Vanessa Leach, NATSAP Excellence in Service Award Recipient

The Southwest Regional NATSAP Conference was held in St. George this past weekend.  Our very own Vanessa Leach received the Excellence in Service Award. Each program was able to nominate a direct care staff and Vanessa is one of two people that received this award.
Vanessa started at Sunrise seven years ago as a youth mentor.  She shined in the ability to give excellent care to the students.  It quickly became apparent that she was able to connect with the girls on a personal level that encouraged deep lasting change. Over that past seven years she has served as a youth mentor, shift supervisor, and the residential manager over one of the communities of girls at Sunrise. Vanessa has phenomenal processing skills that facilitate the girls to do internal exploration in making significant changes. One of the things Vanessa is well known for at Sunrise is her ability to individualize her approach to meet the specific needs of each girl.  We love her witty attitude and her warmth and openness when dealing with not only the students but the parents and staff at Sunrise. She is extremely organized and has strong leadership qualities.
Along with working at Sunrise, Vanessa has a wonderful husband and two boys that keep her busy.  You can almost always catch her with a book in hand about self-growth – she is passionate about art, specifically drawing.  Vanessa is the perfect person to receive this award because of her service throughout the years. We are extremely proud of her and excited she was recognized for the great work she does at Sunrise.