Vanessa Perez was hired on 6/1/20 as a Case Manager II for the CYMTHA program (which Hilltop is the sole provider of such services in the entire state of Colorado.) Vanessa holds A BA in Criminal Justice and Sociology as well as a minor in Sociology. Vanessa, in the short six months she has been employed, has surpassed the outcome measures in the prior 18 months to her arrival. She has created a Family Systems Handbook, a training manual for staff (to train a back-up and her replacement if that ever happens.) She has developed relationships with seven Social Security Offices (SSO), including a Regional Manager, who has approval to train all SSO’s in the state of Colorado, with the training PowerPoint Vanessa developed on the CYMTHA program (this is no easy feat, SSO’s offices are very guarded, hard to reach, not transparent – especially during COVID.) Vanessa, as well, has developed a parent handbook. She is well regarded/respected by the office of Behavior Health, who are extremely complimentary of Vanessa’s work. There have been no SSI or Medicaid denials during Vanessa tenure. She carries a caseload of 25 families. She attends quarterly clinical care meetings and advisory meetings at a state level. She has developed relationships with multiple Residential Care facilities, the new CYMTHA liaisons, RMHP’s, and Beacon Health options. Vanessa is bi-lingual, this has proved to be an essential skill for assuring cultural competency and reducing barriers, to those she supports. Under Vanessa’s leadership the CYMTHA has grown to new heights, this program would not be what it is today without her skills and talents. Vanessa strongly believes in developing relationships, she has used care and candor in building relationships as evidenced by the connections she has made with SSO’s across the state. She is a woman of integrity, honoring her commitments not only to those she serves, but to the disability community of Grand Junction, for which Vanessa singlehandedly worked with the Park and Rec Department, City Council, and others business’s in our community to raise the funds for a wheelchair accessible swing, Hilltop, assisted in this endeavor by supporting the Go to Fund necessary for donations, to ensure/ enhance inclusivity for those with disabilities. Vanessa’s courage and belief in inclusivity has led to raising enough dollars to purchase the swing. Vanessa engages in in ongoing growth opportunities, even getting certified as an adult SSI Outreach Access and Recovery staff, she has more certificates then I can name. Vanessa enjoys laughter, her dog, and is an active. member of the Faith Community. Vanessa has built the CYMTHA program autonomously! She demonstrates our Hilltop values every day and in everything she does.