2023 Teacher-Counselors of the Year Recognized on Opening Day
On Aug. 11, PEP’s 450+ staff members came together at Whiskey Island Marina in Cleveland to celebrate opening day and to recognize the 2023 teacher-counselors of the year. This celebration has been a long tradition at PEP, and is a chance to reunite after a summer off (for Day Treatment Center staff), get to know new team members, and to reconnect with colleagues from the entirety of the organization.
The event is also an opportunity to recognize the contributions of some of PEP’s most dedicated and talented staff during the teacher-counselor of the year awards ceremony. At PEP, all employees, whether in the classroom or not, are considered teacher-counselors – individuals who can build meaningful and healing connections with kids. Each year PEP staff vote for a member of their team who exemplifies the attributes of a teacher-counselor, as described by Nicholas Hobbs, architect of PEP’s founding philosophy known as Re-ED. As described in his 1982 book, The Troubled and Troubling Child:
“a teacher-counselor is a decent adult…with a sense of the significance of time, of the usefulness of today and the promise of tomorrow; a person of hope, quiet confidence, and joy; one who has committed himself to children and to the proposition that children who are disturbed can be helped by the process of reeducation.”
In addition, PEP also recognizes two outstanding leaders with Excellence in Leadership awards, one in a service role and the other in a support role. These recipients are also nominated by their peers. Congratulations to all of the 2023 winners.
2023 Teacher-Counselors of the Year
- Dana Anger, PEP Eastwood
- Yolanda Johnson, PEP Greenview
- Pam Walker, PEP Hopewell
- Taylor Banks, PEP Phoenix
- Matt Silvestro, PEP Prentiss
- Megan McKay, PEP Willow Creek
- Chesa Sevastopoulos, PEP Connections
- Mary Roche, PEP Connections
- Margie Juresic, Central Office
Excellence in Leadership Service
- Jill Koenig, Program Director, PEP Connections
Excellence in Leadership Support
- Mary Bonamer, Clinical Coordinator, PEP
Pictures from the Event