Rossana Gonzales was born and raised in Lima, Peru where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at Universidad Inca Garcilaso de la Vega in 1990. Rossana was married in 1991 and in 1995, she moved with her husband and two sons to the United States. In 2002, her daughter was born.
Her first job at Rainbows started in 2000. She was a para-educator at the Kids’ Cove location. Six years later, Rossana began to do respite work for the Family Support Services program and in 2013, she was asked to join the Mental Health team as a Mental Health Assistant. Rossana says “My greatest achievement from my time at Rainbows would be my diverse experience. Working with children has given me something I would not have found anywhere else.”
In August 2015, Rossana will celebrate 15 years at Rainbows.
Because Rossana is bi-lingual and has a long history of working with children with special needs, Rossana is an asset to the Mental Health department. She is one of the two Mental Health Staff who is certified to conduct Keys to Interactive Parenting Scale (KIPS) assessments.
“I have always enjoyed working with children. I’ve had the opportunity to work with young children and adolescents, but I think the most important time in a person’s life is their childhood,” says Rossana.
A normal day for her involves working in the classrooms at TOP Northwest, where her office is located. She is part of the Mental Health team that provides that site with Classroom Consultation and Mental Health Support. Rossana spends her time fulfilling the plan of the day, providing support to children, documenting, and scoring assessments.
Rossana says “My favorite memories at Rainbows are about the day-to-day interactions with the children I have had the pleasure of meeting during my time here.”
