About Us

Board of Directors

• Ori Brafman, Director

  Ori Brafman

  Director

  Ori Brafman is a writer living in San Francisco. His first book, The Starfish and The Spider, was about the power of distributed organizations. His most recent book, Sway: The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behavior, discusses dynamic forces that influence every aspect of our personal and business lives, including loss aversion, the diagnosis bias, and the "chameleon effect." Born in Israel and raised in Texas, Ori as been a lifelong entrepreneur. Ori holds a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. As an alumnus, Ori has facilitated an MBA course on interpersonal dynamics at the Stanford Business School.

• Diane Ehrensaft, PhD, Director

  Diane Ehrensaft

  PhD, Director

  Diane Ehrensaft, PhD, Director Diane is a developmental and clinical psychologist in the San Francisco Bay Area with a specialty in gender studies and psychotherapy/ consultation with gender nonconforming children and youth and their families. She is a member of the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California and founding member of the PINC research group on reproductive technology. She is the author of “Raising Girlyboys: A Parent’s Perspective” (Studies in Gender and Sexuality, 2007), “One Pill Makes You Boy, One Pill Makes You Girl” (Journal of Applied Psychoanalysis, 2009), “When Boys Will Be Girls and Girls Will Be Boys” (Psychoanalytic Psychology, in press) and the forthcoming book, Gender Born, Gender Made: Gender-Creative Children and their Families. Dr. Ehrensaft has served on the faculty of The Wright Institute, Berkeley, Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California, Access Institute San Francisco, University of California, Berkeley, and Lone Mountain College, San Francisco. She is a founding member and past Vice President of the Board of Directors of A Home Within. She is a member of WPATH, and is also on the board of the Section on Childhood and Adolescence (Section II) and the Section, Psychoanalysts for Social Responsibility (Section IX) of the Division of Psychoanalysis (39) of APA. Her books include Mommies, Daddies, Donors, Surrogates (Guilford Publications, 2005), Building A Home Within (co-edited with Toni Heineman, Brookes Publishing Company, 2006), Spoiling Childhood (Guilford Publications, 1997), and Parenting Together: Men and Women Sharing the Care of Their Children (Free Press, 1987).

• Katharine Gould, MFA, MSW, Director

  Katharine Gould

  MFA, MSW, Director

  Katherine Gould is a graduate and faculty member of CAPPT, The Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program at the Chicago Institute of Psychoanalysis. She has a private practice in Lincoln Park, Chicago, where she sees children, adolescents, and adults. Since 1993 she has been a Child, Adolescent and Family psychotherapist and supervisor at the Therapeutic Day School associated with the Department of Psychiatry at the Rush Medical Center in Chicago. Ms. Gould has published articles on child psychotherapy and has presented her work at the Child-Analytic Institutes in Toronto, Chicago and Los Angeles.

• Toni Heineman, DMH, Executive Director

  Toni Heineman, DMH

  Executive Director

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  Toni Vaughn Heineman, DMH, is the founder and Executive Director of A Home Within. She is Clinical Professor at the University of California, San Francisco, in Psychiatry and has been in private practice in San Francisco, working with adults, children, and families for over 30 years. Dr. Heineman consults with individuals and organizations. She is the author of several articles focused on psychotherapy with children and has made numerous presentations to lay and professional audiences about the mental health issues facing children and parents. She authored An Abused Child: Psychodynamic Understanding and Treatment and co-edited Building A Home Within: Meeting the Emotional Needs of Children and Youth in Foster Care. She has been awarded a Leadership Fellowship from Zero to Three, a Draper Richards Social Entrepreneur Fellowship, a Social Entrepreneur Award from the Manhattan Institute, the national Jefferson Award for outstanding public service, and the 2008 Civic Ventures Purpose Prize, given to social entrepreneurs over the age of 60.

• Michael Hansen, Treasurer

  Michael Hansen

  Treasurer

  Michael Hansen is a senior finance manager with Wells Fargo’s Private Client Services in San Francisco. Over the past 12 years he has helped Wells Fargo significantly grow its investment business and ability to serve high net worth customers acting as a key manager concerning financial planning, strategy, performance analysis, acquisitions, systems, and controls. He is a graduate of Southwestern University and holds a BA in Business. Michael brings these skills and experience to A Home Within inspired by parenthood, his wife’s work in child welfare, and a deep desire to give to his community.

• Richard Hill, Director

  Richard Hill

  Director

  Rich is a management-side labor and employment lawyer in the San Francisco office of Littler Mendelson, where he has spent his entire 32 year career after 7 years on the Farm. He served as the Managing Partner of the firm's San Francisco office from 2006 through 2008. Rich previously served on the Board of Directors of Alternative Family Services, a foster care agency serving San Francisco, the North Bay and the East Bay. He has been legal counsel to Guide Dogs for the Blind for over 20 years. Rich is an avid Giants fan and a (self-described) pedestrian golfer.

• Kristy Su Lamore, Director

  Kristy Su Lamore

  Director

  Kristy Su Lamore spent 15 years as a Social Worker in San Mateo County. She has extensive experience working with children and families in all aspects of the child welfare system and is a certified trainer of Model Approach to Partnerships in Parenting (MAPP) since 1994. Her education includes a BA in Criminal Justice from the University of Nevada.

