We’re proud to announce that Beisabel “Beisa” Velasco will be stepping into the role of Counseling Director in the place of Laura Valiukenas. Although Laura is sadly leaving our team to continue the next part of her journey, we are more than excited to have Beisabel.
Thinking back on her first day at Life Span twelve years ago, Laura recalls “It was a beautiful spring day and I had the usual first day jitters. When I got to the office, those jitters soon went away, when I saw how friendly everyone was.”
Laura also recalls the support she received years later when she became Life Span’s new Counseling Director in 2019: her mother arrived at the office with a plant and a card that said “Congratulations, Director Laura!”
Laura is most proud of growing Life Span’s prevention work in schools, explaining “I used the thought process of – what did my friends and I need when we were in school?”
Finally, Laura said that she is incredibly excited to see what Beisabel does in the role and Laura has been honored “to watch Beisa grow and develop into a new voice and leader.”
Beisabel has worked as a counselor at Life Span for seven years and still remembers the emotions games she played with then-Counseling Director Peggy Luft on her first day in the office. Beisabel has trained, supervised, and mentored counseling interns at Life Span, explaining “Being able to show them how therapy actually functions and to think outside of the box. Decolonizing therapy is very important to me.”
Beisabel says that Laura taught her many skills that allowed her to do serve survivors well. “I learned so much from Laura. I think the biggest thing is to stay calm and have fun. She helped me believe in my skills, which has aided my confidence to supervise and handle stressful situations.” As director, Beisabel aims to prioritize self-care and potentially start healing circles for staff and clients. Outside of work, she loves plants, paranormal romance novels, pole class, and connecting with her ancestral roots.
We are excited to see how these two wonderful women continue to grow, inside and outside of the organization!
