Marty currently serves as the senior partner of a law firm and a successor trustee to The Better World Trust, a 501(c)(3) private foundation. He holds a bachelor’s from Harvard, as well as a law degree from the University of San Diego and master’s degree in tax law. Marty, who lives with bipolar mood disorder, feels a personal connection to the mission of The Stability Network and is excited to serve on its board and find opportunities to share his story and help reduce the stigma that affects so many people with mental health issues. He is happily married with three awesome children.
Rod brings 27 years of experience in entrepreneurship management, marketing, and IT. He started his own design, and SEO company in the early days of the Internet and helped launch the first ever state mandated online traffic school in California. He’s since worked with Fortune 500 companies like Starbucks, Unilever brands, and Nike helping to launch products and services through social media and Interactive marketing channels.
He’s also sat on the CA State Head Start Board and was President of the Fatherhood Committee. He’s been a speaker at national parent conferences where he promotes the importance of being a better Dad, mentor, and role model. He’s even lead marketing efforts for campaigns like the Father’s Day Men’s Dove Cares commercial and the Toyota Super Bowl ad spot promoting #realdadmoments.
This last year he’s been involved with DBSA peer led mental health efforts where he’s facilitating support groups, hosting facilitator trainings, and promoting chronic pain advocacy. He’s been married for 21 years and has two children. He loves spending time with his family and playing video games to relax.
Amy holds a PhD in Linguistics from UC Davis and has taught College Writing since 2004. Inspired by the compassion and wisdom of peers in DBSA San Francisco, she began facilitating support groups in 2022. Amy is dedicated to raising the profile of DBSA throughout California, supporting facilitators, and developing the peer specialist workforce.
She is a dancer, yoga practitioner, and meditator who believes that optimal health is always an integration of the physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual. Amy lives in Santa Cruz with her husband and teenage daughter.
Niku Sedarat is a passionate mental health advocate working to combat the youth mental health crisis. As the Founder and Executive Director of Unité – a youth mental health initiative committed to eradicating stigma and fostering emotional resilience – she leads communities of thousands of youth, empowering them with tools to uplift their mental well-being. Niku is also the author of two published mental health books for young people and host of the Unity Mental Health podcast, taking a community-focused approach to enhancing education, awareness, and support regarding mental health.
Through her writing, speaking, presentations, and advocacy, she strives to cultivate vibrant communities that embrace compassion, openness, and understanding around mental health.
Her fourth, award-winning book of poetry, is titled: If My Hands Were Birds: A Poem is forthcoming early 2024 with UnCollected Press. She has three poetry books published by UnCollected Press: Chronicles of Cosmic Chaos: In The Fourth Dimension, Farewell Clay Dove and of her award-winning chapbook The Immortal Sunflower. She is the winner of the Mirabai Prize for Poetry, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and she has over 40 individual poems published in various literary journals and magazines.
Now Falco in a highly regarded Master of Fine Arts Program (MFA) specifically for Poetry & carrying out their Teaching Fellowship. She is a proud part of the LGBTQIA+ community and will continue to stand for them through her poetry.
In addition, Falco graduated magna cum laude along with the highest honors in the Literature Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her Bachelor of Arts degree is in intensive literature with a creative writing concentration in poetry.
Sophia Falco is a faithful poet since she finds poetry essential to her understanding of the universe.
Candace is the founder of a Nonprofit Organization, providing local sustainably foraged produce to area food pantries that specifically distribute to the unhoused and indigent demographic, increasing their yield of fresh fruit by thousands of pounds each year. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and is an active member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Candace has been working in the Nonprofit space for other organizations, including Muscular Dystrophy Association, Food Bank of Southern California, Long Beach Pride, Su Casa, Women’s Shelter of Long Beach, Habitat for Humanity, Humane Society, Animal Defense League, Wounded Warrior Project, and a multitude of other charities over the past 20 years.
Candace is a dedicated DBSA facilitator, and peer. She has been living with Major Depressive Disorder for over 25 years and strives to destigmatize the view on mental health disorders. As she navigates through her own mental health struggles, she also is a mother to a child living with a mental health condition. Candace is particularly drawn to DBSA California’s commitment to fostering a community of support, education, and advocacy.
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