Melody Amaral is our longest serving board member, serving in various board positions during her tenure on the Board of Directors. Her interest in FSN came from her interaction with the agency when she was Unit Manager for Specialized Services at the Regional Center of Orange County. She is also the parent of a child with special needs. Previous to that position she was a Program Manager at Inland Regional Center. Before retirement, Melody was President and CEO of The Carolyn E. Wylie Center for Children, Youth & Families in Riverside serving special needs families in early intervention, childcare, non-public school, autism, school counseling and mental health programs and services. Her professional special interest is in disaster preparedness for special needs families. This includes research published in Progress in Disaster Science and presentations at the American Public Health Association national conference. She currently is on the board of Blindness Support Services where she serves as Treasurer. She holds master’s degrees in social work and a Master of Arts in Management.
