Mentoring for Success Staff

Laurie Vargas-Zeuschner, M.S., PPSC is a Wellness Counselor with experience in the areas of advocacy, program management & coordination, mental health, consultation, and case management. Ms. Vargas-Zeuschner has assisted in the development and implementation of counseling activities as well as providing professional development on a variety of topics and has coordinated the program since 2010.

Gabby Theobold-Anderson, LCSW, PPSC joined our program in 2023 as our second District Coordinator. Gabby comes to us with a wealth of experience from Hillcrest Elementary school, where she was not only a school social worker, but also a Site Coordinator for Mentoring for Success.

As the District Coordinators for Mentoring for Success, Laurie and Gabby are responsible for training and supporting the site-based coordinators; developing outreach and training events for mentors; linking to community partners, program evaluators, and disseminating evaluation findings.

At each of our partner schools, there is an MFS Site Coordinator. This person is typically the School Social Worker or Wellness Coordinator. The role of the Site Coordinator is to recruit and orient mentors along with student mentees. They host Monthly Activities as well as provide Match Support to mentors and/or mentees. 

Each MFS Site Coordinator is responsible for obtaining the consent of family members and maintaining a spreadsheet of all participants. Site Coordinators have been trained in all aspects of the Mentoring for Success program.

In partnership with Healthy Choices AmeriCorps, members assist the Site Coordinators at select partner schools with the programmatic running of Mentoring for Success. Under the direct supervision of the Site Coordinator, Healthy Choices AmeriCorps members participate in the orientation and ongoing match support that is provided.