ABOUT
Family Success by Design, Inc. (FSbD), was created as a collaborative community-based organization with a mission to improve the lives of families and children.
The organization’s unique approach comes from its base in occupational therapy and occupational science, which view people as needing “occupations”—valued life activities—to promote and maintain health and wellness.
After many years as Occupational Therapy Practitioners and community advocates for youth and families, both Vera Arzaga Rubio and Terry Olivas-De La O knew their expertise and dedication would be best served in creating this organization, which serves to improve lives. They filed for non-profit exemption for Family Success by Design, Inc., in May of 2006. Amber Hewitt supported both Terry and Vera's dream to go worldwide regarding the non profit and occupational therapy awareness, today FSbD continues to generate global awareness and business in all social media venues. In 2007, Vera Arzaga Rubio resigned from FSBD to persue her educational dream and motherhood. She leaves behind a rich legacy for all youth and families.
Two of the outstanding developments is Animo Latino Young Men's Conference and the Young Woman's Summit (addressing bullying). Within their work with these communities, the founders have found that often, children who struggle to find their place in life do so with a limited knowledge of how to build productive lives. Their growth might further be compromised by their families’ limited encouragement of positive cultural roles and healthy values. These children’s missing play and leisure skills need development through exposure to various possibilities. FSbD pursues such development and skill shaping as its core purpose. Young Woman's Summit, (YMS) is a full day "To address understanding and effective implementation of leadership skills to eliminate bullying among youth by celebrating values and virtues". It is founded on occupational therapy, to promote mentoring, tools for successful lives and respect of self and others.
Family Success by Design, Inc.'s annual Latino Young Men’s Conference is designed to encourage its participants, ages 12-17, with the help of mentors, both to lead successful, healthy lives with their families and to aspire to a higher education. The conference combines inspirational discussions with hands-on activities that allow the participants to shape the day’s events. The participants come from foster care, migrant education and secondary school systems.
Within its services, FSbD also concentrates on domestic violence survivors. Domestic violence affects women and children nationwide at an alarming incidence. FSbD has found a serious need for occupational therapy and occupational science in every client’s recovery, as a valuable tool to help develop the goal-oriented skills needed for successful and fulfilled living. With the collaboration of mental-health experts, FSbD uses occupational therapy to address the dynamic range of these clients’ lives: their social participation, their work, their leisure, their education and, perhaps most importantly, their self-awareness.
FSbD’s occupational therapy and case management services are not only for these clients. FSbD aims to touch any who might benefit from its experience at helping design successful and productive lives. Youth in juvenile justice systems, foster care, continuation schools—whoever might need its expertise is whom it seeks daily to serve. Its services are not gender or ethnic specific, but need driven. One of its goals to help fulfill its mission is to raise its public profile as a collaborative partner with other ethically minded, community-based organizations.
As its very work and foundation lies in its founders’ longstanding roles as community volunteers, Family Success by Design, Inc., is determined to have its staff and board be involved in the community not only with FSbD, but also as private volunteers. And as Family Success by Design, Inc., grows, it will continue to strive to see its vision of giving back both locally and globally, one client—and one person—at a time.
Board of Directors
| Terry Olivas-De La O, C.O.T.A./C, ROH Founder/CEO Family Success by Design, Inc. |
CEO/Founder |
| Kathy Hernandez Art & Plates Coordinator Elkay Plastics |
Vice President |
| Jim Reyes President Link Staffing |
Secretary |
| Infinie De La O Student Rio Hondo College |
Consumer Advocate |
| Leonardo Aguilar Blog/Graphic/Web Developer Pretty In Pink Productions |
Technology/Web Liaison |
| Martin Garcia, Jr. Senior Villanova University |
Success Continuum Mentor Liaison |
Advisory Board
| Sid Garcia, Journalist/Anchor, KABC-TV |
| Tony Olea, Laborer's Local 300 |
| Joe Herrera, Financial Analyst, Southern California Edison |
| Anthony Martinez, Duarte Branch Manager, Wells Fargo |
| Jesus Diaz, PhD, OTR/L |
| Doreen Tan, RN, BSN, PHN Career Colleges of America |
| Keith Johnson, Founder/CEO, The Village Project/Falcons Athletic League |
| Karen Johnson, COO, The Village Project/Falcons Athletic League |
| Manuel Garcia Student, Kalamazoo College, Michigan |
| Vanessa Yanez, OT Student, California State University Dominguez Hills |
| Hiram Corona, OT Student, California State University Dominguez Hills |
| Rayven Armijo, Instructor. Dance Professional |
Founder
Terry Olivas-De La O, C.O.T.A./L, ROH
Founder, Family Success by Design
Terry Olivas-De La O, C.O.T.A./L, ROH, has been an Occupational Therapy Practitioner for over 30 years. She has dedicated her work and advocacy for those with physical and mental health needs at the community, state, and national levels. She continues to volunteer numerous hours toward cultural competency and social justice issues. She has received several awards and recognition for her work in many areas. Her most cherished award, was being honored in 2009 with the American Occupational Therapy Roster of Honor, one of only thirty one recipients in the nation.
Ms. Olivas-De La O was the first Latina Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant to be voted by the national member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc to hold voice and vote a Board Director, which she did for over five years. She actively participated in policy-making decisions, advocating on Capital Hill in Washington, D.C. for the rights of those who need Occupational Therapy Services. She was also the first Latina to hold Chairmanship for the AOTA Cultural Competence and Diversity Committee, where she assisted the association and its members in raising cultural competency for those served by Occupational Therapy Practitioners.
In 2003, Ms. Olivas-De La O, envisioned and founded the first Young Latino Men’s Conference in the state of California, first in the nation. This unique conference aimed to foster self-esteem and awareness in young Latino males, through education and mentorship. Nationally recognized, it continues annually under the direction of Ms. Olivas-De La O’s founded non profit, Family Success by Design.
In 2009, Ms. Olivas-De La O co founded The Black and Brown Young Men’s Summit to address bringing our young men together in celebration of cultural and education to promote understanding and successful lives with Unity.
In 2010, Ms. Olivas –De La O, co founded with her daughter, Infinie De La O, The Young Woman’s Summit to address the need of ending bullying at a community, state and national level. Their one day summit is designed to empower young woman to become leaders of their communities to engage in learning tools to proactively and successfully address prevention and intervention of all types of bullying in the name of Phobe Prince, and all who have been bullied.
A domestic violence survivor herself, Ms. Olivas-De La O sees the need for community involvement in addressing social change. She has turned her own sympathy into action, volunteering countless hours to safe homes and shelters, where she has linked her professional and private passions to develop an design life changes for many women, men and youth whose lives have flourished with her help.
Mentoring is a huge part of Ms. Olivas-De La’s life and implementation into her work and volunteerism. She addresses issues of those in foster care by providing her occupational therapy knowledge to address not only life skills, but life long goals of daily successful skills through her uniquely designed individual sessions and mentoring projects.
As the CEO and Founder of Family Success by Design, Inc and a successful small business owner of another company Ms. Olivas-De La O strives to further to serve the communities most in need with her expertise in Occupational Therapy and community advocacy. She brings to the business her passion to assist families and children in need, so that they may strive further themselves, toward higher education, healthier lifestyles and more productive and successful futures.