• Johnny Madrid, Director

  Johnny Madrid

  Director

  Mr. Madrid joined Lombardia Capital Partners in January 2010 and is a Research Associate for the Investment Advisory service. Previously, he worked at Goldman Sachs in the securities division in both structured equity and equity derivatives marketing. Subsequently, he worked in the options trading team as Vice President at Sanford Bernstein. In the period before joining Lombardia, he led the finance arm of a congressional race for the 32nd Congressional District in Los Angeles where his efforts garnered national attention. Mr. Madrid graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in Urban Studies (2005). While a student at Stanford University, he wrote his honors thesis on higher education and founded the Stanford Foster Care College Project. Johnny has been involved in foster care advocacy for 12 years. He began as a youth member of California Youth Connection where he was involved across a spectrum of roles including the Advisory Board, Legislative Committee, and the Youth Empowerment Training Project. While in CYC he facilitated dozens of focus groups with peer foster youth, gave speeches across the country, lobbied legislatures, and trained over 150 social workers. He is a recipient of the Truman Scholarship and was featured as one of Newsweek's "15 Students You Don't Know But Will."

• Elizabeth March, Director

  Elizabeth March

  Director

  Elizabeth March is Executive Director of Children’s HealthWatch in Boston, Massachusetts, a non-partisan, pediatric research center focused on understanding the links between economic conditions, public policy and children’s health. She spent 11 years as Deputy Director of Partnerships for Quality Education at Harvard Medical School and for over seven years she has provided a variety of pro bono services for children. She holds a BA in Art History from the University of Virginia and a MA in City Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

• Wanjiku Njoroge, MD, Director

  Wanjiku Njoroge

  MD, Director

  Dr. Njoroge was the Director of Infant/Young Child Clinic at the Behavioral Health Center in the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. She has recently joined the research faculty at the University of Washington, and clinical faculty at Seattle Children’s Hospital. She has embarked on several research efforts predominantly focused on infancy and early childhood, published articles, served on multiple committees and received many awards and honors pertaining to child psychiatry and neurology. Her degrees include a BA in Psychology from Columbia University in New York and an MD from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

• Kira Steifman, President

  Kira Steifman

  President

  Prior to moving to San Francisco in 2000, Kira Steifman was the program associate of the New York-based Andrus Family Fund, the philanthropic arm of the fifth generation of the family behind the Surdna Foundation. One of AFF’s main program areas is the transition of youth from foster care to independent living. Earlier she worked at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in New York, representing clients in debt and equity financing, among other corporate transactions. She graduated from Northwestern University School of Law (1998) and Dartmouth College (1993). Currently at home with her children, Kira has served her children’s preschool in a variety of capacities, most recently as president of the Parents’ Association, and chaired the silent auction at her daughter’s school in 2008, raising over $100,000. Kira has served on the board of A Home Within since 2003 and as its president since January 2009.

• Zehra Vahanvaty, Director

  Zehra Vahanvaty

  Director

  Zehra Vahanvaty currently serves on the Executive Committee for the Nueva Parent's Association at The Nueva School. She is passionate about issues concerning the welfare of underprivileged youth. As a member of the Peninsula Junior League she teaches at the East Palo Alto Charter School. She has worked as an advocate for children in the Los Angeles Dependency Court as well as the Center for Women in Transition in Urbana. At the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta, she served as the Assistant to the Director of African Affairs. Most recently, Zehra enjoyed working on the Stanford GSB Alumni Consulting Team’s project to help A Home Within formulate a new strategic plan. Zehra graduated from the University of Southern California Law School.

• Margot C. Wohadlo, PsyD, Director

  Margot C. Wohadlo

  PsyD, Director

  Margot completed her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at The California School of Professional Psychology, Alameda, California. She completed her pre/post-doctoral fellowships at the San Francisco Crisis Clinic and at the UCSF/Mount Zion Out-Patient Psychiatry Department where she had the opportunity to work long-term with a wide variety of patients, from the severely disturbed, chronically mentally ill to patients asking for help with overcoming addictions, trauma, and other life situations. Dr. Wohadlo is currently in private practice in San Francisco where she engages in psychoanalytic psychotherapy with adolescents, adults, and couples. Throughout her life, she has worked with, and been a member of Boards of Directors of many different charitable organizations across the country. Her interest lies with children, and their families; as well as young mothers, helping support and teach them to parent their infants and build strong families.

Leadership

• Toni Heineman, D.M.H. - Executive Director & Founder

  Toni Heineman

  D.M.H. - Executive Director & Founder

  Dr. Toni Heineman is a clinical psychologist who has been in private practice treating children, adults, and families in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 25 years. She is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, and was selected as a fellow by Zero to Three for the 2003-2004 National Leadership Initiative. Toni has taught and supervised interns, graduate students and psychiatric residents and presented at numerous local and national professional meetings. She has authored a wide range of journal articles, a book, The Abused Child: Psychodynamic Understanding and Treatment, and is co-editor of another, Building A Home Within: Meeting the Emotional Needs of Children and Youth in Foster Care. When not at work, Toni can usually be found in her garden.

