Jessi Oliver-Tebben

Before her work with Ampersand Families, Jessi spent the past 20+ years curating an eclectic blend of treasured professional experiences as a youth worker, program director, and facilitator working for both youth serving organizations in the Twin Cities and Minneapolis Public Schools.  She has strong connections to the University of Minnesota where she did her undergraduate work in Youth Studies, Child Psychology, and Educational Psychology, completed a Master’s of Education in Youth Development Leadership, and has taught as a Community Faculty for the School of Social Work’s Youth Studies Program since 2007.

When she’s not at work, you’re most likely to find Jessi in her minivan listening to an audio book while running teenagers to and fro.  Once in a while you might also catch her working with her wife on their “tiny cabin” in Wisconsin, walking her dogs, trying to get her cat out of a tree, or going out to dinner with other adoptive parents.

Jessi and her wife are the parents of 4 children adopted from foster care. Jessi is deeply grateful for the opportunities to learn and grow that the lived experience as an adoptive parent has presented her. The opportunity to combine her vocational and lived experiences to support youth and families at Ampersand is a dream come true.