Teen Esteem is a 501c3 non-profit organization that was founded in 1994 out of a desire to empower young people with tools for making informed choices, avoiding the lure of risky behaviors that can lead to a path with lifelong threats to their well-being.
For 25 years, Teen Esteem has engaged students (K-12), parents, school administrators, law enforcement, counselors, physicians and a range of community members.  Through these ongoing interactions Teen Esteem keeps a current pulse on relevant challenges facing today’s youth and their parents.

TE MESSAGE:

Teen Esteem’s dynamic, relevant presentations address today’s challenges students & parents face in school and at home.  Our message to students is that everyone deserves to be treated with respect, no one is disposable; everyone is unique and has value.
“Teen Esteem changed the way my friends and I look at parties and ‘being cool’ in high school. Although the ‘red solo cups’ may get the most short-term attention… it’s the ‘tea cups’ that receive the long-term respect.
Whenever there’s a party you see many tweets ranging from people saying ‘don’t forget to remain tea cups ladies’ to ‘wow, lots of red solo cups tonight #respectyourself’. Seeing these tweets causes me to constantly evaluate my actions and hold myself up to high standards to remain a tea cup!”

- High School Student

TE TEAM: Staff, Speakers & mascot Jake

Teen Esteem is a team of passionate individuals who care about young people and their families.
With a small staff, Teen Esteem speaks to thousands of young people and their parents every year, while diligently maintaining trusted relationships with teachers, administrators, and parents as we deliver our message in schools and throughout communities.

Our trained speakers speak in classrooms, at assemblies, at parent ed events, at community events and contribute to our ever evolving curriculum.
HEAR FROM OUR SPEAKERS!
Teen Esteem is comprised of an accomplished group of board members and advisory board members from the community:

Linda Turnbull, Executive Director

Linda is the Founder and Executive Director of Teen Esteem. Since 1994, she and her team have developed educational programs for youth and their parents. These programs focus on educating, equipping, and empowering young people to make well-informed choices guided by respect for self and others. Her close relationships with students, parents, school administrators, community leaders, and health care professionals have provided Linda with extensive knowledge on this subject matter, allowing her to provide relevant and current programs impacting the community as a whole. Linda sits on numerous Tri-Valley service committees and is a sought after speaker, addressing challenges young people face in today’s ever-changing youth culture.

Chris Crawford, Board Member

Chris is a diversified senior executive with almost 30 years of senior financial, business/operations and acquisition/divestiture experience. He is the founder and president of ClearPath Business Advisors, which he established in 2000. He has held roles as Chief Financial Officer, General Manager, Director of New Business Evaluation and In-House Legal Counsel.  He is an inactive member of the Oregon Bar and is an inactive Oregon CPA. Chris is also on the board of directors and the treasurer of another non-profit organization working to prevent the re-trafficking of trafficking victims in the Philippines. Chris, the parent of two teen-aged daughters, joined the Teen Esteem board after seeing how effective the Teen Esteem program is in the classroom.

Terese Juntz, Board Member

Terese is a chief human resources officer with operations and board experience.  She is a market aware strategist with a history of guiding organizations to outstanding levels of performance.  She has held positions of increasing responsibility for 30 years – almost 20 years at global technology companies and 10+ years at one of the largest nonprofit senior living companies in the U.S. Terese has two teen-aged daughters who have had positive experiences from Teen Esteem assembly and classroom presentations at their middle school and high school.  Terese joined Teen Esteem because she has a heart for helping teens avoid risky behavior, grow in self-esteem, and make good choices that will launch them toward realizing the future to which they aspire.

Nick Vleisides, Board Member

Nick serves in the community as a chaplain for Community Chaplain Resources.  He is a chaplain with the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, San Ramon Police Department, Danville Police Department and the Office of the Contra Costa County Sheriff.  Nick currently sits on the Contra Costa County Suicide Prevention Committee and is a member of the San Ramon Valley Heartsafe Committee.  Nick is passionate about the work Teen Esteem does because he sees firsthand the devastation resulting from drugs, alcohol, prescription drug abuse and suicide. He knows that Teen Esteem has an accurate pulse on the issues facing teens today; and recognizes the positive impact Teen Esteem is making on youth and how it is saving lives.

Susan Eakin, Board Member

Susan Eakin is a senior consultant with Decker Communications focusing on transforming executive leader’s ability to lead, inspire and coach their own teams to create an open, participatory environment. A respected leader, teacher and coach, Susan was instrumental in the success of two non-profit organizations. She established the foundations, implemented the leadership processes and managed teams of 80+ people to help grow both organizations from the ground up. As a mother of three, two who are teens, she wants kids to know their value and live to the full extent of their potential and is excited to be part of the Teen Esteem board.

John Rogers, Board Member

John is the principle and owner of a mortgage banking firm with over 30 years’ experience in the mortgage industry. He is a respected leader who also serves on another board that focuses its outreach in local and regional areas. John has been married for 27 years and has three children. While raising his three teens, John developed a passion for youth after seeing firsthand the struggles and stresses they are facing today. He is a highly visible speaker for Teen Esteem and is convinced that the Teen Esteem message is the road map to making good choices and keeping students on track to achieve their goals and dreams.