FREMONT EATING DISORDER PROGRAM

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Derya Ozes

Derya is a Licensed Marriage Family Therapist. She first earned her Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology from the University of California Davis, Master of Science in Medical Genetics from East Mediterranean University, Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology (MFT) from Golden Gate University and Master of Arts in and Organizational Psychology and Leadership from Golden Gate University in San Francisco. Her passion is in helping individuals and teams make effective decisions that reflect and align with their core values, goals and strengths. 

Clinically, she has direct experience and program oversight of Anxiety Disorders, Autism, Depression, Trauma, Eating Disorders, Parent-Child Relationship Stressors, Couples Counseling, and Life Transitions. 

In leadership roles, she has experience partnering with business leaders and senior management teams to drive strategic direction and organizational development in high performing industries. She particularly is passionate about talent development, team building, coaching, workforce engagement, learning and development, and cross-functional alignment of the organization. 

In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her dog, writing, painting, comedy shows, documentaries, listening to classical and jazz music and spending time with her family.  

NURSE ADMINISTRATOR

Catherine Fruto, RN

Catherine has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Philippine Women’s University. From 2011 to 2017, she maintained a stellar record as a caregiver. With her nursing background, she was able to assist all clients and their medical needs. She was preferred by her clients and their family members for her dependability, compassion, patience, and attentiveness. In 2017, Catherine became a Licensed Vocational Nurse and joined Center for Discovery. In that time, she discovered a passion for the mental health, especially working with adult women. In 2019, Catherine moved into the Nurse Administrator role at the Fremont facility. She is passionate about her work and clients and hopes to continue to grow in leadership and management in her new role.

PROGRAM PHYSICIAN

Mitesh Popat, MD

Dr. Popat has worked at Center for Discovery Fremont since the house opened in June 2012. He greatly enjoys providing interdisciplinary care to clients as they recover from their eating disorders. He believes in the efficacy of teams of clinicians who are trained in different ways to impact peoples’ lives. In caring for clients at CFD, his general approach is one of medical stabilization while engaging in the therapeutic process. He believes understanding the “why” of eating disorder behaviors is critical to recovery and developing more healthy modes of coping with stress and past trauma.

In his work outside of CFD, he works at Marin Community Clinics as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Associate CEO. He is a Board Certified Family Physician with a MD and MPH from Tufts University School of Medicine. After medical school, he served in the O’Connor Hospital/Stanford Family Medicine Residency Program in San Jose. He has worked in India, South Africa, and Honduras with local medical professionals to improve preventive care for patients with chronic disease and to describe the social factors surrounding HIV infection.  He volunteers his time with various organizations, including the American Cancer Society.

Psychiatrist

Ruth Hsu, MD

Dr. Ruth Hsu received her BS in Neuroscience and Psychology from the University of Michigan, and completed her MD at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. After medical school, she completed her residency in Adult Psychiatry at Stanford University where she served as a Chief Resident in her final year of training.

She has a special interest in eating disorders, and enjoys working at Center for Discovery in a collaborative approach with the larger team to address an individual’s interpersonal dynamics, medical complications, psycho-education, behavioral modification, therapeutic needs, and medication management. She also has an understanding and ability to treat a wide range of conditions including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, trauma, addictions, obsessive compulsive disorder, and psychosis.

In addition to her role at Center for Discovery, she works at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in the Emergency Psychiatric Services, as well as The Camden Center located in Menlo Park.

FACILITY MANAGER

Amber Philbeck

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Katherine Kaczor, MBA, RD, CEDRD-S

Katherine has had the pleasure of serving the eating disorder recovery community for a decade. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in human nutrition-dietetics from Winthrop University in 2009, and went on to complete her dietetic internship through the University of Minnesota, which was the nation’s first eating disorder-focused dietetic internship program. Since obtaining her registered dietitian credential, Katherine has dedicated her career to helping patients find fun in food again while challenging the damaging diet mentality that disrupts the body’s natural internal wisdom and assists new clinicians in doing the same for their patients. She has had the honor of working in treatment centers throughout the nation, supporting both adults and adolescents in all levels of care. To add to her expertise, Katherine completed the requirements for the Certified Eating Disorder Registered Dietitian and Supervisor credential through the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals and the Intuitive Eating Counselor certification through Intuitive Eating Pros. Katherine has a passion for making treatment centers the best they can be for both patients and the dedicated staff who provide them care. This inspired Katherine to complete her Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree with an emphasis on healthcare management from Fitchburg State University to better understand the operations side of the treatment world. Katherine has a reputation for developing out-of-the-box solutions and finding ways to celebrate, even in the most stressful times. When not at work, Katherine enjoys traveling the world with her husband and helping him with his epic cactus garden.

PRIMARY THERAPIST

Amy Hartman

Amy is a primary therapist at Center for Discovery in Fremont. Amy’s clinical interests include navigating depression, anxiety and trauma through body-based approaches, supporting women of all ages going through major life transitions, and working with folks that identify as highly sensitive and/or neurodivergent. Amy’s work is grounded in various somatically-focused modalities, attachment theory, emotionally-focused theory and play therapy. Prior to joining Center for Discovery, Amy completed her Masters in Social Work (MSW) degree at the University of Maryland and spent a decade working in local government and various non-profit organizations focused on racial and environmental justice. Amy received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, where she studied women’s studies and government and politics, with a certificate in LGBT Studies. In her free time, she loves practicing and teaching yoga, gardening, hiking and spending time with her cat, Stella.