Program Leaders

We have therapists and counselors who are subcontracted by us to come to the center or who come thanks to partnerships with specific agencies. Some also do counseling in their offices or through the St. Helena schools. By working together, we offer convenient support for families in our community.

Juan Hernández
Juan leads the CLARO program offered by the Center, every Wednesday from 1 to 5 at the Robert Louis Stevenson Middle School and St. Helena High school in St. Helena. Juan was born in East LA and he grew up there till he was 18, when he graduated from Garfield Highschool. He got his BA in Sociology from UC Riverside. He obtained a Master´s Degree in Psychology from Sonoma State University. He lives in Calistoga where he works as Student Assistance Program Coordinator for the Calistoga Middle School and High School.

Marta Palmer
Marta Z. Palmer is a Marriage and Family Therapist providing bilingual individual, couple and family therapy through Family Service of Napa Valley in Napa, and in St. Helena through a collaboration with the St. Helena Family Center.  Marti received her graduate degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of San Francisco and is a recent graduate of the Sanville Institute Certificate Program in the Integration of Theory and Practice in Cultural Context.  Marti has been married for 37 years, has 3 adult sons and has lived in Napa for 21 years.

Max Hernández
Max was born and raised in Puebla, Mexico; he came to Napa Valley in the mid eighties pursuing a better life in the US. He continued his education at Napa Valley College, and then he transferred to Pacific Union College at Angwin to begin his social work program, after 2 years at PUC he moved to Walla Walla University in the state of Washington where he graduated as Bachelors in Social Work. He later obtained his Master’s in Social Work from the same University. He worked in Walla Walla for Children’s Home Society of Washington and for Walla Walla Health Services as a Mental Health Counselor. He came back to Napa in 1999 where he worked for Nuestra Esperanza and Napa County as a Mental Health and Drug and Alcohol Counselor.  He raised 4 successful children, now among the ages of 26 and 32 years old, and he enjoys spending time with his 3 grand children.

Kathleen Herrera
Kathleen provides individual counseling to clients from the Center and facilitates a Latino women’s support group.
Kathleen Herrera is a bilingual Spanish/English and bicultural licensed psychotherapist. She was born and raised in Central California with a 1st and 2nd generation Mexican-American heritage. Ms. Herrera completed her Bachelor’s degree in Social Work at Pacific Union College and then went on to attain her Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of California at Berkeley. Kathleen has a special interest in working with Latino children and adults as she can appreciate their cultural ways and their strength through hardship. She is dedicated to enhance growth, healing, and empowerment in Latino community.

Elizabeth Ellsworth
Elizabeth Ellsworth, M.F.C., has a private practice in Marriage and Family Counseling in St. Helena. She specializes in the treatment of depression and anxiety, couples counseling and in work with children and adolescents. For the past eight years she has worked at St. Helena High School, currently as a member of the Student Assistance Program. At the High School she works with students individually and in groups working on issues of depression, anger and social problems. She enjoys working from a family systems approach, where the interactions of the whole family are explored, not just individual problems. She is married, with two adult children, and has lived in Angwin for the past 22 years.

Jill Hanna
Jill provides individual therapy to clients at the Center and also is involved in providing alcohol and drug treatment to adolescents.

Jill is a licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in working with adolescents and their families. She moved to Napa from Berkeley several years ago. She was born and raised in Arkansas. Ms. Hanna completed her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Graduate Degree in Mental Health Counseling during her time living in Florida. Before moving to Napa, Jill worked with adolescents and their families in Oakland, CA. Jill is dedicated to supporting and empowering families to work together to grow, heal, and obtain a better quality of relationships.

Advisors

We also have the support of wonderful volunteers and paid consultants from our community that provide their opinions and advise in their field of expertise that help us in proposals or client management.

Sarah Carpenter
Sarah Carpenter, LCSW. Licensed Clinical Social Worker  for the State of California. BA: Middlebury College. Certificate in Addiction Studies: Harvard Medical School. MSW: UC Berkeley. Sarah has 20 years of experience in the field of Drug and Alcohol Treatment and prevention.  She is specialized in prenatal and adolescent services. She is currently the Student Assistance Program Coordinator for St. Helena Unified School District.

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St. Helena Family Center
1440 Spring St. St. Helena, CA 94574
info@sthelenafamilycenter.org office (707) 963-1919 fax (707) 963-2153