Group of young people working together

Lead and Learn From the Heart is a partnership between San Diego State University’s (SDSU) School of Social Work Field Education, San Diego Unified School District, Price Philanthropies, Child and Family Well-Being Central Region, and families from the City Heights neighborhood.

The partnership supports a cultural, two-generation model that reinforces positive development for parents and their children. A cornerstone of the project is to provide social emotional learning (SEL) and trauma-informed practices within the schools, provided and supported by ten SDSU School of Social Work graduate student interns.

The three schools participating in the project are Rosa Parks Elementary School, Wilson Middle School, and Monroe Clark Middle School.

SDSU provides a Principal Investigator who supervises the project and acts as a liaison between community partners and the university. SDSU School of Social Work also provides internship oversight and instruction, including training in social emotional learning, restorative practices, and oversight for student intern’s macro projects.

The Rosa Parks Parent Center’s (RPPC) Project Coordinator oversees parent center staff, builds parent capacity, develops parent leadership, provide resources and referrals, and organizes cultural events. Lead & Learn from the Heart’s Project Coordinator is a school social worker who oversees the three participating schools, supervises SEL programs, and works as the field instructor for the SDSU graduate student interns.

Lead & Learn from the Heart organizes Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) workshops.  These workshops are hosted by Lead & Learn from the Heart staff, community families and SDSU graduate student interns.  The workshops support family/school engagement and family social emotional learning.

Our goal is for students and families to  learn and engage in social emotional learning, bridge the achievement gap, maximize parent-child relationships, and maximize life outcomes. All of this would not be possible without their support and participation.

About Our Team

Paul Brazzel

Paul Brazzel, LCSW, PPSC
Principal Investigator

Mr. Brazzel is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. In his current role at San Diego State University, he supports graduate students in the Master of Social Work program in their field internships with a heightened passion for supporting student interns when they are placed in schools. Prior to his work at the university, he served as a school social worker for 15 years in a local school district. During his time in the school district, he worked collaboratively with community based partners and families. Further, he increased the presence of mental health services and Restorative Practices within the district. Mr. Brazzel has a private practice where he supports clients from the community and school social workers working toward their clinical license. When he is not practicing or teaching social work, he enjoys outside activities in beautiful San Diego.

Lauren Hennessy

Lauren Hennessy, LCSW
Project Coordinator

Lauren Hennessy completed her Masters in Social Work at San Diego State University and earned a Pupil Personnel Services Credential in School Social Work from San Jose State University. Prior to joining the Mental Health Resource Center at San Diego Unified School District in 2004, Lauren worked as a clinician in a gamut of child and adolescent mental health facilities, from outpatient settings to residential treatment facilities. For the past 14 years, she has been working as the lead social worker in a collaborative project at several schools in City Heights. As part of this position, she has also been committed to training future social workers by serving as a field instructor for San Diego State University School of Social Work. Lauren believes in the importance of integrating mental health services into the schools where kids and families can most easily access them. Her clinical experiences have only reinforced her belief that children learn best when they feel safe and when their social and emotional needs are being met. Lauren has been able to combine these beliefs and passions as the Project Coordinator for Lead and Learn from the Heart: A Social and Emotional Learning Project.

Soraya Morales

Soraya M. Morales, BSW
Project Coordinator

Soraya Morales graduated from San Diego State University receiving a bachelor’s degree in Social Work. Immediately after graduation she was hired to be part of the City Heights Educational Collaborative, at Rosa Parks Elementary as a School Social Worker. During her two years she excelled in providing services and supports to families, leading to a promotion as the Parent Center Administrator and oversees daily operations. Soraya has more than 12 years of experience with overall management, parent engagement, volunteer leadership, coordination of programs, including academic/cultural events, providing community resources, and community partnership building. She loves to serve the multi-cultural community of City Heights and through the years has enjoyed seeing parents developing into community leaders. In 2016, Soraya received a Special Commendation by District Nine Councilmember, Marti Emerald for her leadership and creating an inclusive space to celebrate the Vietnamese New Year at Rosa Parks Elementary. She enjoys traveling and experiencing other cultures, and is motivated everyday by her husband and their daughter.

Patricia Hodge

Patricia Hodge, MPH
Program Evaluator

Tricia Hodge is the Evaluation Director of College Avenue Compact as well as the Evaluator for Lead and Learn from the Heart (LLFH). Her strong desire to support young people make positive life choices led her to a Masters degree in Public Health from San Diego State University where she studied social science research methods, health promotion, and youth development. Tricia’s earlier accomplishments in evaluation have been interdisciplinary with grants funded at local, state, and federal levels; projects such as early childhood literacy, social-emotional counseling for military-connected youth, and childhood physical activity. Tricia is well-versed in proposal development, strategic planning, building evaluation capacity, data systems, and outcome reporting. Her strong dedication to working with education specialists has provided the following: answering questions to achievement gaps, creating opportunities in postsecondary pathways, and addressing challenges to student success.

Blanca Mancillas

Blanca Mancillas, LCSW, PPSC
School Social Worker
Monroe Clark Middle School

Blanca Mancillas is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who currently works as a School Social Worker at Monroe Clark Middle School. Blanca has been working with the adolescent population for twelve years in school settings. She enjoys connecting with her students, building rapport, and supporting them using a holistic and empathetic approach to address their needs.

Kasandra Blanco

Kasandra Blanco, LCSW, PPSC

Kasandra Blanco serves as a School Social Worker at Wilson Middle School. She earned her Bachelor’s of Arts in Social Work from San Diego State University and her Master’s of Social Work from the Advanced Standing Program at the same institution. Kasandra brings a wealth of experience, having worked with children, youth, and families in mental health clinical settings. Additionally, she has extensive experience working with students across various educational levels, including elementary, middle school, and high school settings. Kasandra believes that every student has the potential to succeed and is dedicated to making a positive impact at every opportunity.

Thu Thong

Thu Tong
Family Outreach Worker
Rosa Parks Parent Center

Thu Tong is currently working as a Parent Outreach Facilitator at Rosa Parks Elementary School. She has over 10 years of experience with family engagement & providing resources for families.

Thu was honored by the Pacific Art Movement – Stories from Little Saigon in 2015 for her contributions and dedication in serving the refugees immigrant in City Heights. She is fluent in both English & Vietnamese. During her free time Thu enjoys gardening, cooking, baking, decorating, sewing and reading.

Leslie Puga, ACSW, PPSC
School Social Worker
Rosa Parks Elementary School