M-A Fund-a-Need
This year our "fund-a-need" will support the PAWS (Peace and Wellness Space) coordinator position. Shionda Nickerson is M-A"s Mental Health Support Specialist and oversees the school-based mental health services. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been working in the social work/mental health field for 14 years. Prior to coming to M-A, she worked at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford where she worked with children with cancer and their families. This is Shionda's 6th year at M-A and, during her time here, she helped revamp what school-based mental health services look like at M-A, was instrumental in creating the wellness center (previously the Zen Den and now PAWS), created the Wellness Youth Council, and was a huge advocate for bringing Ginger, SUHSD's wellness dog, to M-A. Joanna is the PAWS Coordinator who oversees PAWS. She is the frontline of PAWS, welcoming students into the space (PAWS averages about 100 students per day including brunch and lunch times), triaging and connecting students with services, navigating staff and parents who come into the space needing support for a student and managing and restocking supplies. PAWS does not open without Joanna. A SUHSD alumnus (Woodside High School), Joanna earned a B.A. in Psychology from SFSU and pursued a job in a school setting. Joanna is passionate about advocating for children's mental health and hopes to focus on supporting underprivileged students in the future. Through collaboration with mental health professionals and school administrators, she works to create a safe space where students feel comfortable expressing their emotions and accessing resources.
