“My parents immigrated from Mexico. My dad was a laborer in the timber industry, and my mom worked for a linen company. I was an ESL student in grade school and the first in my family to go to college.”
Yesenia Jones is the Director of Independent Living at ACC Greenhaven Terrace. She has three small children and a Masters in Social Work from CSUS. She’s done so much for a person who started working at the age of 16.
In 2010, she earned her A.A. degree from Cosumnes River College. Two years later, she got married, and had her first child, Brice.
In 2015, Yesenia started working at ACC Greenhaven Terrace as a Resident Services Manager. Being a mom and working full-time did not dampen her desire for more schooling. In 2015, Yesenia got accepted into Chico State’s online sociology program and had another child, Gia.
“My husband is my greatest support system. We worked as a team to get things done,” she says. Yesenia graduated with her B.A. degree in 2017.
Back at ACC Greenhaven Terrace, Yesenia learned about aging, psycho-social risks within the older adult population, how to conduct crisis interventions and case management skills.
Thirsting for more knowledge, Yesenia enrolled in the Masters of Social Work at CSU Sacramento while continuing to work full-time. Donna Yee, PhD, ACC’s former CEO, was Yesenia’s field instructor. Yesenia worked with ACC’s Bridge to Healthy Families conducting client assessments and planning their care.
In the second year of her Master’s program, ACC’s CEO Darrick Lam, MSW, MBA, became Yesenia’s field instructor. He mentor her on macro topics such as program development, policy, and the business side of non-profit organizations.
“Donna and Darrick didn’t have to do this for me,” says Yesenia. I guess, as trained social workers themselves, that’s what they do.”
Over the years at ACC, Yesenia has learned to be transparent with her residents. “They want to know what’s happening before it happens. I mingle with them constantly” says Yesenia.
Yesenia has also learned to detect changes in behavior, memory, and health status, so she can connect them with resources to help them maintain their independence.
While studying for her Masters degree, Yesenia had her third child, Aria. On May 18, 2019, she graduated with her Masters in Social Work. Her parents attended the ceremony along with her workplace parents Darrick Lam and Donna Yee.
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