Olivia Cessna
Biography
Originally from Kalamazoo, Olivia moved to Ypsilanti to pursue her Bachelors in Social Work from Eastern Michigan University. During Olivia’s final year at Eastern Michigan, she received the Bruce Halle Social Justice Fellowship. The fellowship project addressed the intersection of social work and criminal justice, giving insight in to how professionals working at this cross-section can navigate these two disciplines. During this time she also dedicated her time to crisis intervention within the substance use community, developing a skill set she would take with her after graduation to an inpatient setting, facilitating anger management and self esteem classes.
As the global pandemic started, Olivia decided it was time to go back to school to pursue her long term career goals working in a macro context by getting her master’s from Wayne State University. While in the master's program, Olivia's main focus was studying the practice and theory of leadership. She spent her extra time serving as the president to the social entrepreneurship student club. Olivia joined the CBHJ in October 2021, shortly after graduating. Olivia’s other interests include holistic defense, mitigation, LGBTQIA+ advocacy, and she plans to pursue her Ph.D.
Responsibilities
Olivia serves as a project coordinator for the Assisted Outpatient Treatment projects. She serves as the primary liaison within counties, navigating relationships between systems and county partners - including community mental health, county jail, probation/parole, peer supports, and first responders - and implements evaluation design including data collection, surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
Degrees and Certifications
- M.S.W., Wayne State University
- B.S.W., Eastern Michigan University
- Certification in Human Service Management, Wayne State University