Tessa

Tessa has nine years of social work experience and helps Alta California Regional Center run smoothly through office management. She is a role model for her team and is happy to provide support to staff. She serves the community

Tessa began her career at Summitview Child and Family Services in 2014 after obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Minor in Criminal Justice. During her time in school, she worked as a professional nanny and boasts years of childcare experience. At Summitview, she helped sexually exploited youth and it solidified her desire to make a difference in people’s lives who had unfortunate experiences. She continued working to better the community by taking on a role at Turning Point in 2017. She realized that she could serve as support for people who work in the field and sought out Alta California Regional Center (ACRC).

She started at ACRC in 2021 as an Office Supervisor where she provides the vital support needed for the regional center to run smoothly. Tessa manages office assistants and together, they process intake forms and update information that is necessary for Service Coordinators to know and have accessible so they can support clients on their caseloads. Tessa has first-hand experience of seeing how intricate it can be managing the system behind the scenes, and so she respects the work that goes into office supervision as its integral to the client intake process. Tessa’s favorite part of her job is working with her team and ensuring clients get the services they need.

Outside of ACRC, Tessa is a Children’s and Youth Advocate at Roberts Family Development Center, a local foundation that provides children a safe place to attend after school. Tessa works with Roberts to provide one on one sessions to children who need additional mentoring. Children’s advocacy is something she is very passionate about, so Tessa values being able to engage with and give back to the community.

Women’s History Month is important for Tessa because she believes it is important to educate children on the strength women have and their accomplishments. She feels honored to be a part of an amazing community of women, at work and outside of work. As a mother of three boys, ages 17, 15, and 4, Tessa wants to teach her children and young girls that women and girls are to be respected and can accomplish anything they set their mind to.