For the first quarter of FY21 we would like to recognize Jennifer Decker for Living the Mission of CHOICES. Jennifer is an amazing cheerleader for CHOICES and an encourager of staff! Her light and happy demeanor make her a joy to be around. Her empathy and compassion is so genuine that it is contagious and humbling.
Jennifer excels in both her roles at CHOICES as our referral coordinator and as a therapist. She also does an amazing job connecting to kids and families. When you interact with her, you know that she is ready to walk alongside you to bring change. This is reassuring for anyone making a referral to CHOICES for mental health services. Jennifer is a vocal advocate for social justice and has an unwavering stance on equality for all of her clients. She works hard to individualize therapy interventions with youth and to offer rewards for progress made. Jennifer typically maps out her whole plan, including cost, before requesting donation funds.
Jennifer breathes life and excitement into all CHOICES activities. You will know when she is in the office, as you will hear her infections laugh as she offers salutations to all of her coworkers. She is always willing to offer suggestions to staff on therapy interventions, offer encouragement during difficult times, and work on any agency focused activity. Jennifer has been a huge asset in helping the independent living staff with the mental health referral process. Whether she is communicating with staff or community families, she is persistent and professional and is willing to follow up multiple times to obtain information that is needed.
We call her CHOICES cheerleader extraordinaire! She believes in the work, mission, and core values and never shies away from encouraging everyone to embrace each of them. Her kindness puts families at ease; her ability to be silly and relate to kids makes it easy for her to build rapport and trust. Jennifer is best known as “the lady with the frog necklace” to many of her youth. We love her boundless encouragement, creativity and love for all things CHOICES.
Jennifer is a “good egg” with an amazing heart, spending just 10 minutes with her will make you want to do the best you can in life! We believe that every agency should have their own Jenn, but you can’t have ours…we aren’t giving her up!
