SEASON 2, EPISODE 8*
Right now, it’s Mental Health Month, and I could not think of a more important way to wrap the month than talking with someone who runs an established mental health agency in Southern California.
I don’t know about you, but if you are like me, you are probably wondering what happens with the unaccompanied minors who have found their way to the land of the free and the home of the brave, right? And how does one cope when they’ve experienced trauma but cannot afford the professional help they need to start the healing process?
Let me introduce you to my next guest because she’s going to educate us about all of this and more.
Teddie Valenzuela is the Executive Director of Amanacer Community Counseling Service in Los Angeles. She’s a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has been at Amanacer for more than 20 years starting as a therapist and currently serving as Executive Director.
We’re going to unpack her journey over the course of this conversation and you’ll be inspired by what Teddie has been able to accomplish over the years in her different positions.
*A couple corrections:
The big Lincoln head on the side of the road is in Laramie, Wyoming, not Lincoln, Nebraska. Oops! Here’s a link so you can see the big head for yourself: https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/8450
“Nacer” in Spanish does mean “to be born”; however, Amanecer is spelled differently and, though the word could be related to birth, it means “dawn.”
🎧 Click here to listen to this episode:
About Teddie Valenzuela
Teddie Valenzuela is the Executive Director at Amanecer Community Counseling Service, a non-profit organization in Los Angeles. She currently oversees program development, daily operations and management of Quality Assurance Director, Adult and Children’s Directors and their programs.
Ms. Valenzuela has over 20 years of experience as a professional manager, starting as Program Manager at McKinley Children’s Center, a residential facility in San Dimas. She implemented and oversaw Children’s System of Care program at Amanecer for several years before promoted to Children’s Clinic Program Director. Where she implemented several program expansions with Department of Mental Health (DMH) and Department of Children and Family Service (DCFS) contracts.
The expansion of programs lead to leadership expansion, in which Teddie promoted to Chief Program Officer. Under her leadership, she has written several requests for proposal (RFP) for Children, Adult clinics and Domestic Violence programs to secure funding and expand programs to services the Pico Union population.
Ms. Valenzuela was very instrumental working collaboratively with National Council of Behavioral Health and ensuring that Amanecer was certified as a trauma-informed agency. Today, Ms. Valenzuela is leading the agency to the next steps of growth for Amanecer to service the community needs.
🔗 Connect with Amanecer Community Counseling Services:
- Website: www.amanecerla.org
- Donate: https://amanecerla.org/donate/
- Facebook: Amanecer Community Counseling Service
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/amanecerla
- YouTube: Amanecer Community Counseling Service
- Twitter: amanecerla
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/amanecer-community-counseling
🙌 Connect with Teddie Valenzuela
Executive Director
Amanecer Community Counseling Service
1200 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 90017
☎ 213-416-1149
📱 626-533-9016
Email: tvalenzuela@amanecerla.org
