Willow Glen Resident
Community
Photograph by Mark Tantrum
Realizing Her Vision: North Willow Glen resident Andrea Villaseñor-Perry (left) was recently named director of youth and family services at Catholic Charities Santa Clara County. She oversees programs that reflect her vision for serving children by supporting the whole family. She works with recreation leader Marco Alveres (middle) and Youth Center Supervisor Tony Rodriguez.
For 20 years Villaseñor-Perry put the needs of children first
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
North Willow Glen resident Andrea Villaseñor-Perry is working to change the public's view on family.
"Families aren't being valued today as they should," Villaseñor-Perry says. "We need to have strong families in order to raise strong children."
This mindset has framed her 20-year career as an advocate for children and family in Silicon Valley.
Recently named director of youth and family services at Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, Villaseñor-Perry has come full circle in overseeing programs that reflect her vision for serving children by supporting the whole family.
"It's been an honor to work in this area and be an advocate to support families," she says. "People need to realize this is not an individual problem."
Villaseñor-Perry says first and foremost she tries to lead by example. Villaseñor-Perry and husband Sandy Perry raised their daughter, Christina, to be a positive member of community.
"I have seen my daughter thrive," says Villaseñor-Perry.
Christina attended River Glen Elementary, Castillero Middle School and Lincoln High School. She recently graduated from Harvard University.
"Now she's in Los Angeles as part of the Teach for America program," Villaseñor-Perry says. "For me, this is my litmus test. As a society, we have to raise children that will be socially conscious."
And that, Villaseñor-Perry says, requires a strong support system in society.
"It really does take a village or a community to raise a child," she says. "It's not just the woman's job. Women in our society are being squeezed into exhaustion."
It was with this insight that Villaseñor-Perry set out in her professional career in 1989 make changes to social policies and how children are raised. She worked as a policy analyst for Santa Clara County Supervisor Dianne McKenna. There, she worked on several countywide efforts to improve conditions for children and families.
Simultaneously, she volunteered as a parent activist working in the San Jose Unified School District. Villaseñor-Perry led a school and community group that advocated for child care, school-linked services for students, increased parental involvement and respect for diversity in the school environment.
From 1997 to 2001, she also helped launch and direct the county Public Healthy Department's Violence Prevention Program, where she worked to change attitudes about family and relationship violence.
Just before joining Catholic Charities, Villaseñor-Perry worked in Santa Clara County Supervisor James T. Beall's office, where she focused on community outreach, particularly in schools.
At the end of the day, she says there is only one thing that matters, "How much have I given back? How much have I shared? How much have we made things better for others?"
