Christina “Tina” Cacho Sakai, LMFT
President, LA-CAMFT

Behind the Scenes

Ever wonder who the LA-CAMFT leader is behind Special Events (Spring Fling, Summer Picnic, Appreciation Dinner, Holiday Party) AND who designates the funds to bring the events to fruition? It is the fabulous Special Events Chair, Tiffani Sainz, AMFT and Chief Financial Officer, Billie Klayman, LMFT! It is Tiffani’s 2nd year on the LA-CAMFT Board of Directors and it is Billie’s 9th year on the LA-CAMFT Board of Directors as CFO. Both of them are major contributors to the functioning of the organization and it was an honor to sit down with them individually to find out more about why they are leaders with LA-CAMFT.

Tiffani shared what she feels it takes to be a good leader, “why” she chooses to be a LA-CAMFT leader and her hopes and dreams for future LA-CAMFT Special Events. Here are the highlights:

Tiffani’s philosophy to what it takes to be a good leader:

• Leadership is about having various dialogues with different personalities knowing that we all respond differently. Communication is key!
• Emotional flexibility to manage your own schedule; i.e. health and wellness, personal life and work life because the “nuance and pacing of oneself can affect other people”.
• Being able to hold space for multiple feelings and understand what people will need and how it will serve the community.
• A calm temperament to navigate stressful situations.
• Tiffani’s “why” to being a LA-CAMFT Leader:
• To immerse myself with other therapists/colleagues from different scopes of practice/fields of study in order to learn and grow.
• Natural calling to be present and help other people and I want to hone in on that within our profession.
• To contribute and try to make special events a more integrative process bridging the gap between the younger and older generation of therapists so they could all feel they love the event and want to return.
• To create excitement and momentum because we give so much in our community as therapists.

Tiffani’s hopes and dreams for future LA-CAMFT Special Events:

• Collaboration with other CAMFT Chapters.
• More networking integration and access to information.
• Invitation to presenters and more connections made.
• Promote and uplift therapists in our community.
• Uplift the mental health profession in general.

Current CFO, Billie Klayman, LMFT has been involved with LA-CAMFT since 2008 and originally began helping prep the meeting materials for the Networking Events alongside Lynne Azpeitia, LMFT and Karen Wulfson, LMFT, Networking Event Leaders. Billie reflects that it took 3 hours for her to put the packets together. She attended all the Networking Events, moved up the ranks and then became the Meeting Materials Person and had a team working under her. About 5 years later, Maria Dylan, LMFT who was the CFO invited Billie to join the Finance Committee. Billie agreed and then in 2014 ran for CFO. At that time, Billie was 2 years licensed, a clinical supervisor and the new CFO for LA-CAMFT!

Billie shared “why” she is a LA-CAMFT Leader, what inspires her to volunteerism and her hopes and dreams for the future of LA-CAMFT. Here are the highlights:

Billie’s “why” to being a LA-CAMFT Leader:

●     Wonderful friendships through CAMFT and our Chapter.

●     Helped me grow in my professional career and in my personal life.

●     Learned a lot through the workshops and speakers.

●     Fun because I get to interact with everybody on the Board.

●     To give back to our professional community.

●     Intention is to inspire people young in the profession.

Billie’s inspiration to volunteerism:

●     My 95 year old mother who is a child of the Holocaust and continues to share her story with the community.

●     My Jewish upbringing and the community we grew up in.

●     Being a Jewish Buddhist and adhering to the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path.

Billie’s hopes and dreams for the future of LA-CAMFT:

●     More practitioners get involved in supporting their community.

●     Opportunity for practitioners to learn how to be a leader. To learn how to build that confidence in making the world better.

●     Goal is to reduce emotional suffering and help people have good self-esteem, feel confident and have meaning and purpose in their lives.

As Billie reflected on her history with LA-CAMFT as CFO, she feels that “It’s time for somebody new to come in." Billie is currently training Di Wilson to be the new CFO for 2024. Billie hopes that when Di comes in “she makes her own adjustments and does her own thing because I’ve only looked through my lens." On behalf of LA-CAMFT, we thank Billie Klayman for her 9 years of service as CFO and her 15 years of service with LA-CAMFT. To quote Billie once again, “It’s been a wonderful ride!"

Special thank you to Tiffani and Billie for allowing me to interview you and share your greatness with the broader LA-CAMFT Community! If you would like to get in contact with either of them, you could find them here: https://lacamft.org/Board-of-Directors-2023 or attend one of our upcoming LA-CAMFT Special Events.

Hope to see you soon!

Christina “Tina” Cacho Sakai, LMFT

Christina "Tina" Cacho Sakai, LMFT (she/her) is a Latinx (Mexican-American) psychotherapist in private practice and a former community based therapist, clinical supervisor, associate director, and adjunct faculty at CSULA. She provides psychotherapy in a culturally responsive, LGBTQIA+ affirming and social justice-oriented atmosphere. Treatment specializations include healing from trauma, processing grief and loss, exploring creativity, and honoring full intersectional identities. She is currently in the BIPOC Somatic Experiencing Training Certificate Program.