EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/THERAPIST/OPAC & PAC FACILITATOR

Email: robert@fara4kids.org

Robert Miller is the founder and Executive Director of FARA. Robert’s passions are his faith, wife, and kids. When he gets time, he enjoys golfing on the Oregon Coast. Robert received a master’s degree in social work from the University of Arizona. Robert has facilitated parenting & domestic violence classes for the last six years. Robert works with children, couples, families, and men who struggle with any number of issues in life. He is passionate about helping individuals become empowered, educated, and able to be equipped to reach for their dreams. Robert is a person-centered therapist and facilitator and believes that we all have a past and a story that matters and molds us into who we are today. The hope is, that we don’t have to let that past determine our future successes.

OFFICE MANAGER

Email: candy@fara4kids.org

Candice is our Office Manager, overseeing all major logistical needs of the agency. This role facilitates the possibility for FARA to provide critical services to the community. Candice recently retired from her twenty years of service as a cook for the Mountain Top Retreat Center for Applegate Christian Fellowship. where she facilitated retreats ranging in size from 14-140 people, She dearly loved that ministry which involved interacting and serving people and fellowship with others and the Lord. She enjoys planting flowers and caring for her 80-year old Dad. She has 3 children, 9 grandchildren, and 5 great-grandchildren. She is thriving in her new position at FARA where she loves to encourage those in a difficult place.

OPAC PROGRAM MANAGER

Email: abby@fara4kids.org

Abby Sanchez is the Program Manager for OPAC. She received her Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Northwest Christian University and plans to attend a Masters program starting in the fall. Abby is passionate about being a wife and mother to her husband and three children. She enjoys spending quality time with her family while hiking, camping, and having family dinners.

OPAC ASSOCIATE

Email: amee@fara4kids.org

Amee works along side Abbie as a program associate for OPAC. She comes from a background of caring for children with being the oldest sibling of 7, running an in-home daycare for many years, and now having 3 little girls of her own. In her free time she loves to spend time with her family, care for her plants, and be out in the sun!

FARA4YOUTH PROGRAM MANAGER/MEN’S OPAC CO-FACILITATOR

Email: alvaro@fara4kids.org

Alvaro Ortega (AKA Al) is the FARA4YOUTH program manager and an Outgrowing Power, Anger, and Control (OPAC) facilitator. FARA holds a special place in Al’s heart as he was Robert Miller’s commuting buddy while they attended the university together. During that time Al and Robert had many conversations of a program that would meet people where they are at. In those conversations FARA was born. Al graduated from the College of Education at the University of Oregon with his Bachelor of Arts degree in Family and Human Services. Fast Forward to the present, when an opportunity came open to be a part of the team at FARA, Al could not be more thankful and delighted to join. Before joining FARA, Al spent 5 years working for a local Relief Nursery, working closely with high-risk families and children as a Bus Driver, Home Visitor, and Early Childhood Teacher in a therapeutic classroom. Al aspires to inspire families to be an agent of change for themselves by being understanding, empathetic, and encouraging as they are going through the “stormy” seasons in their life. Al is the father of two pre-teen daughters with whom he shares custody. While spending time with his daughters they enjoy being “fan-people” meaning they are avid fans of comics, books, Star Wars, Disney, and the Wizarding World. If you know you know. On top of nerd bonding, Al enjoys doing all the PNW stuff like hiking, camping, and river days. Al enjoys pretty much anything comedic from lighthearted humor to the “less tasteful” comedy. Al lives behind the motto of “There is always something to smile about.”

