A Message from Board President Mindy Stern

July 8, 2026

By Mindy Stern, MSW

President, Board of Directors

El Nido Family Centers

Before I was a screenwriter and essayist, before I saw my words in print and on small screens, before I was a wife and mother of two, I was a clinical social worker. In 1995, I received my MSW from USC, with a concentration in mental health. I trained and worked at places like LAUSD School Mental Health, The HELP Group, Harbor-UCLA Inpatient Psychiatry, the Northridge VA Outpatient Psychiatry, and Jewish Family Services. It was in graduate school, I first learned about El Nido Family Centers. Its reputation in the social work community was as stellar then as it is now; it continues to be a sought-after place to work and train.

Decades and a new career later, my friend, former EL Nido Board President Lisa Carloss, invited my husband and I to the 2019 El Nido gala. Of course, we said yes. That evening changed my life. Listening to clients and staff share their stories, witnessing the El Nido community come together—joyfully, with purpose—reminded me why I became a social worker and what I missed about it. I had to get more involved.

I began volunteering and attending fundraisers, doing whatever I could to support El Nido’s mission. I knew I may never be a big money donor, so I was generous with my time, energy, and spirit. In 2022, I joined the Board of Directors. Since then, supporting El Nido has become a family effort. My husband and young adult kids help how they can, too.

That’s what makes El Nido—the nest—stand out amongst social service agencies: it’s not just for families, it is family.

Before I was any of the things mentioned above, I was a newborn baby separated from her mother and sent to foster care. Although I was adopted at three months old, the wound separation caused has defined much of my life. I know first-hand: A society that values separating parents from their children over providing the resources needed to stay together, is a society that values neither parents nor children.

El Nido Family Centers unequivocally values parents and children; their commitment to keeping families together is what grabbed hold of my heart. It’s why I joined the Board and why I enthusiastically stepped into the role of President. From site to site, program to program, El Nido fills in the gap so families can thrive, together. And they do so with love, attention, commitment, compassion, and care.

Sadly, the resource gap has never been wider, the threats to our neighbors never greater, the need for community never stronger.

This moment in history demands each of us stretch to show up for others more than we have before. It means giving five more minutes, five more cents, five more dollars.

This moment in history demands out-of-the box thinking and bold action. This moment in history demands those who can, do. It is that energy, optimism, determination and fight, that I bring to my presidency.

I believe doing for others brings meaning to one’s life unlike any other endeavor; action is the antidote to helplessness and joy the antidote to fear. I believe community is kryptonite to those seeking harm, and good neighbors are bright lights in dark days. I believe there’s nothing we can’t achieve together.

El Nido Family Centers began in 1925, when a group of Jewish women refused to stand by as their neighbors went neglected and hungry. They came together, brainstormed, and acted. They built a summer camp in Laurel Canyon to house and nourish girls whose families couldn’t afford to feed or care for them. They found a way. That’s El Nido. Finding a way is in our DNA. For over a century, El Nido has met the challenges facing our communities; evolving, changing, growing as needed. But we can’t do it alone, no one can. Please join us in the quest for a better, stronger Los Angeles. There’s room for everyone in our nest.