Editor's Note

A Lynne-Shaped Hole

Jenni Wilson, LMFT, President, Voices Guest Editor

As most of you probably know, after about seventeen years of volunteering for LA-CAMFT, serving on the Board of Directors for many of those, and spending the last eight years as LA-CAMFT’s Newsletter Editor, Super Volunteer Lynne Azpeitia decided it was time for her to move on.

My earliest memories of LA-CAMFT include witnessing Lynne passing the microphone around during the speed networking period during CE-events as far back as 2012.  Her notably strong presence was impossible to ignore amongst a group of folx who all possessed strong presences.  Being part of the team that revived LA-CAMFT in 2009, she demonstrated a sense of ownership within the chapter and was an intimidating force of nature to many of us who were mere students and interns, wobbly in our footing and new on the scene. Years later I would be moved by the kindness and softness Lynne showed me as she helped prepare me to take on the role of Speaker Chair (which seemed like such an enormous undertaking to me at the time), sharing her extensive institutional knowledge about the chapter and cheering me on.

I remember first really connecting with Lynne in the context of a Marketing breakout group she was facilitating as Communications and Marketing Chair at the 2016 Leadership Retreat at Clearview in Venice.  At that point I was close to finishing my 3000 hours and had no interest in the seemingly Herculean tasks of marketing and branding myself.  I was feeling overwhelmingly uncertain of how to get out of my own way enough to start building the private practice I wanted. Over the course of that afternoon, Lynne took me aside and encouraged me to attend her upcoming marketing seminars and even offered some of her valuable one-on-one time to meet with me in her office to explore what might be possible, free of charge.  She role-modeled a kind of generosity of spirit that afternoon that I had not found often in my former career travels within the entertainment business.  A virtual stranger, she extended herself to me in a way I had always tried to offer others whenever I was positioned to do so, and continue to do to this day.

My partner Tom recalls how charged I was returning home that day and sharing with him all the encouragement I’d gotten from the LA-CAMFT leaders, and particularly from Lynne.  What struck me was that Lynne was/is good at many things I am not, and I knew I could learn from her.  And I did.

I served on the Board of Directors with Lynne for many years, and when I was President in 2021 she was already doing the roles of multiple people – serving as Communications and Marketing Chair, performing the Newsletter Editor duties, creating the LA-CAMFT calendar to track events, creating an extensive document of deadlines for all Board of Directors deliverables throughout the year, and serving as the liaison to our Web Administrator.  I am likely forgetting a multitude of other things she was doing at that time, but regardless, I always felt confident that whatever Lynne was doing, I didn’t have to worry about it.

I regret if I ever took Lynne’s competence and commitment for granted, as that is far from what has ever been in my heart.  Her constancy let me sleep a little better at night at the end of last year and for the first five months of this one.

There will be a Lynne-shaped hole in the chapter for a while, for sure, but another thing I believe I KNOW about Lynne, is that she understood how committed I am to creating processes and systems within the chapter that would allow for amazingly dedicated leaders like herself and others to take care of themselves without the chapter folding.  She understood ways I am always looking to avoid gatekeeping, burnout and/or long-standing resentments amongst our leaders who selflessly volunteer their time in service of the larger membership.  I’ve always felt Lynne and I shared a belief that one did not have to be on the Board of Directors to be significant to the LA-CAMFT culture, and that there was pride in stepping into less demanding but essential forms of leadership and participation – like being the Newsletter Editor, serving on a committee, facilitating a support group, or forming a Special Interest Group (SIG). 

Lynne has been and will continue to be a respected advisor to me, part of my LA-CAMFT Mastermind, as I attempt to finish the work I started in 2020 of putting the pieces into place to easily hand over the chapter reins to new and future generations of leaders as smoothly as possible.

Thank you, Lynne, for your many years of service to the chapter.  Thank you for your support and encouragement in becoming the leader I strive to be.  Where there is only one set of footprints in the sand…

Now, dear reader, if you or someone you know, has copywriting skills and might be interested in serving as LA-CAMFT’s next Newsletter Editor, let’s have that conversation.  It’s a new day and a reimagining of Voices is possible and inevitable upon Lynne’s departure.  We’re not looking for the next Lynne – there is only one – but we could absolutely be looking for the next YOU.  Please contact me at President@lacamft.org.

Jenni J.V. Wilson, LMFT (she/her): As a collaborative conversationalist passionate about empowering and advocating for marginalized groups and underrepresented voices, Jenni uses an integrative approach based on post-modern principles to provide culturally-mindful and trauma-informed therapeutic services and clinical supervision. She works with creative, anxious, mixed race/culture, and co-dependent clients on improving and eliminating toxic relationships, while increasing authentic expression. She has a BA in theatre from Occidental College, an MA in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University LA, and is trained in EMDR, Brainspotting, and certified in Narrative Therapy. She is an accomplished writer, has produced/co-hosted multiple podcasts, worked in addiction treatment for nearly a decade, and sees the “worried well” in her private practice in Sherman Oaks. Website: www.JenniJVWilson.com