President's Message — Natalie Jambazian, LMFT

Working to Fill Big Shoes

Dear Colleagues,

Stepping into the role of the SFV-CAMFT presidency and working to fill the big shoes of past presidents has been quite interesting, and experiential, thus far. I learned how our chapter operated from the backend, something that was entirely new prior to my roles as VP of membership or president-elect. It’s a whole different ball park. Learning everyone’s roles, delegating, contributing to their ideas and empowering them in their executive abilities has been great. I decided to take on this role as president to facilitate change, to support others' efforts, to improve committees and sustain growth, but most importantly — make CHANGES. There’s a great quote from Socrates that says, “the secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” That is what I’m working toward this year as president. Making not only improvements to our chapter but building the new.

Our chapter just returned from the CLC CAMFT Leadership Conference held in San Francisco and it was very inspiring and motivational. Almost our entire Board attended this event and I was so proud to see how eager they were to learn and prosper. It was not only incredible to hear what state CAMFT was advocating, but learning how other chapters operate was a great privilege, as well as a valuable resource. Learning from our accomplishments and the things we are doing well — and what we can improve upon. We are so proud that we were awarded the Chapter Excellence award for Community Outreach, and we want to give a huge shout out to our past president, Nikki Gabriel, who won the Outstanding Chapter Leader award.

During the conference, I gained a lot of insight into the areas that can be improved within our chapter. What resonated with me was having a chapter that is innovative, transparent, open, conversational and fun!

Some of the areas I and the Board are working on:

1. Bringing in more associates to join our chapter by speaking with universities, as well as, mental health agencies and school-based, program providers. Our prelicensed chair is working diligently on organizing this effort.
2. Re-establishing our diversity committee by having a support group and recruiting member panelists to discuss crucial topics.
3. Creating a bi-monthly, consultation group for LMFTs.
4. Restructuring our policies to make SFV-CAMFT more efficient.

Even though we are volunteers, we all are passionate about helping the community, and given that, we can make important contributions. I am so grateful to our Board members and all the members who dedicate their time to supporting our organization. I am looking forward to much progress ahead. Hope to see you all at our upcoming events. Thank you!

All my best,

Natalie Jambazian

Natalie Jambazian, LMFT, is the President of SFV-CAMFT. Natalie is a licensed marriage and family therapist and a certified Anger Management 818 facilitator through Anger Management Essentials and NAMA. Anger Management 818 accepts both volunteers and court ordered clients. She facilitates the Teen Anger Management Group in Sherman Oaks on Fridays and the Adult group in Glendale on Thursdays, and is able to see individual clients in Glendale, Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills locations.