Blanca E. Almonte has worked for Family Builders since 2002. She has a MA from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration and her social work experience includes psychiatric social work, family therapy, individual counseling, training and administration. She has taught social work at the BA and Masters Degree levels and multicultural education for bilingual education teachers. A Mexican immigrant, Blanca has been particularly interested in the influence of culture in child rearing and in early childhood education. She has a strong commitment to providing support to parents and their children. Blanca is fully bilingual and is part of the team that provides adoption services in Spanish.

Gloria has been employed at Family Builders since 1985. She started her social work career in Connecticut over forty-fiveyears ago as a foster care, family preservation, and adoptions social worker. After moving to California, she worked for Catholic Social Service in San Francisco initially as an office manager but then as a social worker, doing pregnancy counseling, domestic and intercountry home studies, and post-placement supervision of children. She also designed and implemented that agency’s post-adoption program which involved reunions of adult adopted children with their birth families. Gloria wanted to be a social worker from the time she was a teenager, and has Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology. Having grown up in a family of ten children, Gloria has always had a particular interest in preserving sibling bonds. She is passionate about the mission of Family Builders and the success the agency has had in providing permanent families for children who might otherwise not have what she considers a right of every child. She herself is a single adoptive mother of a teenage son.

Jill is proud to have had the position of accountant with Family Builders since 2006.

She has twenty years of varied experience with non-profit corporations and is pleased to work with this wonderful staff and board of directors.

Jill is a second generation Californian and the Bay Area has always been home.She earned her Bachelor of Science-Business Administration from California State University – Hayward while raising a family. She now has more leisure time to enjoy traveling with her husband and family activities with their three adult sons.

Karri Biehle, MSW, has served as an advocate on behalf of all children and youth who have been touched by the child welfare system to help ensure they have loving, nurturing families and caring, supportive adults in their lives. She is passionate about fairness, equity and justice. Karri has worked to make certain the voices of all children and youth are heard, especially those who are frequently overlooked and underserved. She is deeply committed to ensuring that LGBTQ youth in foster care are recognized and receive appropriate care and services in order to improve their well-being. She has worked with several states and most California counties to assist in implementing and improving child welfare practices such as – Eliminating Racial Disproportionality and Disparity; Team Decision Making (TDM); the Recruitment, Development and Support of Foster Families and Ice Breaker Meetings between families of origin and foster parents. She also served as faculty on the California Disproportionality Project and co-authored an Ice Breaker Implementation Toolkit published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Prior to consulting, Karri worked in Sacramento County where she managed the program responsible for TDM implementation. She also worked as a TDM facilitator and as a Family Reunification Social Worker.

Kimberly M. King joined Family Builders in March 2013 as the Community Outreach Coordinator and Recruiter. Kimberly has been dedicated to strengthening and inspiring communities for the past 12 years. Her life experiences and positions in various organizations have shaped her perspective on marketing, communications and community outreach. For 10 years, Kimberly worked within the public sector for the US Postal Service. In 2012 she relocated to the Bay area to work for various non-profit organizations to develop social marketing strategies and increase awareness of community based concerns within LGBT, social justice and communities of color.

Kimberly is originally from Fort Washington, MD and spent most of her adult life in the Washington, DC area before relocating to the Bay Area. Kimberly obtained her B.S. in Business Administration from Florida A&M University and received a Masters degree in Marketing Management from The University of Maryland University College.

Kim brings fearless determination and loyalty to the causes and organizations she is passionate about. Kim specializes in results oriented social marketing and media, facilitation, and administration services to non-profit entities. Kim loves to listen to music, play golf, meditate, read and write poetry. She also adores spending time with family and friends.

Makenda' s desire has always been to work with people in the helping profession. She first became connected to children in foster care when she volunteered as a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate). This experience helped solidify her desire to work in some capacity with children and families. Makenda started at Family Builders as an Adoption Navigator then went back to school to pursue her Masters in Social Work. After getting her MSW, she came back to Family Builders as a Fost/Adopt and Permanency Social Worker. She loves working with families and young people and feels lucky to play a role in helping build families through adoption, as well as helping youth in foster care find permanent, loving, stable homes.
Makenda’s hobbies include traveling, music, trying new foods, reading, running and spending time with her friends and family (particularly her adorable toddler son).

Mark has worked in the nonprofit field for over 13 years. He is currently an MSW student at Cal State - East Bay and has also earned a Bachelors degree from Oberlin College, and an MBA from the Hass School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. Mark also currently serves as the Secretary of the California Association of Adoption Agencies, and is on the board of the Post Adoption Center for Education and Research.

Melissa received her Bachelors in Psychology in 1997 and her Masters in Social Worker from California State University, Long Beach in 1999. She worked as a medical social worker for two years before coming to Family Builders in 2002. Her passion to help children and families drew her to the field of adoptions. Families that open their hearts to children with special needs inspire her and she feels privileged to help them build attachments and navigate the foster care system and adoption process. In Melissa’s time away from work she enjoys spending time with her 7-year old daughter and volunteering as a canine companion at the SPCA.

Rhonda earned a BA in Law Studies from St. Mary's College and hasover 20 years of experience working with under-served communities, with an emphasis on families. Her passion is helping to give voice to individuals who have had their voices diminished or silenced due to historical and habitual norms. She has worked in several areas of the non-profit sector including gang prevention/intervention outreach, family advocacy and support, providing housing assistance and supportive services to homeless and formerly homeless families, and the development and implementation of training programs for chronically under and unemployed individuals. She is married and the mother of three, as well as "Granny" to an adorable little girl.