• Wendy von Wiederhold, PhD - Local Chapters, Program Director

  Wendy von Wiederhold

  PhD - Local Chapters, Program Director

  Dr. Wendy von Wiederhold has been involved with A Home Within for the past fourteen years, first as a clinician, then as the Clinical Director of the San Francisco chapter and for the past three years as the Program Director, overseeing the local chapters and starting new chapters across the country. She is on the faculty at Access Institute and supervises pre- and postdoctoral trainees at the Wright Institute, California Pacific Medical Center, and the Institute on Ageing. Dr. von Wiederhold teaches Adolescent and Infant Development and is in private practice in San Francisco specializing in the psychodynamic treatment of adolescents, adults and couples.

• Molly Saeger, Local Chapters, Program Co-Director

  Molly Saeger

  Local Chapters, Program Co-Director

  Molly Saeger is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. She recently joined A Home Within as the Program Co-Director managing and developing the local chapters. Molly has worked closely with emancipated youth through San Francisco Bay Area programs such as Larkin Street Youth Services, Francisco Connection, and School Age Mothers Program. She developed a parenting curriculum for teens and works with young mothers and pregnant teenagers, providing pre and postnatal psychological and educational health services. Molly teaches and presents on parenting, lifespan development, postpartum depression and eating disorders. She also has a private practice where she works with children, adolescents, adults and couples.

• Saralyn Ruff, Program Director, Fostering Transitions

  Saralyn Ruff

  Program Director, Fostering Transitions

  Saralyn Ruff is program director for A Home Within's Fostering Transitions program. She graduated from the University of Oregon with a Master's degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and a Master's degree in Family and Human Science. Following, she worked as program supervisor and lead clinician for a community-based mental health nonprofit for emotionally disturbed children. Saralyn is currently pursuing her doctorate in marriage and family therapy at Purdue University.

• Amanda Herman, Program Director, Fostering Art

  Amanda Herman

  Program Director, Fostering Art

  Amanda is a San Francisco artist and educator with a MFA in Social Practice from the California College of the Arts. She has lead community-based photography, writing and video programs for the last ten years. In 2003, she was lead artist of youth projects for the California Council for the Humanities California Stories grant, ‘I am OMI’.  For four years she taught B&W photo to homeless adults as Project Director for the Sixth Street Photography Workshop. Her work has been shown at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, MoAD, New Langton Art Gallery, Triple Base Gallery, SF Arts Commission Gallery and other venues. She is visiting faculty at the Valand School of Fine Arts in Gothenburg, Sweden and a graduate advisor at California College of the Arts. She has been the Program Director for Fostering Art since 2008.

• Victoria Roberts, Director of Business

  Victoria Roberts

  Director of Business

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  Victoria Roberts joined A Home Within after serving as the Vice President of Business Development at 4DK Technologies, Inc. She is an accomplished businesswoman, having built and run a successful London-based design agency for over 10 years, supporting a diverse range of international clients including: Amnesty International (UK), MITIE Group plc (UK), and Toshiba-EMI (Japan). She has also worked as Artist in Residence and curator at Studio 29, helping drive the location to its prestigious position as the heart of London's contemporary arts scene. She holds a Bachelor's in European Politics and Economics, and a Master's in Psychoanalytic Studies. Victoria previously served on the board of A Home Within. When not working Vic enjoys friends, food, wine and photography.

• Jonas Heineman, Associate Director of Development and Outreach

  Jonas Heineman

  Associate Director of Development and Outreach

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  A graduate of the University of San Francisco, Jonas recently returned home after six years working for progressive causes in Illinois, Ohio, and New York. His experience ranges from nonprofit fundraising, event production, and constituency outreach to managing political campaigns for municipal, county, judicial, state, and federal offices. Jonas was there when A Home Within started around his mother's dinner table, despite not being able to see over the table at the time. In his current role at A Home Within, Jonas assists the Director in all aspects of planning and executing A Home Within's development and outreach strategy.

• Julia Baron, Referral Coordinator

  Julia Baron

  Referral Coordinator

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  Julia Baron is a native San Franciscan who left the bay area to attend Colgate University in New York where she studied Art, Art History and French. After graduating, she spent a year in Paris where she worked and traveled throughout Europe. Since she has returned to San Francisco, she has been working as a research assistant at UCSF Langley Porter studying social cognition in schizophrenia. Julia is also a certified yoga instructor and loves to sing and dance.

• Leila Abdul-Rauf, Executive Assistant

  Leila Abdul-Rauf

  Executive Assistant

  Leila Abdul-Rauf is the Administrative Assistant at A Home Within. Previously, she was the Administrative Assistant for almost seven years at New Leaf: Services For Our Community, an agency which provided low-income mental health and substance services for the LGBTQ population. Leila graduated from Purdue University with a Master’s Degree in Audiology and Speech Sciences, and continues to pursue her career as a professional musician, performing regularly with three different groups.