SAFE AT HOME PROGRAM MANAGER

Email: tina@fara4kids.org

Tina comes to Safe at Home with a degree in Sociology and over 15 years of experience working with individuals and families, many of those years with families in crisis. For over 6 years, Tina worked with men being released from prison, who were attempting to turn around their lives and be free from their substance use while remaining out of jail. She worked locally with the County Developmental Disability Program, where she coordinated services and support for children with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities. Though, it was during her time at Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) Child Welfare as a permanency worker, that saw firsthand the trauma children experience when separated from their families. Tina brings with her a depth of empathy and compassion to her work. Meeting individuals and families where they are at makes engagement with and support for families served much more attainable. As FARA states, “Without Connection, There Can Be No Influence”. Tina has been married to her husband Samuel for over 20 years, has three grown children, and TOO MANY dogs! She enjoys spending her time working on her property, travelling with her husband, spending time with her children.

SAFE AT HOME FAMILY ADVOCATE

Email: debra@fara4kids.org

She is the proud parent of two children. Her son is the CNO of a behavioral hospital, and her daughter and her husband are currently stationed in Germany with the Air Force.

Debra retired from teaching after 28 years in Montana. She primarily taught 5th grade but also spent 8 years as a special education teacher. She loved teaching and being with the children. “Each and every one brought something to my life.”

After retiring, Debra and her sister moved to Arizona to be near their parents. Within a short time, her parents' health deteriorated, and they moved in with her. She became their caregiver for five years. Shortly after they passed, COVID hit, and Debra decided to move back home. Unfortunately, the price of housing was skyrocketing, making it impossible to return. So, she and her sister looked for alternatives and settled on Oregon. Having visited Oregon before and loved it, they took a trip to explore the state and determine where they wanted to settle. They happened upon Roseburg and immediately felt it was home. Within a year of that trip, they had purchased a lovely home and settled in.

Now, three years later, Debra found herself wanting to be with children again. She started by volunteering and soon began looking for a part-time job. By chance, my neighbor introduced me to Robert Miller, and I soon had an interview.

Three interviews later Robert introduced her to Tina Temple, Director of Safe At Home,  and she hired Debra to be her Family Advocate. She enjoys her time with Tina, the FARA staff, all the families and other Family Providers. She has been blessed and hopes to continue to serve Tina and the Safe At Home families.

OFFICE ASSOCIATE

Email: erica@fara4kids.org

Erica started out as a volunteer with FARA and is now on staff as an Office Associate. Erica graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences and a minor in Spanish. She spent a few years as a Research Assistant at OHSU before heading to an orphanage in Mexico as a missionary. At this orphanage for handicapped children, she spent 8 months in a School of Discipleship, and then became a staff member for several years where she enjoyed taking care of the daily needs of 17 handicapped children. The orphanage is also where she met her husband, Robert. Erica has 3 children, 3 step-children, and 6 step-grandchildren. She spent several years homeschooling their children. She loves to spend time volunteering in various ministries. Some of her favorite pastimes include spending time with family, hiking, camping, walking along the beach, working out, family game nights and doing puzzles.

YOUTH ADVOCATE/GRANT WRITER

Email: sam@fara4kids.org

Sam Temple is the new Resource Associate and member of the Youth Crisis Team for Family Faith and Relationship Associates (FARA). Sam comes from 10 years working in social services including 6 ½ years in prison education and 2 years with Adapt Integrated Health largely working with the crisis and mobile crisis teams. Prior to working in social services Sam spent 15 years behind a grill as a line cook and sous-chef. Sam is also a published poet and spent time as a reporter for the News-Review. Sam has been married for 20 years to Tina Temple. Together they had a blended family and all of their children have grown and are out of the house and self-sufficient. Sam and Tina have 5 Basset Hounds, 1 Bloodhound, 1 rescue Rotty mix, and a cat, all living in the hills around Willis Creek on a property they lovingly call Houndberry Homestead.

