Esther C. Chow
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Esther C. Chow, MSW is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia University Graduate School of Social Work. She has over 25 years of experience in serving low-income, under-served Asian communities in New York City, Los Angeles, San Diego and Oakland/Alameda County, California. Her various professional capacities included hospital social worker, developmental disabilities case manager, community outreach and parent education coordinator, grant writer and project director of prevention mental health services programs. Having successfully raised a son with developmental disabilities to adulthood, Esther feels it is time for her to give back and empower other Asian immigrant families living with developmental disabilities. This is the reason for her starting Helping Hands East Bay in August 2015. Esther was honored by Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services in 2016 for her dedicated services to the API communities. She is the recipient of Alameda County Developmental Disabilities Planning Council's Bernie Graf Excellence in Service Award in 2020.
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Candice Wong Golightly
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Candice Wong Golightly, OTR/L, C.E.A.S is a registered and licensed occupational therapist with over 20 years of experience in working with infants to seniors from a whole-person perspective. She has been treating children with a variety of disabilities including autism, ADHD, Down syndrome, and sensory processing disorders. Ms. Golightly has consulted with teachers and provided training to parents. She is the co-founder of a special children's ministry in her church in Oakland. Ms. Golightly has also consulted with an inclusive soccer program that is designed to help special needs children. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Ms. Golightly received a B.S. in occupational therapy from San Jose State University in 1990 and has mentored master’s level students during fieldwork placement at Samuel Merritt University. Candice has a strong interest in Chinese medicine, and has studied in the master's program at the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences. She is blessed to be the mother of a teenage son with autistic spectrum disorder.
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Lisa Lung
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Lisa Lung is a senior project manager for Lam Research Corporation in Fremont, California. She earned her B.S. in telecommunications and B.A. in communication systems management from Ohio University. She has more than 15 years of experience with SAP systems integration, project management and implementation experience in the finance area. Prior to joining Lam Research Corporation, she worked as a senior business analyst for OSIsoft, Inc. in San Leandro and the Clorox Company in Oakland. In her spare time, Lisa enjoys volunteering in the community and is passionate to serve families with special needs children.
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Henry Long
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Henry Long graduated from San Francisco State University with a master degree in psychology in 1976. He had served the Chinese Community in San Francisco and Oakland through various professional capacities which included substance abuse counseling in treatment center, career counseling in public school with Chinese immigrant students, and cross-cultural intervention in marriage and family counseling. From 1978 on Henry worked continuously for the regional center in providing case management services. Aside from experiences and skills in consumer advocacy, Henry is also knowledgeable in planning, developing and evaluating progress in consumer's individual plan, consumer resources network, day program review and quality assessment. Henry retired in 2016 from Regional Center of the East Bay but he would like to continue to use his knowledge and experience to help individuals with developmental disabilities maximize their potential.
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Emily Lo
Board Treasurer
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Emily Lo is a Certified Public Accountant. She has an extensive background in non-profit finance including managing budgets, analyzing financial reports, leading finance team through financial and contract audits, and strategic business planning. Emily enjoys working in diverse settings. She has volunteered many hours in local community organizations. In addition, she enjoys traveling with family and appreciating great food.
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Tara Leiker
Board Secretary
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Tara Geer-Leiker, MA, EdS is a long-standing professional in the mental health and educational fields. She has worked in a variety of settings including schools, centers, and homes with people of all ages and abilities. Tara’s specialties have included working with those with disabilities, adoption, program development and management, and medical fragility. Some of the roles Tara has had as a professional include being an educational Learning Support Professional, a Program Director for an ABA company, an Adoption Counselor, a Mental Health Professional, a Consultant, and most recently an Academic Coach for students obtaining a master’s degree in counseling. Additionally, Tara is a mother to six children ranging in age from 5 to 28, five of whom are adopted. One of Tara’s sons is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and an intellectual disability and one is medically fragile with an undiagnosed medical condition with developmental and cognitive delays. Three of her other older children each have a different type of disability as well. Each of her children are a huge blessing in her life.
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K. Long
Board Member
K. Long has experience in providing case management services to families experiencing complicated situations such as domestic violence, substance abuse, mental health issues and intellectual disability. All of these situations are challenging and it seems that there are never enough resources to completely resolve these issues. Not being discouraged, Long continues to work in this field and provides services to assist families in crisis.