Lourdes Salas

Lourdes Salas began working at Heartspring in August 2006. Since then she has established herself as an integral component of the Heartspring team. As an administrative assistant to the director of residential services, it is her responsibility to find paraeducators to cover any staffing deficits in the group homes every night. She is also in charge of making all travel arrangements for students and the staff accompanying them on their way home over the holiday and summer breaks. These tasks are daunting in nature and they are vital to the operation of the group homes. Seth Nesmith, director of residential services, put it this way, “She definitely is the oil in the engine that keeps things running smoothly.”

Before working at Heartspring, Lourdes worked at the YMCA. When she left she knew she wanted to serve at a non-profit organization citing the positive impact they have on the community. Community seems to be a pervasive theme in Lourdes’ life and work. She serves Heartspring as a lynch pin and everybody knows who Lourdes is. Seth noted the consistently high traffic around her desk saying, “Everyone seems to congregate around her work area - whether they need money or they are just bringing a student back to say ‘Hi’, everyone enjoys talking with Lourdes.”

When she started working at Heartspring, she immediately filled the position in which she is currently serving. She has turned the otherwise dizzying array of duties performed by an administrative assistant to the director of residential services into an art form. The task of constantly providing staff for coverage in the group homes is literally never ending, like plugging holes in the hull of a boat that is taking on water. Everyday those holes get filled and our students receive staff to learn from and to help keep them safe. The impact that Lourdes has on our students here at Heartspring is really immeasurable, but Lourdes is nothing if not humble. “I don’t work directly with the students”, she says, “however, every once in a while I have the opportunity to have small talk with them or help them with a task, and when this happens I really enjoy the interaction. For example (I enjoy) when a couple of our students feel comfortable speaking Spanish to me.”

Seth Nesmith, like most everyone here at Heartspring, has really come to appreciate Lourdes and depend on her. “I honestly can’t imagine doing my job without Lourdes here,” says Seth. “I can always count on her to do her job without having to tell her anything. She is always on it. She is a perfect example of a Heartspring employee who truly cares about our students here and does everything in her power to assist with their well-being at Heartspring.”