February 2, 2022 – Santa Rosa, CA – Alternative Family Services (AFS), a leading agency dedicated to Alternative Family Care Programs, today announced the appointment of Marsha Lewis-Akyeem as its new Chief Executive Officer. Lewis-Akyeem succeeds Dr. Jay Berlin, the founder and CEO since 1978, and will be responsible for steering the organization’s growth and development. She will oversee the comprehensive suite of services AFS provides, including foster care, fost-adopt, and vital mental health care, which collectively support approximately 1,500 foster youth, their caregivers, and families across Northern California.
Marsha Lewis-Akyeem, CEO of Alternative Family Services, bringing extensive experience in alternative family care and child welfare to lead the organization.
Lewis-Akyeem brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record in child and family services to Alternative Family Services. Prior to joining AFS, she held a significant role at Victor Community Support Services, a sister program to Victor Treatment Centers, both renowned for serving children across 12 counties in California. Her professional journey also includes a tenure as Service Director at Families First, further solidifying her deep understanding of the landscape of family support and alternative care. Her extensive resume showcases experience across a wide spectrum of service modalities, working in close collaboration with all four key public systems impacting children: Child Welfare, Education, Juvenile Probation, and Children’s Specialty Mental Health Services. This broad experience makes her exceptionally well-suited to lead an organization focused on alternative family care programs.
“It is with immense pride, honor, and humility that I accept the position of CEO at AFS, as appointed by the Board of Directors,” stated Lewis-Akyeem. She emphasized the agency’s long-standing leadership in all facets of child welfare and foster care, recognizing its role as a guiding force for families, young people, and caregivers for almost half a century. “My commitment is to build upon this strong foundation and contribute to the agency’s continued expansion and impact for many years to come. AFS’s enduring principle, ‘All About the Kids,’ will remain at the heart of our mission,” she affirmed.
Dr. Jay Berlin, the retiring founder and CEO, established Alternative Family Services in 1978, evolving it from a foster care program for teenage runaways he initiated at Huckleberry House in San Francisco in 1973. Under his leadership for over four decades, AFS has become a cornerstone of alternative family care in Northern California.
“Witnessing the accomplishments of AFS’s exceptionally dedicated staff and families in empowering our most vulnerable children and youth to build happy, productive, and meaningful lives has been both a humbling and deeply gratifying experience,” reflected Dr. Berlin. He expressed confidence in the future of the organization, stating, “I am certain that under Marsha’s leadership, AFS is in capable hands, and the agency’s vital work will not only continue but flourish.”
