Youth Development Specialist III, Sacramento City Unified School District

Andrea Nava has worked with adolescents and their families in various settings for 15 years.  She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from UC Davis in 2006. She started working as a Human Services Specialist for the Department of Human Assistance in Sacramento, California.  Her work in supporting families with barriers to employment encouraged her to obtain her Master’s Degree in Social Work at Sacramento State University, where she graduated in 2009.  Andrea then started working with Sacramento City Unified School District in the Foster Youth Services Department supporting foster youth in the educational setting and assisting with their transition out of the foster care system.    

Andrea obtained her Pupil Personnel Services Credential in Social Work from San Francisco State University, in 2010. She then served adolescents and families in a Juvenile Justice Diversion and Treatment program providing mental health, case management and resource services to families and youth on probation in efforts to reduce recidivism rate among youth in the probation system. Her work with the Juvenile Justice System and foster youth lead her to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in 2017. 

Andrea currently works with Sacramento City Unified School District as a Youth Development Support Services Specialist III.  She supports with the management of afterschool programming and currently works with 40+ community based organizations to bring enrichment services from music, art, theatre, athletic programs, science programs and mentoring programs to 70 different school sites in Sacramento City Unified School District.  Her experience working within these institutions has led her to engage in social justice empowerment work by advocating and encouraging systemic change, supporting students to become critical thinkers of such systems and support the empowerment of sharing their youth voice.