems in his private practice in Berkeley. He is divorced and has a grown daughter.

membership@aftnc.com

Veronique Thompson, Ph.D. - Member-At-Large - Veronique Thompson, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and tenured faculty member of the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California. Dr. Thompson is also the director of clinical training at the Carl B. Metoyer Center for Family Counseling in East Oakland. Finally, she maintains a small private practice. She received her BA. in psychology from Spelman College in Atlanta and her Ph.D. from U.C., Berkeley. Her advanced professional training has been in Narrative Therapy and Social Justice Therapy. As an African-American woman, Dr. Thompson's personal history of experience complements her academic training in clinical psychology. Her practice of psychology is enriched by dual dimensions of culturally informed and gender related perspectives.

member-at-large@aftnc.com

Elaina Vielbaum, M.S., M.A. - Student Representative - Elaina is honored to be one of the student representatives for AFTNC. She received her Master of Science in Clinical Psychology with a concentration in Marriage Family Therapy and Professional Clinical Counseling from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, CA. Currently, Elaina is a doctoral candidate in Clinical Psychology at The Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. Elaina has dedicated much of her clinical training to providing mental health treatment services for unserved and underserved at-risk and high-risk youth, emerging adults, and their families, with moderate to severe mental illness and substance use disorders.

studentrep@aftnc.com

Celestine Snell - Student Representative - Celestine Snell grew up in Southern California and went to San Francisco State University graduating as a psychology major and Africana studies minor. She worked as a behavioral therapist for several years before pursuing her doctorate in clinical psychology. She is currently in the Integrated Health track and in her second year at Alliant International. As an African American woman, her passion lies in increasing access to mental health care for members of disenfranchised communities. 

studentrep@aftnc.com