Community Newsletter: October-in-Action

Written By Ritika Puri

Did you hear? Restful workdays are the new productivity

Pictured: Brittany Taylor, Data & Technology Coach; Inna Chavez, Restart SMART Quality Coach; Fred Ronstadt, Site Director; Mauricio Salazar, Student Support Specialist

Staying rested is one of the most important things we can do to be successful at work and in life more generally. But how often do we think to talk about it? Or even celebrate it?



At Higher Ground, we prioritize rest and well-being in our organizational culture. Here’s what that means in practice:

  • Talking openly about empathy and compassion fatigue. It’s a real thing, especially for professionals who navigate vicarious trauma! In a line of work that prioritizes giving and others, we need to be intentional staying balanced.

  • Leading by example to prioritize wellness at the executive level and circulating that vision throughout the organization. It’s about knowing how wellness extends across the organization from school sites to office teams—to understand, exactly, how wellness fits into our day-to-day.

  • Taking action through Powerhouse Fridays. On these days, nearly every week, our staff are encouraged to step away from their usual workspaces to engage in different activities designed to refresh and inspire—to foster creativity, learning, and team bonding.


Hear about wellness at Higher Ground, directly from Barbara, in a recent article that she wrote.

Our charitable giving season has kicked off

Pictured: Fred Ronstadt, Site Director for Higher Ground; Michael Guymon, President and CEO for Tucson Metro Chamber, and Inna Chavez, Quality Coach for Higher Ground.

Arizona’s Charitable Tax Credit allows you to potentially earn a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit for your donation (depending on your unique tax situation).  It’s straightforward and not too complicated. Donate, and we’ll send you a receipt for your tax forms. Arizona State Revenue will deduct your donation from your tax owed.

Every donation counts, whether you have $10 or the allowed maximum of $470 for single tax filers and a max of $938 for married filing jointly or as head of household.

It’s a win-win! You help a nonprofit, and you get some tax credits.




Learn more and make a donation here.




Additional ways to support our fundraising efforts

  • As we kick off our fundraising season at Higher Ground, we are interested in learning about development opportunities. Please let us know—and keep us in mind— if there’s a grant that you think is a good fit for us to apply.

  • Help us make direct connections with philanthropists and donors who are interested in our mission—you can share our background story and information from our impact reports. 

  • If the topic of charitable giving comes up in your conversations with friends and coworkers, be sure to mention Higher Ground—this story about our work in the Tucson and Chandler communities is a good one to share.

Check out our donation page

Recent Community Highlights

October 4: We participated in the opening of a new JTED campus, which is intended to help expand technical education training throughout Pima County.

Picture 1: Pima JTED opening. Gov. Hobbs cutting the ribbon. Picture 2: Kenneth Welch, Director of Outreach & District Partnerships; Dr. Trujillo, TUSD Superintendent; Jeanie McKnight Guymon, Development Coordinator

September 13: Higher Ground won the Tucson Metro Chamber's Copper Cactus Award for Best Place to Work (51-300 employees category), which is given to a business that has honest leadership with a clear vision and identity.

Pictured: Jansen Azarias-Suzumoto, CEO & Co-Founder; Barbara Azarias-Suzumoto, Chief of Staff & Co-Founder; Jeanie McKnight Guymon, Development Coordinator; Cheryl Lopez, Site Director; Tiffany Emerson, Chief Administration Officer; Rema Hamdan; Chief Technology Officer; Kenneth Welch, Director of Outreach & District Partnerships

September 4: Congressman Juan Ciscomani participated in a site visit to learn about the outcomes we’re responsible for driving at Utterback Middle School.

Pictured:  Dallas Lara Valencia, Cheryl Lopez, Yliana Mendez, Kenji Azarias Suzumoto, Jansen Azarias Suzumoto, Tiffany Emerson, Taranika Sanders, Riki Valdez, Congressman Juan Ciscomani, Kenneth Welch, Jeanie McKnight Guymon, and Sonia Virgen

Team Updates

Congratulations to our new teammates and those celebrating team anniversaries:

Welcome to our interns from San Miguel High School:

  • Samantha T.

  • Mia B.

  • Claudio G.

Higher Ground is excited to announce the appointment of our new board chair, Lori Malangone, bringing fresh leadership and vision to our organization. This transition marks a pivotal moment as we continue to strengthen our mission and expand our impact in the community.

Reminder: Say hi to our site directors

Pictured: Dora Villalobos, Custodian for 18 years at Doolen and Kim Clark, Doolen Site Director unboxing 5,000 pairs of Bombas Socks through a school partnership.

Have you taken a moment to say thank you (or high five) a Restart SMART Site Director lately?

Our Site Directors are instrumental in the implementation of the Community School strategy across our 8 partnering school sites. These are the individuals supporting relationships between school staff (teachers, principals, administrators) and education partners.




Not only do our site directors support students and families—they support the whole school district ecosystem.

You can learn more about Higher Ground’s site directors here.

Read about our site directors

You’re a Part of What We’re Building






Thank you for being a part of our community.

Ritika Puri
Next

Celebrating Our Restart SMART Site Directors