Tecoria A. Jones
Columbia, South Carolina
A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Tecoria has been a parent advocate for more than 10 years. Her work in this field began as a Parent Peer Support provider for families with children who have mental health concerns. Her life experiences include a Kaiser Permanente Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) score of 10 and significant time as a child in foster, kinship and congregate care. Today, she is a consultant and trainer in ACEs and the Protective Factors Framework. She has held numerous parent leader roles with local and state advocacy groups representing parents and children, is the mother of six children, aged 4 to 21. "My commitment to parents, family and communities is authentic. I own my place as a villager in the village that it takes to grow healthy children, families and communities."
Tecoria is a mediator, circle keeper, consultant, and trainer in Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Strengthening Families™ Protective Factors framework. Tecoria commits to parents, family, and communities authentically with a deep and nuanced understanding of the effects of trauma and the resilience of hope. She is a powerhouse on the topic of Radical Family Engagement, having consulted with the federal Office of Early Childhood Development in the Administration of Children and Families as they were coining the term and planning for a weeklong conference on the topic in October of 2020. She also was part of keynoting the closing plenary at the Together for Families national conference that same month.
Tecoria serves on the Children’s Trust Alliance’s National Birth Parent National Network and Birth & Foster Parent Partnership. Locally, she is chair of PRISMA Children’s Hospital Family Advisory Council as well as her local elementary school’s School Improvement Council and is also a cohort member of the Family Voices Parent Council working with South Carolina Department of Social Services workgroups. Her lived experience includes time in foster, kinship and congregate care as a child and also receiving what she says were lifesaving / life-changing child welfare services as a parent.
“To me, Family is a collection of individuals who persist in growing and sharing the good and bad of life. Family has connection that surpasses time and location. As a family, relationships that we are born into or create adds value, stability, and purpose to life.”