Patti

At Learning to Thrive, Patti serves as the Director of the Tailored Day Service program. She oversees all things related to the coaching and support of adult clients of Alta California Regional Center and program participants at Learning to Thrive pursuing education and jobs. They are dedicated to empowering individuals on their journey to meaningful employment, helping them hone their skills to better serve their career goals.

Patti had an unconventional start into the world of direct support and social work. Her experience started with organic farming, where she would teach neighboring farmers how to transition into organic growing and cultivation. Realizing that she had a passion for coaching and helping people, Patti decided to apply for a position at Aim Higher, which also provides job coaching services to individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities. She was hired as a Job Coach at Aim Higher in 2022, and loving the work, she continued in this industry, eventually transitioning to Learning to Thrive when they opened in 2024.

In her role, Patti has many responsibilities and she likes to have direct involvement in day-to-day operations. She assists in transporting program participants, connecting job coaches to the clients, and helping participants achieve their goals through consistent support and training. Patti is excited to celebrate the moment when a participant “graduates” from the program and feels confident and ready to choose to not attend because they have gained all the skills necessary for meaningful employment. A couple of clients have gotten close to this stage, which is amazing!

Besides the intended job coaching, Patti wants to celebrate all the beautiful moments in a participant’s life. At one point, a client shared they never had an actual birthday celebration. Patti, going above and beyond, planned a birthday party for everyone in the program to celebrate them, and taught them how to bake a cake.

Patti credits her job coaches for the success they have had in the program. She believes in the importance of being flexible and not adhering to a strict and rigid schedule when it comes to providing educational and job skills. She knows that not every day is the same, and sometimes clients may not feel as excited or motivated to focus on training. Having flexibility helps build the trust and satisfaction of their participants.

Without amazing Direct Support Professionals like Patti, Alta California Regional Center wouldn’t be the same!