Dr. Freda Rossi is the current Director of Mental & Behavioral Health and Apprenticeship Programs in the Educator Preparation Programs in the Santa Clara County Office of Education. In her current capacity, she leads the development of diverse school-based mental health and wellness workforce pipeline for high needs districts throughout Santa Clara County. She has also served as Director of Wellness Programs within the Youth Health & Wellness Department overseeing the county’s Wellness Centers and providing technical assistance to districts in the implementation of Wellness Centers in the county. Prior to this role, Dr. Rossi served as Director of Wellness & Inclusion for the Oxnard Union High School District. In that role, Dr. Rossi, led the launch of ten Wellness Centers throughout the ten high schools with a staff of 28 Wellness Specialists and support staff in the 2021-2022 SY; opening these centers right after the pandemic to bring valuable mental health and wellness programs and services to students, families and school community. Dr. Rossi’s leadership in the area of Wellness was recognized by the Partnership for a Healthy Ventura with the Health Champions Award in 2021 and the Grand Jury of Ventura in 2022. In addition to her leadership in the area of wellness and school-based mental health, Dr. Rossi led the district’s Inclusivity Taskforce to promote, foster and develop inclusivity practices and policies in the district; with a specific focus on inclusion of LGBTQIA+ students, families and staff.
Prior to her work in OUHSD, Dr. Rossi led family engagement in the Santa Monica-Malibu USD. In that role, Dr. Rossi led several initiatives to build capacity amongst parent advisory groups to address issues of equity impacting traditionally marginalized communities: English learners, Latinx and Black|African-American students and their families. Dr. Rossi developed and led capacity-building-leadership training for parents to engage in the educational system and created a forum for advocacy and accountability. She was recognized by the SMMUSD PTA Council with an Administrator Award in 2021 specifically for providing services during the school closures in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dr. Rossi has served the CA public school system for 29 years. She began her career as a traveling Art & Art History teacher through LA County’s Alternative Education Division, where she used Art to work with students in Homeless Shelters and Juvenile Court Schools. She integrated the Arts in a Pilot Program through Alternative Education to allow for students an opportunity to share their lived experience through Art and Poetry as a way of healing and personal advocacy. Dr. Rossi has led several initiatives in her career that have served to bring culturally-responsive practices to districts. In Lynwood USD, Dr. Rossi started the district’s first Dual Immersion Program (Spanish/English) to promote multilingualism and culturally-responsive teaching and learning.
In addition to her leadership in K-12 system, Dr. Rossi has served as adjunct professor in several teacher credentialing programs and administrator credentialing programs. Most recently Dr. Rossi co-authored a course in the Administrator Credential Program at Mount St. Mary’s University titled Resiliency in Leadership. The course was developed to incorporate contemplative practices for those seeking a career in administration in public school setting. Dr. Rossi has served as adjunct faculty for the past 12 years. When Dr. Rossi is not working as a change agent in K-12 settings, she enjoys silent meditation retreats, salsa dancing, traveling and spending time with her family. She is the daughter of Aurora and David Rossi and first generation college-graduate. She is fluent in Spanish and enjoys a good laugh.