BILLING COORDINATOR/BOOKKEEPER

Flower was born and raised in Oregon, though her family hails from Wisconsin and Montana, giving her a unique accent. Raised in a multicultural home, part Japanese and part American. From 1993 to 2001, Flower was a houseless youth, surviving by couch-hopping and sleeping in trees. From 2003 to 2020, she was a stay-at-home mom, running a small recipe business and a summer art booth. After her daughter graduated, Flower pursued an education, earning an Associate of Science in Business Management with high honors in June 2024, proving to herself that she is "book smart." Flower is the proud mother of, Freedom, her daughter, who is now grown and out of the house. Though empty nesting has been challenging, she finds peace through painting, singing, playing guitar, creating miniature origami, traveling, collecting records, and Disney. To recharge, Flower visits two favorite spots: the second lookout above Toketee Lake, offering stunning views and rock-hounding opportunities, and Bob Creek on the Oregon Coast, where she enjoys searching for sea glass and agates. Now, as FARA’s Billing Coordinator, Flower feels her life has come full circle. She is grateful to be part of a team that heals the community, fulfilling her passion to help others. Being part of the FARA family has truly made her feel at home.

“I told Robert when we first met, that my passion is to help others, in any way possible, and being a member of the FARA family has allowed me to do just that. I am grateful, blessed, and feel as though I have found my people and place in the world.”

GRAPHIC DESIGNER/SOCIAL MEDIA

Email: brooklyn@fara4kids.org

Brooklyn has been married to her husband Nicholas for over 8 years and together they have three beautiful girls. When she isn't working at FARA you can find her working in children's ministry at Journey church or chasing her two girls around. She fills her free time with trying new recipes, DIY-ing all the things, traveling and the occasional concert.

EVENT PLANNER

Email: mikayla@fara4kids.org

Mikayla, a mother of two sons, has been happily married to her husband Ryan for over six years. It was Jeff Paschall, a FARA board member and Mikayla’s pastor, who first introduced her to FARA. Mikayla started as a receptionist at FARA, a role she held for nearly two years before moving into the position of event coordinator. With five years of experience in the hospitality industry, she takes pride in the community connections fostered by FARA's welcoming environment.

FRONT OFFICE VOLUNTEER

Doris volunteers a few hours a week in the front office helping with assembling packets, filing, shredding, etc. Her background is in education, having received her bachelor’s degree from Utah State University. Most of the years her children were at home she substitute taught in grades K-9. The rest of her career was at Joseph Lane Middle School in Roseburg, where she taught English and geography and then served as a counselor, before retiring in 1999. Since then she has had opportunity to travel overseas, do prison ministry and short-term missions trips.

Doris and her late husband were married 50 years, had two sons, two daughters, seven grandchildren, and 5 bonus grandchildren. She also enjoys the outdoors, hiking, kayaking, gardening, canning, reading, sudoku and spending time with friends and family. Her passion is to grow in her love of God and others.

VOLUNTEER EXTRAORDINAIRE

In 1997, Tamie started her career in Property Management as a live on-site Apartment Community Manager, in Roseburg Oregon. This gave her the opportunity to work and still be with her 3 small children. In 2001 Tamie was promoted to the position of Area Manager, overseeing several Apartment Communities and their staff. From 2003-2021 her career involved more traveling throughout Northern and Southern Oregon in which she held positions of Office Manager, Property Manager Assistant, Property Director, and Compliance Specialist. In Tamie’s 24.5 years of experience in Property Management she was trained in Fair Housing, Landlord Tenant Law, Basic and advanced Property Management skills, and working with difficult people. She holds Certifications in Affordable Housing programs for LIHTC, HUD, Rural Development, and HOME. Working in this field gave Tamie the opportunity to work with the Community and Agencies in order to provide safe and affordable housing for those in need. In 2021 Tamie was able to retire and become a volunteer for FARA, in order to give back and continue to work with the community. Retirement has also allowed her to have more time for gardening, caring for her animals, serve in ministries, and take adventures with her husband.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” – Colossians 3:23-24

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER/MEDIA TECH

Email: benjamin@fara4kids.org

Benjamin Steffensen (Ben) is helping as a peer mentor for our new FARA 4 youth crisis program while also running the FARA website and social medias. Currently he is part time because he is going to UCC to complete an associates degree and hopes to transfer eventually. In his free time he likes playing sports with friends and watching football (Go Hawks!).