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Meet Your Greater Bay Area Chapter Support Group Facilitators

The ALS Association Greater Bay Area Chapter serves ALS patients and families in 24 counties in California from the Oregon border to San Luis Obispo, including the East Bay and Central Valley. Our Chapter offers support groups that meet every month at locations across Central and Northern California.  People with ALS, caregivers, family members and friends are encouraged to join at any time.  Each meeting has time to share stories, hear about other people's experiences and ask questions about living with ALS. The support groups are always free.  Please call us, email us or check our website for a list of times and locations of the support group meetings. We also have online support resources.  Email groups in English and Spanish An Online Forum Videos for those people newly diagnosed with ALS and their loved ones Our Mind Base Stress Reduction Group led by Ben Gioia For additonal information or questions, please contact us at (415) 904- 2572. So, let us introduce these invaluable members of our staff to you now. Our Current Monthly Support Groups by City Fresno San Jose San Luis Obispo Santa Rosa Walnut Creek Watsonville

Dorothy Young Dorothy Young, PhD, OT serves as the Central Valley South Care Manager and Fresno Support Group Facilitor.  This region covers the Counties of Fresno, Madera, Kings, Tulare. People with ALS and their families, all are warmly welcomed. An accomplished instructor, counselor and therapist, Dr. Dorothy Young has taught at California State University in San Jose and Fresno, National University and the University of San Francisco and seen patients in a private capacity for 25 years. She holds a BS in Occupational Therapy from Columbia University, an MA in Rehabilitation from the University of Southern California, and a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology. "I am committed to serving those living with ALS and assist them in having the highest possible quality of life."

Kim Venezia Kim Venezias serves as South Region Care Manager, which includes San Mateo, Central and North Santa Clara (except Gilroy and Morgan Hill), and Western Alameda (Alameda, Berkeley, Castro Valley, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Newark, Oakland, Piedmont, San Lorenzo, Union City) counties and is the San Jose Support Group Facilitator She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She has worked with terminal illness (for patients and family members), mental health, hospice, and as a bereavement and grief counselor.

Margaret J. Bullock Margaret J. Bullock, MA, MFT, is licensed marriage and family therapist who facilitates the San Luis Obispo Support Group.  She has a background in Clinical Psychology, with focuses on mood disorders, adoption and infertility issues, grief and loss, trauma and abuse, and assisting those who have been wounded as children. She has presented at workshops and to general audiences on topics ranging from Mid-Life Transitions, Bereavement, Child Bereavement, Group Facilitation, Life After Loss, Trauma and Community Crisis Response Training. "I am a practical, interactive, solution-focused therapist. My treatment approach is to provide support and practical feedback to help clients resolve current problems and long-standing patterns. I incorporate a blend of conventional and alternative approaches, drawing upon a variety of styles and techniques to incorporate what will be most helpful for each client. With sensitivity and compassion, I work with each client to help them build on their strengths to identify and achieve life goals. "Recently, it has been my pleasure to help found the Milton H. Erickson Institute of the California Central Coast. My esteemed colleagues, Ernest L. Rossi, PhD, Kathryn L. Rossi, PhD, Ella Soleimany, MA and I are in the process of creating workshops which will perpetuate the teachings and methods used by Milton H. Erickson, MD. These workshops will primarily train therapists in his methods."

Nancy Feehan Nancy Feehan conducts our Santa Rosa Support Group, as the group facilitator for people with ALS and their families in Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. She is a Marriage and Family Therapist, Adjunct Faculty Professor in the Counseling Psychology Department at USF, workshop leader, and a consultant trained in cross-cultural healing and wisdom. Nancy teaches workshops and provides consultations in private and corporate settings. In her private practice she works with children, teens, adults and elders.  She lives on a ridge above the coast, where she is a musician, a cyclist, and a kayaker.

Eileen Nevitt Eileen Boisen Nevitt LCSW, ACSW, CMC hosts our East Bay Support Group in Walnut Creek. Her support group is known as a robust forum where people with ALS and families have the opportunity to share experiences, resources as well as receive unique and invaluable support.    She received her Master’s degree in Social Service Administration from the University of Chicago in 1976.  During the past thirty-three years, Eileen has worked extensively in the areas of psychiatric and medical social work in both hospital and community-based settings. Her hospital tenures include work at Northwestern University Medical Center in Chicago, St. Francis Hospital in San Francisco, and John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. During the past fourteen years, she has combined her knowledge of the psychosocial aspects of chronic illness with growing expertise in geriatric care management. She has been with Eldercare Services as a Professional Geriatric Care Manager for over 13 years. Eileen has served as a the consultant for Patient and Family Services at the Greater Bay Area Chapter of the ALS Association and currently serves on the Advisory Boards for the Contra County Stroke Support Group and the newly developed Sacamento Carlton Plaza Assisted Living Program which specializes in providing residential care to persons with neuro-muscular diseass.   Eileen has lectured to both the public and to professionals on issues related to aging, chronic illness, and mental health issues.  Eileen possesses a unique knowledge of ALS and the care management model, has presented nationally on the topic of  care management for ALS in the chapter setting, and helped developed the model of regional care management which is now a valued service provided by the ALS Association Bay Area Chapter.  Her commitment to peple with ALS and their families is evidenced by her new perfect attendance to the annual East Bay Walk to Defeat ALS and her availability to hear from group participants between meetings.

Julie Scurich  Travel to the counties of Southern Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Benito, Monterey and San Luis Obispo,  and you will find our Central Coast Care Manager, Julie Scurich, OTR. She also facilitates our Watsonville Support Group. Julie Scurich was certified as an occupational therapist in 1984 at San Jose State University and has worked extensively in the area of rehabilitation and home health. Julie was instrumental in launching support groups in the Monterey and San Luis Obispo areas, and began an online support group for ALS patients and families, which now has over 2,500 members worldwide. Julie also assists in the coordination of the ALS Monterey Satellite Clinic and manages a community-based equipment loan program. She is well-loved in the ALS Community by all of those impact by this disease, and well-regarded among professionals for her expertise.

Send the  Support Group Leaders a Message! If you want to send a special thanks please  send a message through The ALS Association Greater Bay Area Chapter

Madelon Thomson, Director of Patient and Family Services with Kathie Ketels-Litchtig at 2008 South Bay Walk to Defeat ALS

Madelon M. Thomson, LCSW is the Director of Patient and Family Services for the Chapter and works closely with the other Regional Care Managers while providing program management and oversight for over 600 people with ALS. She also faciliates the Napa Valley Support Group (currently on hiatius at this time). Madelon meets with patients at the UCSF and Forbes Norris ALS Clinics to discuss the Chapter’s programs and services and is also the social worker with the Multi-Disciplinary Treatment Team at the UCSF Clinic. Prior to joining the Chapter, Madelon was a clinical supervisor for the MSSP and Linkages Case Management programs at the Institute on Aging for ten years and the Director of Social Services for a large home health agency. She holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Margie Petrakis

Our Central Valley North Care Manager, Margie Petrakis, RR T, RN cares for people with ALS in the counties of Mariposa, Merced, Stanislaus, Contra Costa, Eastern Alameda. She also faciliates the Modesto Support Group (currently on hiatius at this time). She has been a respiratory therapist for 34 years and registered nurse for 16 years. For the last six years Margie has worked with Dr. Robert Miller and the team of experts at the Forbes Norris ALS Research Center. Prior to her work with ALS patients, Margie was the Director of the Pulmonary Function Lab at Kaiser San Francisco and a supervisor at Doctors Medical Center. She also has managed programs for Home Asthma Management and the American Lung Association, where she served as Vice President.