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.

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.

Bob Dillow, Board Member

Bob is a retired business owner, married with two sons and a grandson. A fundamental belief in education as the way up to a better life, Bob got an BA and MBA and numerous certifications. Along the way he became passionate about helping kids make good choices through his volunteer work and youth group leadership including Boy Scouts. His presentations on Effective Parenting helped dads lead their kids to become healthy adults. A big believer in education on life skills and character, Bob sees Teen Esteem as a real asset to our youth and their parents.

​Kathleen Houssels, Board Member

Kathleen is a senior executive with over 20 years of strategy, investment, and leadership experience.  She is the founder of Aspire Ten25, a firm focused on helping families build enduring legacies, and the former Global Chief Investment Officer of AXA Rosenberg Investment Management. She is on the Board of the Consortium for Data Analytics in Risk (CDAR) at UC Berkeley. As a mother of four young boys, she is passionate about equipping students and parents to make good life decisions and believes Teen Esteem provides the tools families desperately need.