President's Message

Opportunity in the Year of the Fire Horse

Jenni Wilson, LMFT, President

"In the midst of chaos there is also opportunity." -Sun Tsu

According to Chinese astrology, we are in the Year of the Fire Horse—which some believe is a period of great energy and momentum, passion and rapid transformation, bold action and ambitious goals— that happens every 60 years. Although this non-theist is highly skeptical, I do love me a good motivational prediction—and I’ve been riding this one forward into the great unknown of 2026. Let’s GOOOO!

During this period of external and global chaos, we’re being presented some great opportunities to make meaningful progress internally and locally. What will be—and what will be sustainable—has yet to be seen, but LA-CAMFT leadership has not been standing still waiting for others to take action.  Instead, we’ve been identifying needs, assessing what can be done, and considering what we’re reasonably capable of—as individuals and as a community. We’ve been throwing a lot of spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks—and that wall is starting to look as beautiful as any Jackson Pollock, IMHO.  

Here are a few MORE examples of where the Fire Horse is leading us this year… 

UPPING OUR RAFFLE-PRIZE GAME

By the time this posts we’ll have held the Spring Celebration, and some of you will have seen what a brilliant job Special Events Chair Jessica Forrester, AMFT and the planning committee did creating a fun and memorable afternoon for LA-CAMFT.

Worth noting are the powerhouse contributions of bad-ass member Lee Daly, AMFT, whose solicitation of donations for the raffle drawing has raised the bar for future events, exceeding any expectations.

Besides offering an afternoon to play and network with the fine company of our diversely entertaining professional community, the lavish and enticing prizes brought in by Lee and President-Elect Jessica Idoine, LMFT were surely worth the price of admission.

If you or someone you know has access to or sway with bringing in other swank donations for future events like the Annual Picnic in August, the September Autumnal gathering at my place, or the December Holiday Party, let us know at specialeventschair@lacamft.org.

ON-DEMAND CEs ARE IN THE WORKS

After years of discussion and debate, if all goes as planned, LA-CAMFT will be launching an on-demand feature for our online CE-trainings before the end of this year—perhaps as soon as the end of June. 

As many of you have experienced, Speaker Chair Patrick McCarthy, AMFT curates incredible live CE-presentations 8 months out of the year, which, up until now, have only been available to those able to attend Friday morning meetings or the Sunday Law & Ethics training in March.

While we don’t want to sacrifice the energy, fun, and community that’s always had being together at these Zoom CE events, we recognize the tremendous value in making them available (for a limited time only) after an event has taken place.

Our current CE-Networking Chair Shiji Yuan, AMFT has been spearheading this project over the past few months, consulting with various chapter leaders across the state to identify the most manageable and cost-efficient ways to make this happen.

I’m grateful for Shiji’s patience and attention to detail, as the chapter receives multiple requests for such programming on almost a monthly basis. 

Before Shiji, no one has had the vim and vigor to jump in and create the protocols to factor CE-Recordings into LA-CAMFT’s offerings. Our hope in taking this virtual leap is to provide more opportunities to raise the profiles of our top-notch presenters, give members new means to earn CEs, and open another revenue stream for the chapter.

**BTW… Be sure to join us on June 26^th for the next Friday CE Event on “Motivational Interviewing: From Ambivalence to Engagement” presented by Monica Powers, PsyD. I can’t promise we’ll be up and running on the CE-recordings for this one, so show up if you can!**

ONLINE ALL-MEMBERSHIP MEETING AND NETWORKING HOUR

As a team leader, two of the most important things to me are communication and transparency.  While I’m always open to answering questions and offering guidance when time allows, as a whole, LA-CAMFT Leadership doesn’t always know what folx are interested in regarding the chapter’s day-to-day operations or what y’all would like to see for the chapter’s future.

So, President-Elect Jessica Idoine, LMFT and Membership Chair Annyce Torres, AMFT have scheduled a FREE online virtual All-Membership Meeting and Networking Hour via Zoom on June 9^th from noon-1pm.

This will be a chance for folx to sign-on to meet chapter leadership, ask questions, provide feedback, learn how to get more involved, share ideas, and exchange professional information. Being an all-volunteer run organization, LA-CAMFT needs your creative thinking, as well as your support and active participation in making cool shit happen (as demonstrated above). If you’re looking to get more involved, for an associate, a supervisor, an office, or referrals, why not drop in?  It’s free!

Whatever we learn on June 9^th will be explored later in the month at our annual Leadership Retreat where current and future leaders gather to discuss what’s working for LA-CAMFT, or not, and what directions we’re hoping to head in the next five years. Your voice matters. 

In closing, I’m bolstered by those who continually show up, willing to invest their time, sponsorships, and energies into reviving or reimaging long-dormant projects, and helping to build new foundations and infrastructures for the long-term health of LA-CAMFT.

Month after month you’ve heard me share initiatives current Leadership is working on, and why.  And month after month I receive emails from members reaching out about contributing in some way – keep them coming.

I’m in awe of, and humbled by, the collective generosity of spirit in our wide-reaching organization. 

Amidst the chaos and the opportunities this year, I’m wishing you all grounded strength in your bold actions, professional successes beyond measure, and powerfully confident growth. 

Stay hydrated – whichever direction the Fire Horse may take you.

Paz y Amor,

JJVW - Jenni June Villegas Wilson

Jenni J.V. Wilson, LMFT (she/her): As a collaborative conversationalist passionate about empowering and advocating for marginalized groups and underrepresented voices, Jenni uses an integrative approach based on post-modern principles to provide culturally-mindful and trauma-informed therapeutic services and clinical supervision. She works with creative, anxious, mixed race/culture, and co-dependent clients on improving and eliminating toxic relationships, while increasing authentic expression. She has a BA in theatre from Occidental College, an MA in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University LA, and is trained in EMDR, Brainspotting, and certified in Narrative Therapy. She is an accomplished writer, has produced/co-hosted multiple podcasts, worked in addiction treatment for nearly a decade, and sees the “worried well” in her private practice in Sherman Oaks. Website: www.JenniJVWilson.com